A client request is raw input.
A working brief is the studio's reviewed record of what the current job requires.
The useful work happens between those two points.
The studio checks the request, identifies missing decisions, applies the current style guide, expands the required outputs into shot rows, confirms who can decide, and records the current version before client review moves forward.
This guide explains that process without asking one document to do every job.
Start with the right entry path
A product photo job can enter in two valid ways.
Client project request
A prospective or returning client submits selected information through the studio's request form.
The requester confirms the email.
The studio reviews the verified request and decides whether to convert it.
The request does not automatically become:
- accepted work;
- a quote;
- a scheduled production day;
- a paid booking;
- a client job.
Studio-entered work
The studio creates the job when it came from:
- a referral;
- a repeat client;
- an agency introduction;
- a phone call;
- a direct conversation;
- another existing relationship.
The studio can add the client and send access later.
Both paths lead to the same working record.
Keep the records separate
Before building the brief, identify which record owns each decision.
The request owns initial facts
Examples:
- Contact
- Approximate product count
- Known variants
- Intended channels
- Target date
- Initial references
- Known decision maker
The client agreement owns binding terms
Examples:
- Scope
- Fees
- Payment
- Rights
- Included changes
- Cancellation
- Acceptance
- Liability
Lenso does not currently provide a contract or electronic-signature system.
The brief owns current job-level decisions
Examples:
- Goal
- Products included
- Current visual direction
- Output groups
- Review process
- Delivery requirements
- Decision makers
- Open questions
The style guide owns reusable visual rules
Examples:
- Background
- Lighting
- Crop
- Shadow
- Props
- Retouching limits
- Approved references
The shot list owns independently required outputs
Examples:
- SKU
- Variant
- View
- Setup
- Reference
- Output
- Delivery filename
This separation prevents the studio from copying the same rule into several documents and losing track of which version is current.
Step 1: review the request before conversion
A verified request can still be incomplete.
Review:
- Is the contact usable?
- Are the products understandable?
- Is the approximate SKU and variant count plausible?
- Are the intended channels named?
- Is the target date a launch date, internal review date, or final-file date?
- Do the references open?
- Is the final decision maker known?
- Does the work match the studio's services?
Use a visible status for every open point.
- Known
- Open question
- Client decision needed
- Studio follow-up
- Outside current service
Do not turn an unanswered field into an assumed requirement.
Step 2: decide whether the work becomes a job
The studio makes the conversion decision.
The conversion can create a draft job without sending client access immediately.
Before conversion, the studio can:
- ask a question;
- mark the request contacted;
- qualify the request;
- close it;
- confirm that the job is a fit.
The exact status labels come from the current product.
Do not describe conversion as acceptance of a legal contract.
Step 3: choose the working brief template
Use a template that matches the job's information needs.
A template should define:
- job-level fields;
- public request fields;
- internal-only fields;
- product or shot-list structure;
- AI eligibility when used;
- fields that require client confirmation.
Start with the smallest template that covers the job.
Do not build a large custom template before a real job demonstrates the need.
The product photography brief template is a copyable starting point that already separates job-level fields from product and shot-list structure.
Step 4: move request facts into the brief
Map the known facts deliberately.
- Request channel -> intended-use section
- Product count -> product source and open product list
- References -> approved-reference section
- Target date -> timing section
- Named approver -> decision-maker section
- Initial outputs -> output-group section
Do not copy an uncertain value into the brief as though it was confirmed.
Use:
Approximately 20 SKUs, final spreadsheet pending
instead of:
20 SKUs
when the list is not final.
Step 5: resolve job-level decisions
The working brief should answer:
- What is the job for?
- Which products are included?
- Which products are excluded?
- What reusable style guide applies?
- What job-specific direction or exception applies?
- Which output groups are required?
- Who confirms scope?
- Who approves the proof?
- How will the files be delivered?
- Which questions remain open?
This is the point where client input becomes a studio-readable job record.
Step 6: apply the style guide
Reference the current reusable guide.
Do not rewrite it into the brief.
Record only:
- guide name and version;
- references that matter for the job;
- job-specific exception;
- temporary campaign treatment;
- unresolved visual question.
When no guide exists, record the minimum visual decisions needed for the job and create a reusable guide only when the client relationship justifies one.
The product photography style guide covers what that reusable document should contain and how to scope it for a single account.
Step 7: expand required outputs into shot rows
A job-level phrase such as:
Front, back, and detail set for every product
is not yet a complete shot list.
Create separate rows for:
- Product A, blue, front
- Product A, blue, back
- Product A, blue, detail
- Product A, black, front
- Product A, black, back
- Product A, black, detail
Each independently required output receives:
- one product key;
- one relevant variant;
- one view or asset;
- one output;
- one client-facing delivery filename.
This makes the planned handoff countable without forcing several files into one ambiguous row.
Step 8: connect current channel requirements
Record the current source for a channel-specific rule.
Do not rely on memory.
Use the corrected Amazon and Shopify studio guides for the operational source process.
The brief can say:
Use the current Amazon US main-image requirement for the named listing.
or:
Use the client's current Shopify theme and product-media placement requirement.
The shot row records the output needed for that destination.
Step 9: identify the decision path
Name:
- Scope decision maker
- Final proof decision maker
- Destination upload owner
- Final-file recipient
Those roles can differ.
The studio should also identify the person who consolidates comments.
Several people can comment.
The current decision still needs a named owner.
Step 10: ask for confirmation of the current version
Confirmation should identify:
- the brief version;
- the shot-list version;
- the open questions resolved;
- accepted exceptions;
- the person making the decision;
- the date.
The client agreement defines the legal effect.
The job record preserves the operational decision.
Step 11: version later changes
When a product, view, reference, output, or decision maker changes:
- update the relevant record;
- state what changed;
- update the version or date;
- record who confirmed it;
- preserve the earlier decision when history matters.
Do not quietly overwrite a confirmed brief and keep calling it the same version.
A compact process map
- Client request or studio-entered lead
- Studio review
- Draft job
- Working brief
- Style-guide reference
- Per-output shot rows
- Open questions resolved
- Current version confirmed
- Proof review
- Final-file handoff
The client agreement remains beside this process.
It is not replaced by it.
How this fits in Lenso
Lenso supports both entry paths.
A studio can review a verified website request or enter existing work itself.
The job can then retain:
- working brief;
- SKU and shot rows;
- references;
- proof versions;
- comments;
- requested changes;
- approval;
- optional invoice;
- final files.
Clients use project-specific access and do not consume a paid studio seat.
Lenso does not decide whether the job is commercially or legally accepted.
Questions about creating a working brief
Does every client need to complete the whole brief?
No. The client can provide initial facts and references. The studio reviews and completes the working record.
Should a request become a job automatically?
No. The studio reviews every request and decides whether to convert it.
Can the studio start with a referral or repeat client?
Yes. The studio can create the job and invite the client later.
Does the brief replace the shot list?
No. The brief records job-level decisions. The shot list records the independently required product outputs.
Does a confirmed brief replace the client agreement?
No. The agreement controls the legal and commercial terms.