All About Discovery Calls
Happy Thursday from our little team! We’re hopping on today to talk all about one of our favorite parts of photography: the discovery call. If you’re thinking to yourself: “Wait a second. They’re photographers. Shouldn’t their favorite part of photography be…photography?” then buckle up! We’re here to blow your mind.
What is a discovery call?
A discovery call is the foundation of any photography work that you have done for your brand (or any photography, really!). This is your chance to get to know your photographer, have them get to know you and your brand, and set expectations about the entire photography process. If that sounds daunting or unfamiliar to you, don’t worry! That’s why we wrote this post. If you’re working with a photographer or an agency to get photography for your brand, you need to have a call like this set up before they get shooting. Having a discovery call ensures that your photography is going to yield photos you’ll actually use! That’s important, right? We don’t want your money going to waste.
The photographer or agency you’re working with might have a different name for this call. Some call it an on-boarding call. Some call it a pre-production meeting. But whatever it’s called, we want you to be prepared and excited.
When does a discovery call happen?
It’ll depend on the agency or photographer you’re working with! Here at Four Course Media, we always aim to hop on a discovery call with our clients as soon as an inquiry is submitted. That way, we have a good understanding of what you’re looking for from the very start of our relationship.
We always want to leave enough time between the discovery calls and the shoots themselves for us to gather the right props, backgrounds, and ingredients to complete the shoots the way you want them to be completed according to your shot list. We try to leave about a week minimum between the discovery calls and shoots for that reason.
Who should attend a discovery call?
There should be representatives from the photographer and the brand on the discovery call. Depending on your business’s size and needs, you might have three stakeholders on this photography project, like the founder, marketing lead, and the art director, or you might just have your little old self! The bottom line is that if there’s someone on your team who is a decision-maker in terms of the way your product or recipes involving your product, they need to be on this call.
Why is a discovery call important?
Having a discovery call — or on-boarding session or pre-production meeting — is key to giving your photography team the tools they need to create photos that align with your branding and are perfect to use. The more information you’re able to give to your photographer at this stage, the more likely you are to end up with an amazing set of deliverables.
What kinds of questions should you expect in a discovery call?
Here’s what we usually ask on our discovery calls! This isn’t an exhaustive list, and more questions usually pop up during the course of the call, but this is a good baseline to get you started:
Tell us about your brand overall.
Do you have any documentation about branding standards to share with us that might help us to create photos that are perfect for your brand?
What sort of images do you like? (Think color, lighting, heavy vs. light propping, packaging forward vs. no packaging, etc.)
Tell us about your needs for photography.
Where will these photos be used?
What kinds of images are you looking for? Do you have examples that we can use to compile a mood board and shot list?
What edits can we make to the photos we provide?
What brands do you admire? What brands do you hate?
If you could have one image featured in The New York Times, what would that image convey?
What is the scope, budget, and timeline for this project?
What should you have prepared for a discovery call?
You should come prepared with as much information about your brand and the project that you’re undertaking as possible. If you’re not sure what exactly you have in mind for photography, that’s okay! Make a list of questions ahead of time that you can ask of your photographer so they can help you get the answers.