If your textile samples are in China while your team is overseas, a brief also acts as the handover between the buyer, supplier and studio. One shared document is easier to review than product details, reference images and changes scattered across messages.
Use this template for bedding, fabrics, towels or other home textiles. Start with the facts you already know. You can ask Old Money Visual in Nantong to discuss the remaining image and production choices without presenting every open item as a confirmed requirement.
Copy this blank brief and mark what still needs a decision
Replace the bracketed fields and remove tasks you do not need. Keep requested dates distinct from agreed dates. If you attach a spreadsheet, give it a version date and use the same SKU names in the brief, sample labels and shot list. The downloadable text file contains the same blank template.
Download the blank brief (.txt) ↓TEXTILE PHOTOGRAPHY BRIEF Planning template - replace every bracketed field and mark open decisions. 1. PROJECT AND CONTACT Brand / business: [name] Project reference and version date: [reference / date] Main contact: [name / email or WhatsApp] Brief owner: [name] Current brief version: [version / issue date] Current status: [draft / issued for quotation / agreed scope / superseded] Product-information approver: [name] Customer-facing image release owner: [name] Final image approver: [name] Approver's time zone and review availability: [details] Purpose: [launch / collection update / catalog / other] Target image-use date: [date / flexible or fixed] 2. PRODUCTS AND SAMPLES Sample location: [supplier / city / country] Supplier dispatch contact: [name / contact] Expected sample-ready date: [date / to confirm] Product list - repeat for every SKU or attach the sample inventory: SKU | Supplier reference | Product | Color / pattern | Size | Included pieces | Sample quantity [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] Approved specification document: [file / version / owner] Differences between samples and planned sale products: [details / none known] Known condition issues or handling instructions: [details / to confirm] 3. IMAGE AND VIDEO TASKS Channels / marketplaces / countries: [details] Existing listing or layout references: [links / files] Shot list - repeat for every distinct image task: SKU(s) | Required view | Buyer question answered | Placement | Crop / text space | Priority [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [essential / optional] Video actions, orientation and intended use: [details / not requested] Views that may share one capture: [details / discuss with studio] Views requiring separate samples or capture: [details / discuss with studio] 4. VISUAL DIRECTION Reference links or files: [references you may share] What to follow: [lighting / background / framing / styling] What to avoid: [specific examples] Props, sets or people requested: [details / none / to discuss] Who supplies requested resources: [agreed responsibility / open] Product features that must stay visible and unchanged: [details] 5. DELIVERY AND REVIEW Retouched image tasks / quantities: [agreed list / to confirm] Required aspect ratios and export formats: [details] Clean images / text versions / language versions: [details] Retouching requests and limits: [details / to discuss] Source or editable files requested: [details / not requested] Intended usage and any permission questions: [details] Test-shot review point: [representative product / setup / to agree] Feedback contact and format: [details] Proof status terms: [identity check / direction review / revision requested / approved / held] Revision scope: [to agree in quotation] Priority delivery and final delivery dates: [requested dates / to agree] 6. SAMPLE HANDOVER Receiving address, recipient and receiving window: [confirm with studio before dispatch] Carton count and inventory version: [details] Supplier dispatch inventory version and carton references: [details] Dispatch date and tracking reference: [details / not dispatched] Sample holding, return / collection and freight responsibility: [agreed plan / open] 7. OPEN QUESTIONS FOR THE QUOTATION [List undecided items and any alternatives you want priced separately.] This brief describes requested work. Confirm scope, resources, dates, usage, revisions and sample arrangements in the project quotation or agreement.
Turn an image count into a shot list
An image count alone leaves the product, setting and purpose unresolved. Specify what a buyer needs to understand in each view, which SKU it belongs to and where it will appear. Identify essential tasks first; mark extra scenes or adaptations as options for the quotation.
The following bedding example is hypothetical. It describes a fictional duvet-cover product offered in two colors, each with two pillowcases and no sheet. It is not a client project, package, quotation or promised image count.
| Requested task | Buyer question | Product and capture notes | Intended placement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Complete set view for each color | What exactly is included? | Actual cover and two matching pillowcases; keep styling props distinct | Main product presentation |
| Pattern or surface detail for each color | What does this variant look like close up? | Use the corresponding physical sample and color code | Product-page detail section |
| Closure and construction views | How is the cover finished? | Confirm which details differ between the two samples before sharing a view | Supporting images |
| Optional bedroom scene | How might the set look on a bed? | Agree the color, setting, props and visible included pieces | Website collection or campaign page |
Keep product facts separate from visual direction
The buyer or brand supplies approved composition, dimensions, component counts and feature wording. The studio uses the brief to plan how visible details will be shown. An attractive reference does not establish a fabric's composition or mean its bed, props and room are included in your project.
Annotate each reference with the specific feature you want to discuss: soft side lighting, an uncluttered background, an overhead angle or room for text. Note what should not be repeated. For colorways, send actual sample codes rather than asking one image to represent unverified variants.
Make remote review and delivery part of the first inquiry
Name the person who can approve the test setup and the person who will check the final files. Record their time zone and a realistic feedback window. Decide how comments will identify the SKU, shot and requested change so the team can resolve them without guessing which image a message concerns.
List your destination channels and required file uses. Ask about clean images, text versions, crop ratios, source files or later adaptations when they matter. These can involve different work; they should not be assumed from the number of retouched photographs alone.
Use the agreed brief as the project's current reference
After the quotation discussion, update the open fields with the agreed product list, tasks, resources, review stages and delivery scope. Keep that version available to everyone coordinating the samples. Record later additions or substitutions so the original work and the changed request remain clear.
Send the brief with your current sample location and product inventory. You do not need to finish a full creative treatment before making contact; a specific list of products, intended uses, essential shots and unresolved decisions is enough to start a useful scope discussion.
Lock the owner and version for every project input
A brief becomes unreliable when the product table, supplier message and image comments each contain a different current instruction. Give the brief one owner and version date, then identify the approved source for product facts, sample dispatch, visual feedback and customer-facing release. A contributor supplies information; an approver decides whether that information may control the project.
When a decision changes, issue a new version and state what it replaces. Do not silently edit an old file after the supplier or studio has begun using it. Mark superseded versions clearly and keep the current version linked to the sample inventory and shot list.
| Decision area | Buyer or brand | Supplier | Studio discussion |
|---|---|---|---|
| Product identity and sale contents | Approves SKU names, components and product facts | Matches physical samples to the issued list | Flags missing information needed for the image task |
| Sample dispatch | Authorizes selected samples and handoff plan | Labels, packs and shares the dispatch record | Confirms current project receiving details before dispatch |
| Visual direction | Names the approver and consolidates references | Clarifies product-specific questions when asked | Presents the agreed proof or test point |
| Change request | Classifies priority and approves product or scope decisions | Confirms sample changes within its responsibility | Identifies the effect on agreed images, resources and schedule for discussion |
| Image release | Confirms sample accuracy and intended use | Supplies requested product updates | Delivers the agreed files and version record |
| Sample disposition | Approves the named destination and responsibility | Supports the agreed handover if involved | Follows the documented project instruction |
Put this guide into a production plan
Confirm the actual scope from your samples, channels and accuracy requirements; these services are not automatically bundled.
