Key Takeaways
- The most important brief input: where will these images be used? Press, social, annual report, website, internal communications — each use case has different resolution, composition and lighting requirements
- Access requirements must be specified in advance — a photographer who cannot access the stage-left wing during the keynote cannot capture the images that position of access enables
- Visual style references (3–5 photographs that show the desired aesthetic) communicate faster and more precisely than written descriptions
- Deliverables must be specified: edited selects (how many?), full resolution (minimum megapixels?), turnaround time (24 hours? 48 hours?)
- Video brief must specify: final output format (social cut? full recording? highlight reel?), duration per output, music rights requirements
The photography brief
A complete event photography brief: Use case: What will these images be used for? Social media (portrait orientation for Instagram, informal energy), press (landscape, clean compositions with identifiable faces and context), annual report (formal, authoritative, minimal clutter), internal communications (warm, human, authentic). Different use cases require different photographic approaches — a photographer briefed for all uses will prioritise the most technically challenging use case. Access requirements: Which programme moments require the photographer to be where? Stage access during the keynote (for close-up speaker coverage), audience access during the Q&A (for delegate reaction shots), backstage access before the awards (for candid preparation images). Each access requirement requires a specific position to be reserved in the room layout. Style references: Three to five images that show the lighting quality, compositional approach and energy level desired. References prevent the gap between the client's mental image and the photographer's interpretation. Deliverables: Number of edited selects, resolution, file format, turnaround time. Be specific — "please send us the photos" produces an unusable delivery.
The video brief
A video brief must specify the output formats before the event: a 90-second highlight reel (for social), a 3-minute summary (for internal communications), and a full unedited recording (for archive and compliance). Each output has different filming requirements — a highlight reel requires b-roll (cutaway footage of the venue, audience reactions, detail shots) that a single-camera recording for archive does not need. A videographer given all three requirements before the event films differently from one given them on the day after asking "what do you actually need?"