Headshots for the team, products for the online shop, the office for the website: a short brief makes each conversation quicker. Here is the trade as the ABS counts it, and the brief.
Who you'll be hiring
Photography and event video businesses in Australia trading at the end of June 2025: 9,355, by how many people they employ.
Hiring a photographer for your business. Have the first half ready before you call. Put the second half to every business you speak to.
Tell them
What needs photographingPeople, products, a place, or a mix.
Where the pictures will appearWebsite, social posts, print, a pitch deck. Each wants different shapes and sizes.
Where the shoot can happenYour office, their studio, or out on location.
The style you're afterA few images you like, and any brand colours or guidelines you already have.
When you need the finished filesAnd whether a launch date sits behind it.
Ask them
01Who will run the shoot?And who edits the pictures afterwards.
02How long will the shoot take, and how much of your day will it need?Useful for planning around staff and customers.
03What does the price include, and what costs more?Editing, retouching, extra shots, travel, a second day.
04In what sizes and formats will the files arrive?Web and print often need different versions.
05What will the booking say about who owns the pictures, and how each of you may use them?Including whether they may show the pictures on their website or in ads. Ask for what you agree to be written into the booking.
06How long will they keep the files?In case you need a new crop or size later.
From professionalphotography.com.au, a concept page.
Matching the photographer to the job
Product, portrait and architectural photography each take their own kind of practice. Look for past work that resembles yours: similar products, similar people, similar light.
A short test, such as one headshot or one product, can tell you more than a long portfolio about how a photographer will handle your brief.
Briefing well
The clearer the use, the better the pictures fit it. Share where they will appear before the shoot, so the framing leaves room for headlines, buttons or cropping.
Put the same questions to every photographer you contact and write the answers down. On paper the brief fits one page, with space beneath each line.
Shows whether a business's ABN is active or cancelled, its business type and its GST status, and the Register says the public can use it to check a business before buying.