Photography & video production proposal template
A photo and video production proposal you build online and send as a branded link, with deliverables, usage, and pricing structured for production work.
The .docx is free to use anywhere, no sign-up. Building it in ProposalKit is a free 14-day trial, no credit card.
What's included
- 01 Cover
- 02 Executive Summary
- 03 The Challenge
- 04 Our Approach
- 05 Scope of Work
- 06 Investment
- 07 Timeline
- 08 About Us
- 09 Terms & Conditions
Overview
A 6-week production window covering pre-pro, two studio days, one location day, and a full post-production cut: lookbook, hero imagery, paid social, and a 30-second launch film.
Lumen Threadworks has a fall/winter line that deserves imagery it isn't currently getting. The garments are handmade, the palette is beautiful, the fabric weight reads on camera, and your current product photography was shot on a flat-lay rig that flattens all of it. We've seen your line sheet. We've seen the Instagram feed. The clothes are doing more work than the pictures of them.
We're proposing a single, focused campaign shoot for the fall/winter launch: three shoot days (two studio, one on location), two models, a small styled crew, and a full post-production cut that delivers lookbook imagery, hero shots for the homepage, paid social crops, and a 30-second launch film cut from the same days. Everything shot, everything finished, everything delivered in six weeks so you can hit your September 15 launch.
The budget below reflects our standard day rate and a deliberate choice to keep the crew small. We're not bringing a second photographer or a DP you'll pay for and never meet. You're hiring the two people who'll actually be on set.
Your imagery undersells the line
Fall/winter has the best material story of anything you've shipped: the felted wool, the deadstock corduroy, the selvedge overshirt. Flat-lay and eCommerce-style product shots can't show any of it. Drape, movement, how the collar sits, how the coat falls on a body walking. None of that shows up on a white sweep. Your conversion rate on the fall/winter preview collection is already running 30% below your summer line, and the preview was only 6 weeks ago. The garments are better. The pictures are worse.
Your launch assets are always last-minute
Every season, the campaign shoot ends up happening 9 days before the drop because the production schedule slipped and the photography got pushed. By the time you have usable imagery, your paid media team is already behind on creative, your email flow has to be built from product shots, and you're losing the first week of the launch window to asset delivery. Getting ahead of this once, by running a clean six-week cycle with a real pre-pro plan, pays back every season after.
You're paying for work you don't need, and missing work you do
Your last three campaigns were shot by a larger production house that sent a 9-person crew (producer, DP, first AC, second AC, gaffer, stylist, hair, makeup, production assistant) for work that genuinely needed five. You paid for the full crew, and still ended up doing your own retouching in-house because post-production was priced separately at a rate that blew the budget. That's the wrong end of the scale for a brand your size.
At your scale, good production is tight. Smaller crew, clearer shot list, fewer negotiables on the day. That's the work we do best, and it saves you money without cutting quality.
Pre-Production (Weeks 1–2)
Two calls and a creative document. Call one is the working session: we walk the line, pick the hero pieces, build a shot list and a mood reference, and agree on the feel (cool daylight, indoor warmth, specific color treatments). Call two is logistics: model casting, location scouting, crew confirmation, and the final shot list you sign off on before we invoice the first deposit. The creative document is 8 pages; it's everything the team needs to walk onto set and know what we're making.
Studio Days (Week 3)
Two days in our Ballard studio. Day one is the hero imagery: the shots that go on the homepage, the lookbook cover, and the front of the email. Day two is the rest of the line and the paid social variants (9:16 crops, loose space for overlay text, product detail close-ups). Same lighting setup both days, which is how we keep the look consistent across the whole delivery.
Location Day (Week 4)
One day on location. We're pitching the Olympic Peninsula coastline for the cool-weather story, but we'll confirm the exact spot after scouting in week 1. Early call, golden-hour finish, weather contingency built into the schedule. This is where the launch film comes from.
Post-Production (Weeks 5–6)
Full retouching on all final selects. Color graded across the full delivery so the studio days and the location day read as one campaign, not three. Launch film edited, scored with licensed audio, and delivered in 30s and 15s cuts. All final assets delivered in a single shared drive with a filename convention your team can work from.
