If you’re going to spend money on an agency, you want to get as much out of the relationship as possible.
Photography and video production are art forms; they’re also complex processes that take lots of planning to be successful. Hiring a third-party team can help, but your internal process can still wreak havoc on the project.
By following these eight tips, you can help ensure strategies are aligned and your agency partner and production team are able to react quickly to snags or changes. As a result, your shoots will be quicker, smoother and more efficient, all of which translate to lower costs and a better final product.
Here are eight simple rules for working with creative agencies:
1. Agree on objectives upfront.
Start out with a mood board and talk about all end uses of the created content (from print ads to social media). This information will play a huge role in the type and look of photos or footage captured.
Additionally, a good agency partner will also educate their client on how they will structure the shoot, and they will share their ultimate vision for the production.
Finally, the last thing any creative team wants is to arrive on the set, meticulous plan in hand, only for someone to say, “Let’s shoot some other things while we’re here, too.”
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All of the details—from a shot list to travel considerations—are part of a carefully constructed symphony. While its important to always incorporate extra time to account for the unexpected, this is for safety and doesn’t allow for additional or changed shots.
2. Make a solid plan together.
Photography and video shoots are highly creative, fast-paced and fun, but they can also be stressful without careful, advance planning by both parties.
Planning takes time, anywhere from 24 hours to six months depending on the complexity of the project. Because shoots occur during a fixed window of time and generally capture a staged environment or circumstance, planning allows everyone to use this time to its fullest potential. Additionally, many details are interconnected, so having a strong grasp of everything that must be accomplished will help minimize surprises and stresses on the day (or days) of the shoot.
3. Define roles and responsibilities in advance.
Assigning roles on the fly is never a good idea. It creates tension and confusion, and it hurts the final product.
Good questions to ask are:
· Who is handling what?
· What is the approval process?
· Who provides feedback to the photographer and/or stylist?
· Who makes selects after the shoot?
· Is there a process for retouching?
Discussing these details will alleviate headaches before, during and after the shoot.
As for who attends, we typically recommend that clients bring only stakeholders with decision-making power to a shoot. It’s unhelpful for the photographer and stylist to get inconsistent feedback from three different people. Instead, nominate a spokesperson.
It’s also important to determine postproduction roles beforehand.
Some questions to ask are:
· Will the client select all of the shots?
· Will the agency partner and/or production team handle the bulk of shot selections, retouching and proofing?
· Who needs to sign off on the final product?
Postproduction is extremely time consuming and so any steps to speed to process along can have a major impact.
4. Be an active participant in creating the shot list.
After sharing mood boards, it’s time to develop the shot list. The shot list may include overall scenes, moments to capture within each scene, models in the scene, the wardrobe for each scene, time of day we are replicating in the scene, time of day to actually shoot, props, and so on.
This is a perfect place for the client to share their knowledge and passion. Shot list time means all-hands-on-deck, from the client and their agency partner to the photographer and/or stylist. It’s critical to provide feedback at this juncture, because any changes that come later could mean giving up something or adding time to the shoot.
5. Be the expert on your product or brand.
You are the expert on your business. No matter how much a creative team immerses itself in your product or story, you are ultimately the one most likely to notice when your fabric is inside out or a cushion is sewn incorrectly. Always try to be available for questions from your agency team, especially when they need approval to move forward.
6. Embrace the unexpected at every turn.
A shoot can be like a wedding. Things don’t always go as planned, even if the plan is perfect. Sometimes perfect isn’t meant to be.
We can’t always predict a crazy wind that keeps us from shooting a shade sail in the desert or a torrential, soaking rain on the open sea, but we can have a plan B. Good production crews always find workaround in these would-be emergencies — and sometimes, things turn out even better than expected.
7. Provide constructive feedback.
It’s critical that stakeholders know how to provide feedback.
In general, this means sharing feedback that is objective in nature. For example, if you feel your product is not portrayed in the best possible light, we want to know right away.
Descriptive feedback is important, too. Rather than saying, “I just don’t like that vase,” saying “I think that vase detracts from our product” is more helpful to your creative team.
Finally, remember that everyone thrives on positive reinforcement. When trying to motivate a 40-person crew to do their best work for sometimes many consecutive days, taking time to say, “Wow, this looks amazing,” can be just as helpful as alerting the team when something looks wrong.
8. Trust your agency team to steer the ship.
Steering the ship isn’t easy, but it’s part of their job to help you have a great experience and get the best possible end result for your brand. A good producer will always stay on top of the little details, from prop needs to weather conditions—and a good agency partner will know when to play it safe as well as when to take a giant leap.
Vivian Mize is a VP and Creative Director at Wray Ward. A version of this article originally appeared on the Wray Ward blog.(Image via)
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