When an enquiry comes in that just says “how much for some photos?”, my honest answer is “it depends”. That isn’t me dodging the question. A product shoot in the studio, a day photographing a factory and an hour of team headshots are completely different jobs.
You don’t need a formal brief. A few lines covering the points below will get you a much more accurate quote, and a better shoot.
What’s being photographed
Be specific. “Our office” could be one meeting room or four floors. “Some products” could be five chairs or a hundred door handles. Rough numbers are fine: about ten rooms, around 30 products, 12 people for headshots.
Where the images are going
This is the one people often leave out, and it changes a lot. A website hero image needs room for text and has to work cropped wide on a desktop and narrow on a phone. A brochure might need high-resolution files for print. Social media wants a mix of square and portrait. If I know where they’re going, I can shoot for every use on the day.
When you need them
Give me the date the photos need to be live, as well as when you’d like to shoot. That tells me how much time there is for editing, and whether we need to work around weather or a busy period.
Where it is
The address matters for travel, but it also tells me useful things. Is there parking? Is it a working site that needs a safety induction? Are there airspace restrictions if you want drone shots?
What you liked (and didn’t)
Links to photos you like are really helpful, even if they’re from another industry. So are photos you don’t like. Your old ones, maybe, or a competitor’s. It’s often easier to say “not like this” than to describe what you want.
Who’s involved
Will someone be on site to open doors and make decisions? Are staff going to be in the photos, and do they know? Does anyone else need to sign off the shot list, like a marketing manager, an architect or a client?
Budget
You don’t have to share a budget, but it helps if you have one in mind. If it’s tight, I can suggest where to focus: fewer setups done really well, or the most important rooms first with the rest later.
That’s it
Seven short answers and I can usually come back with a clear quote and a rough plan for the day. If you don’t know some of them yet, that’s fine too. Half of my first calls are spent working this out together.
Start an enquiry here. It takes about a minute, and you can skip anything you’re not sure about.
