Commercial photography
A commercial photograph should start with the brief
Before choosing a location or discussing lighting, there is a more useful question: what does this photograph need to do for your business?
Begin with the place the image will live
A website banner, a printed brochure and a vertical campaign layout ask different things of a photograph. The subject may be the same, but its position in the frame, the space around it and the direction of the viewer’s attention can change considerably. A photograph that looks complete on its own may leave nowhere for a headline.
Bring an early layout to the conversation if one exists. Even a rough sketch can show where text, a logo or a product description needs to sit. If the design is still developing, discuss a small range of useful compositions: a wider view, a closer detail and alternatives with room on either side. That gives the designer genuine choices rather than several versions of the same crop.
Turn a broad idea into a workable shot list
“Photographs for our business” is a starting point. A more useful brief identifies the audience, the message and the essential subjects. A workplace may need a sense of its environment, individual staff portraits and photographs of people doing the work. An architectural project may need its relationship to the street as well as the materials and details inside.
Separate the essential photographs from the ideas that would be welcome if time allows. Note who needs to be present, which spaces must be accessible and whether anything needs cleaning, styling or preparing. These practical decisions protect the time available for making photographs.
Agree on delivery and use before the shoot
Discuss the number and type of finished files, the level of editing, the deadline and the intended uses. An image prepared for one company’s website should not quietly become an assumption of unrestricted use across every future campaign. The agreed scope belongs in the conversation before production begins.
For a Toronto commercial photography enquiry, send the brief you have—even if it is incomplete—along with your timing and a description of where the images will appear. The next step is to turn that information into a considered photographic plan.
Text and photograph © Capt. Solomon D. Crowe. All rights reserved. Image licensing information.