Most first-time brand partners ask the same question in different words: what actually happens between signing and delivery? Here is the process I run on every campaign, refined across work with partners like DJI, Rosewood, Four Seasons and Mandarin Oriental.
1. The Brief (Week 0)
A good brief tells me three things: the business goal, the audience, and the one feeling the content should leave behind. It does not need shot lists or scripts, that’s my job. The best briefs I’ve received were a single page. The worst were forty slides that never said what success looked like.
2. Treatment and Concept (Week 1)
I come back with a short treatment: the story, the locations, the tone, references, and exactly what will be delivered, formats, lengths, aspect ratios, usage. This is where we align before anyone books a flight. Changes cost nothing at this stage. They cost a lot later.
3. Pre-Production
Logistics, permits, weather windows, backup plans. For destination work I scout digitally first, satellite views, sun-position apps, local contacts. Every campaign has a plan B location for every plan A.
4. Production (Usually 2-4 Days)
Shoot days are structured around light: golden hours for hero shots, midday for interiors and details, evenings for atmosphere. I shoot deliverables first, options second. Clients get a same-day preview frame so nobody waits two weeks wondering.
5. Edit and Review (Week 3-4)
First cut, one consolidated round of feedback, final delivery. One round works, not because I limit clients, but because the treatment in step 2 already answered the big questions. Feedback at this stage should be trims, not U-turns.
6. Delivery and Usage
Final files in every agreed format, organized and labeled, with usage terms documented, which platforms, which markets, how long. Clean usage agreements are why my clients come back: nobody argues about rights eighteen months later.
Total timeline, brief to delivery: typically three to five weeks. The process is boring by design. Boring process, exceptional output, that’s the trade I offer.