Pre-Production
- Creative development session (1 day, in-person or remote)
- Shot list and creative document (8-page PDF)
- Model casting for 2 models (from our local agency relationships)
- Location scouting and confirmation
- Crew confirmation and call sheets
Shoot Days
- 2 studio days at our Ballard studio (included in day rate)
- 1 location day, Olympic Peninsula or alternative scouted location
- Crew: photographer/director, first AC, stylist, hair + makeup (one artist covering both)
- Gear: Sony A7R V or Fujifilm GFX 100 II as hero camera, full lighting package, grip package for location day
- On-set digital tech for live tethering during studio days so you can review in real time
Deliverables
- 40 final retouched stills (mix of editorial, product-on-model, and detail shots)
- 10 hero images for homepage, email, and lookbook cover, retouched to print spec
- 12 paid social crops (9:16 and 1:1) from the studio days, designed for overlay text
- 1 launch film, 30 seconds, cut from the location day
- 2 alternate cuts of the launch film: 15s (paid social), 6s (pre-roll)
- All final assets delivered via shared drive with a filename convention and a metadata sheet
- Licensed audio for the launch film (standard commercial use, no social music clearance issues)
Not included
- Talent usage fees beyond 12 months of campaign use (we'll flag this if you need longer)
- Paid talent for the launch film beyond the 2 models booked for stills
- Graphic design or layout of the lookbook PDF itself (we deliver the imagery; your designer builds the book)
- Additional shoot days or location changes after the shot list is locked
- Video for TV or broadcast use (different licensing tier)
Pre-Production
Creative session, shot list, mood document, casting, scouting, crew and call sheet management
Studio Days
2 days in our Ballard studio at $4,800/day. Includes photographer, 1st AC, gear, lighting, digital tech
2 x $4,800
Location Day
1 day on location: photographer, 1st AC, grip package, vehicle and location logistics
Stylist + Hair/Makeup
Wardrobe stylist (3 days) and hair/makeup artist (3 days), at our booking rates
Models
2 models, 3 days each, booked through our local agency at standard day rates. 12-month campaign usage included
Post-Production
40 final retouched stills, 10 hero retouches to print spec, color grade across full delivery
Video Edit
30s launch film, 15s + 6s alternate cuts, color graded, licensed audio cleared for paid social
$36,200
Weeks 1–2: Pre-Production
Creative session in week 1, location scout and model casting in parallel. Shot list and creative document locked end of week 2.
Week 3: Studio Days
Two consecutive studio days. The lighting setup carries from day one to day two, which is part of how we keep the day rate where it is.
Week 4: Location Day
One shoot day on location, buffered by a weather contingency day we hold internally at no charge. We'd rather postpone 24 hours than shoot into a gray sky.
Week 5: Retouching & Video Edit
First pass of stills and a rough cut of the film delivered end of week 5 for review. One round of revisions scheduled against the back half of the week.
Week 6: Final Delivery
Final retouched stills, final video cuts, and the shared drive handoff. You'll have everything in hand 9 days before the September 15 launch.
Field Frame Studio is a two-person production team in Seattle. I'm Ari Noguchi, the photographer and director; my partner Jess Hollander runs production and handles everything you won't see on set. We shoot for apparel, outdoor, and specialty food brands. Everything we do is commercial work for brands in the $2M–$30M range.
Why two people
A larger production house would staff this shoot with 9–11 people. We'd bring 5 including the stylist and the hair/makeup artist. The smaller crew shows up on your invoice. Quality lives in the planning, not the crew size.
Recent work
- Sorrel & Oak (skincare): launch campaign for a 14-SKU line, product and lifestyle imagery
- Frostline Gear (outdoor apparel): fall/winter campaign, location shoot in the North Cascades
- Eastwind Coffee Roasters: wholesale packaging photography and brand film
- Mossroot Woolens (knitwear): product and model photography for their first wholesale linesheet
What clients say
"Ari and Jess gave us imagery we were still using 18 months after the shoot. Every other campaign we've done aged out in a season."
Julie Tremaine, Founder, Frostline Gear
Payment Schedule
- 50% ($18,100) due on signing. Covers pre-production, model and location deposits, and secures the shoot dates on our calendar
- 25% ($9,050) due on first shoot day
- 25% ($9,050) due on final delivery
Payment by ACH or check. Card payment available with a 3% processing fee.
Usage & Licensing
All final deliverables are licensed to Lumen Threadworks for 12 months of commercial use across web, email, paid social, print, and retail channels. After 12 months, the license may be renewed for an additional year at 25% of the original project fee. If you need perpetual usage or broader rights (TV, out-of-home, international campaigns), let us know in pre-production and we'll adjust talent contracts and the licensing line accordingly.
Weather & Rescheduling
If the location day needs to be postponed due to weather, we reschedule to the nearest available day within 14 calendar days at no additional cost. We hold a buffer day internally for exactly this. If rescheduling pushes beyond that window because of client-side availability, the location day is re-invoiced at 50% of its original rate.
Revisions
Post-production includes one structured revision round on the stills and one on the video edit. Additional revisions are billed at $120/hour with written approval before any work begins.
Unused Imagery
Outtakes and unselected images remain the property of Field Frame Studio. We do not sell or re-license them without written permission from Lumen Threadworks, and we never use them as portfolio samples where they could be mistaken for a Lumen campaign.
Cancellation
If Lumen cancels after signing but before the first shoot day, the 50% signing deposit is non-refundable. It covers locked crew, model, and location holds that can no longer be resold. If cancellation happens after the first shoot day, all costs to date are billed in full.
Proposal Validity
Valid for 21 days from the cover date. Shoot dates are held tentatively for 10 days after signing and released if they can't be confirmed with crew and talent in that window.
Production proposals turn on logistics and rights, not just the shoot. The template gives you sections for the deliverables, the production schedule, and the usage terms, so the client knows exactly what they receive and how they are allowed to use it.
It is built for how shoots get booked: a clear list of final assets, a schedule that covers pre-production through delivery, and usage priced as its own line rather than assumed away. Drop in the brief, set your pricing, and publish a branded page. You see when the client opens it and how long they spend, and they accept on the page without a printout.
Specify deliverables, not just shoot days
Clients remember the final assets, not the hours on set. The deliverables section is where you state the number of edited photos, the runtime and cuts of video, the formats, and the delivery date, so expectations are set before the camera comes out.
Name the number of edits and the turnaround. "Forty retouched images and one ninety-second cut, delivered within two weeks of the shoot" is a deliverable. "Photos and a video" is the start of a disagreement. The more countable the line, the less there is to argue about at delivery.
Put the production schedule in the proposal
Pre-production, shoot days, and post each have their own timeline, and the client has dependencies in all three: locations, talent, approvals on edits. The timeline section maps these so a delayed approval reads as a schedule change both sides anticipated, not a missed deadline.
Call out what you need and when. A casting decision, a location lock, or sign-off on a first cut each sits on the critical path, and a schedule that names the client's deadlines protects your delivery date as much as your own.
Make usage rights a line item
Usage is where production pricing is won or lost. Organic social, paid media, and broadcast are different rights at different prices, and the scope and pricing sections are set up to make the usage you are granting explicit rather than assumed.
State the term and the territory. Twelve months of paid social in one market is a different grant from perpetual worldwide use, and pricing each as its own line gives the client a clear upgrade path instead of a renegotiation when the campaign performs.
How the template is structured
The starting structure runs cover, executive summary, the challenge, your approach, scope of work, investment, timeline, about, and terms. Each section opens with a prompt aimed at production work, so you are editing toward a finished production proposal rather than reformatting a generic one.
Shape it to the job. Rename sections, add a usage or deliverables block where it earns its place, and reorder so the part that closes the booking comes first. It is a starting point the tool builds from, not a fixed form you have to follow.
Send it as a page, not a file
Once the proposal reads the way you want, you do not export it and attach it to an email. You publish it as a branded link on your own page. The client opens it in the browser, on a phone or a laptop, with no download and no account to create.
That changes what happens after you hit send. You see when the proposal was opened, how many times, and which sections held attention, so a follow-up is timed to a signal instead of a guess. When the client is ready, they accept and sign on the page, and the proposal locks. You get a clean PDF with the signature and an audit trail attached, which is the copy that gets filed and forwarded internally.
Related reading: Proposal format .
Photo & video proposal template: FAQ
What should a photography or video production proposal include?
Specify the deliverables (number of edited photos, video runtime and cuts, formats, delivery date), a production schedule covering pre-production, shoot days, and post, and usage rights as their own line. This template structures all three, since production proposals turn on logistics and rights, not just the shoot.
Is the photography proposal template free?
Yes. Download the .docx at no cost and use it anywhere. Building the same production proposal in ProposalKit is free for 14 days, with no card required.
Can I edit the template in Microsoft Word or Google Docs?
Yes. The download is a standard .docx, so it opens in Microsoft Word, Google Docs, and Pages. You can also build it online in ProposalKit and send it as a branded link the client accepts on the page.
How should usage rights be handled in a video production proposal?
Price usage as its own line, and state the term and the territory: organic social, paid media, and broadcast are different rights at different prices. Twelve months of paid social in one market is a different grant from perpetual worldwide use, and pricing each separately gives the client a clear upgrade path.