Photography Treatments
A page by page insight into one of my treatments and why they are an important tool.
Dear friends,
I had this topic on my list of things to write about for quite some time now and it took a while to get it done and out there, but here we are:
In this letter I want to try to give you an insight into photography treatments as a tool to pitch for advertising and commercial jobs.
Please make sure to read this on the web or in the substack app, it might be cut short in your email inbox because it’s quite a long read.
INTRODUCTION
There is a lot of mystique in the advertising and commercial world surrounding photography treatments. Usually, photographers and agents keep their successful treatments a well-locked secret, especially as there is not one single formula to create one. It’s rather a matter of personal preference and highly depends on the initial briefing.
WHAT IS A PHOTOGRAPHY TREATMENT?
Originally, treatments are a common device for film directors to pitch an idea. In the advertising and commercial world, the director usually writes a treatment (with the help of her or his own production company, sometimes even using a ghostwriter) in order to present the vision and approach to the agency and the client.
This usually happens after the initial creative brief and before writing the entire script. It serves as a tool to visually express the directors vision and serves as a tool for the client and agency to decide who wins the pitch.
It’s basically the same for photography treatments: Typically, the agency invites three photographers on a separate conference call to discuss the brief of the ads. With an understanding of the clients needs at hand, by taking notes and asking the right questions, the photographer begins to create a treatment.
Usually between 5 to 12 pages long, it explains the vision of the photographer for the shoot: photography direction, lighting and, if not already pre-planned by the agency, styling, wardrobe and casting and location.
GENERAL NOTES
My own treatments are in landscape format, 16x9, which is pretty much industry standard. Landscape, 16x9 is easily presentable on standard screens and in video calls because it fills up the space of most screens that are used during the presentation. I’m using my self-designed Adobe InDesign template, but I’ve seen quite a few agencies lately that switched to Google Slides for ease of use, presentation and embedding as well as collaboration reasons.
TREATMENT WALKTHROUGH
I can’t show you actual, successful treatments for obvious, NDA-related reasons, but i created a fictitious treatment for a tourism-industry client to demonstrate the different choices and layouts.
Here’s a page by page explanation of the thoughts that went into this fictitious, but realistic treatment:
Cover
As a visual introduction to my treatment, I like to have a cover that includes the client and project, as well as my name and the month and year of the treatment.
If you got a logo or special piece of branding: This is the place!
Table of Contents
A Table of Contents helps to structure and introduce what’s coming next during the presentation. It’s usually only practicable for longer treatments, but it helps you to give some talking points in your presentation and manage expectations.
Introduction
A personal message on why and how you are excited to work on this project. Can be a personal anecdote, a feeling or a story in relation to the brief. Or simply some words to introduce the coming treatment.
I always tend to keep this short, sweet and very personal.
Approach
I like to call this section Approach, others might call it Photo Direction or anything else that fits the broader concept. It includes everything that describes your unique way to tackle the brief, the way you want to direct your shots and get the best result as possible. It guides the client and the agency through your process and proves your expertise to execute the brief in the best way possible.
This is usually the longest written part in a treatment and can be subdivided in directional and technical parts.
Moodboards
One or two pages of my own images as moodboards in between the text pages, just to keep the visuals coming and to support the mood of the treatment.
Light & Color
My work is a lot about light & color, so i usually include a section in the treatment where I’m explaining my process and thoughts behind the color palette and light that I’m planning to work with.
Moving Image
This section is usually a lot longer and usually a treatment itself, depending on the needs for moving image according to the briefing.
Location
Most of the time agencies and production companies will handle all the decision and approval process for the locations, but in this case it’s an incomplete list of possible locations to give the production company and agency a quick overview of the types of locations that come into your mind and fit the briefing.
Technical Specs & Post Production
This is the section where I usually cover the camera and postproduction-related information to get everyone on the same page. If the brief requires a higher resolution for example, this helps to clarify. Can be detailed or rudimentary, depends on the brief.
Thank You
Pretty self-explanatory. ✌️
Other
It highly depends on the brief and creative call, but here are a few further sections that might be needed in your treatment:
Casting - a variety of actual people or a group of people that fit the briefing. This depends if you are casting yourself, or general recommendations
Styling - Usually a mood board of styling choices or excerpts of your favorite stylists portfolio.
References - If it’s needed to explain the concept further. Always clearly mark the images as “references”
Proposed Shotlist - depending on the job, this can be a good guideline to get on the same page on what images to expect in a given timeframe.
Portfolio / Bio - Some words on you and your work, but keep it simple.
Cost / Calculations - This is highly unusual in a treatment, but the agency or client might ask for it to be included. If you are agency represented: this is the job of the agent. Usually it’s in a separate document.
Test Shots - This is HIGHLY unusual too, but sometimes necessary for a job that is technically challenging. It helps to prove that you can solve the problem at hand, but it still doesn’t guarantee to get you the job.
TIPS
Start early after the first call and work with your notes, write the keywords down as quickly as possible. Because…writers block is real.
Only use your own images for your treatment. This is not easy sometimes. The job requirement might be specific, but still you need to approximate the brief with your own images as closely as possible. You can create a separate page with a mood board that clearly states “reference images” if the brief and your vision needs further visual explanation.
Stay in your own, recognizable and consistent branding. Add graphical elements according to the brief, but stay true to your own brand. And stay recognizable
Proof read your treatment twice. If the written language in your treatment isn’t your mother tongue: let somebody redact it. It just needs to be right.
Build yourself a working treatment template early using your own branding, you never know when you’re going to need it. And practice by writing some for personal projects.
Include page numbers, it’s much easier to find the right slides in a presentation this way.
CONCLUSION
I truly hope to demystify the act of writing a treatment a little, but keep in mind that this is only the way I approach treatments. It’s highly subjective and even depends on the agency you are working with how a treatment looks and feels. Additionally, spending hours doing this will not guarantee to land you the job, but still it’s a great way to show that you are committed in going the extra mile. And every time you write a treatment, even for yourself and personal projects, it helps you to get better.
If you want to look closer into my treatment template, feel free to download a PDF HERE.
Let me know if this was helpful for you, and don’t hesitate to ask follow up questions, I’m answering all of them (but it might take some time!).
Talk to you in two weeks!
Hugs and kisses!
Ramon
Thanks a lot, soo helpful for me!
Thank you for sharing this, so helpful and very clear!