When an agency takes over an unfinished brief, review it before relying on it. List what has been approved in writing, what was only discussed, what access is arranged and what is missing. Confirm each with the client or the previous owner. Then write a clean brief and send it to the photographer, so the supplier works from facts, not from assumptions in earlier emails.
Handovers happen. A colleague leaves, a client changes its agency, a project is rescued after a supplier falls through. You find an email chain, a draft run sheet and a quotation, and you are now responsible for making the photography work. The risk is to treat everything in the file as settled.
This page is part of our overview of agency and recurring event-photography commissions.
Start with an audit, not a brief
Before writing anything to the photographer, find out what you have. Gather every document: emails, messages, quotations, run sheets, venue confirmations, approvals and any images from earlier events.
Sort each item into three groups.
| Status | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Firm | Confirmed in writing by the right person | Signed quotation, approved run sheet |
| Assumed | Discussed or implied but not confirmed | "We think the VIP arrival is at 7pm" |
| Unknown | Missing or unclear | Who approves final images |
The aim is to turn assumed into firm, and unknown into answered. Our guide on recording the final photography brief before event day explains the end state to aim for.
Check access and approvals
Access is often the first thing lost in a handover. Passes, parking, loading arrangements and security contacts may have been organised by the previous owner. Confirm they exist and are still valid for the date. Our guide to confirming photography access before committing to a booking lists what to check.
Approvals matter too. Who approved the budget, the style and the image use? If the earlier approver has left, find the new one, and ask them to confirm. Our page on photography booking records when company ownership or contacts change covers the record-keeping side.
What carries over from a previous supplier?
Do not assume anything does. If a deposit was paid to another provider, or a date was held with them, that arrangement belongs to the earlier relationship. A new photographer starts from your written brief and a new quotation.
If the previous supplier is no longer involved, our guide on what to agree before exchanging a booked photographer for another service explains the points to settle. Any use of earlier images or notes needs the permission of the party who owns them.
Talk to the client
Clients remember promises differently from how they are written down. Ask the client to list, in their words, what they believe has been agreed about photography. Compare it to your audit.
Differences are normal. Resolve them in writing before the event. Do not leave an unresolved difference to appear on site, when the photographer cannot decide between two versions.
A hypothetical example
For example, an agency takes over a client's annual dinner six weeks before the date. The file contains a quotation from another provider, a draft run sheet that does not match the venue's latest floor plan, and a note saying "client wants a group photo of the board".
The agency audits the file. The quotation is firm but belongs to the earlier provider. The run sheet is assumed. The group photograph is unknown: which board members, at what time, with whom. It asks the client to confirm each, collects the venue's passes, writes a one-page brief and sends it to the photographer with the open items listed. The photographer replies in writing with what can be confirmed.
Turning a changing draft into a plan
Many inherited briefs are drafts. Our guide on turning a changing draft programme into a usable photography run sheet shows how to extract a workable plan and mark what is still moving. Keep a log of changes with the photography scope change log, so the next person will not have to repeat your audit.
Records for the next handover
Use the photography brief handover tracker to leave a trail: who supplied what, when it was confirmed and what is still open. If the project changes hands again, this saves the same confusion.
For a related situation, where the agency takes over past galleries rather than a live brief, see an agency inheriting a client's past event galleries.
What to send us
Send what exists, and your best list of firm, assumed and unknown items. We reply in writing with what we need to confirm and what we can state now. If something in the brief looks inconsistent with itself, we say so, so that you can resolve it with the client early.
Checklist
- Collect every document on the brief: emails, run sheets, quotations.
- Mark each item as firm, assumed or unknown.
- Check venue access and passes already arranged.
- Confirm who is now the contracting party and approver.
- Ask the client to confirm what they think was agreed.
- Write a single clean brief and send it to the photographer.
Send us whatever exists of the brief, and tell us what you know has been agreed, and we will tell you in writing what we still need before we can confirm coverage.
Review an inherited photography briefCommon questions
How do we know which parts of the old brief are firm?
Look for written confirmations from the client: emails, signed documents or approved run sheets. Anything only discussed in a call is an assumption until confirmed. Mark each item firm, assumed or unknown, and ask the client or previous owner to confirm the assumed ones.
Do previous supplier arrangements carry over?
Do not assume so. Quotations, deposits and access arrangements were made with a particular party. Check whether they can be transferred, who is the contracting party now and whether the venue or client accepts the change. Our guide on exchanging a booked photographer covers the points to agree.
Can we use the earlier photographer's files or notes?
Only with permission and as the earlier agreement allows. Ask the client and the previous supplier what may be shared. Do not forward earlier files to a new photographer without checking, since they may include images with restricted use.
What if the client expects the same things as before?
Clients often expect continuity. Ask them to list what they believe was agreed, then compare it to what is documented. Differences are better found now than on the event day.
Review an inherited photography brief
Send us whatever exists of the brief, and tell us what you know has been agreed, and we will tell you in writing what we still need before we can confirm coverage.
What happens next: You send your event details on WhatsApp. Our team reads the brief, asks what is missing, then confirms in writing whether the date, venue and coverage can be booked, with a quotation. Opening WhatsApp does not send anything, and a message is not a booking until both sides confirm.
Last reviewed: