Most revision requests are not caused by poor editing. They come from instructions that were missing or unclear. A short, complete brief helps your retoucher get it right the first time and makes every following order faster.
1. Start with where the images will be used
Tell us the destination: your own website, Amazon, Shopify, a print catalog or social media. Each one has its own size, background and file rules, and knowing it answers many questions at once.2. Give exact output settings
- Size and ratio: for example 2000 × 2000 px, square.
- Format: JPG, PNG with transparency, or PSD with clipping path.
- Background: pure white, transparent or a specific colour code.
- Margins and alignment: how much space around the product, and whether it sits in the centre or on the bottom line.
- Colour profile and file size limits, if your platform has them.
3. Show a reference image
One approved example is worth a page of text. Send an image from your existing catalog, or a competitor’s photo you like, and say what you want to match: shadow, crop, colour or retouching level.4. Say what must not change
Retouchers aim to make products look their best. If some details must stay exactly as they are, such as fabric texture, a logo, natural wrinkles on linen or the true shade of a product, say so clearly.5. Name your files the way you need them back
If your store imports images by SKU, keep the SKU in the file name and ask for the same name on delivery. This avoids hours of manual renaming later.6. Group special requests
If only some images need extra work, such as a colour change or a model retouch, put them in a separate folder with their own note instead of mixing them into the main batch.7. Review the first batch, then lock the rules
For a new project, approve a small first batch before sending the full order. Once you are happy, those settings become your standard brief, and every future order follows the same rules.A brief template you can copy
- Destination:
- Size and ratio:
- Format and background:
- Margins and alignment:
- Shadow:
- Things that must not change:
- File naming:
- Deadline:
