Begin with the destination.
A photograph rarely lives in one place. A website header, a printed page and a portrait social placement ask different things of the same subject. Write those uses down before you decide how tightly to frame.
Make a short placement list with the intended aspect ratio, display size and any text that must share the space. Where the use is uncertain, keep that uncertainty visible in the brief.
Choose what cannot be lost.
Identify the subject’s essential features. It might be the full outline of an object, the relationship between two materials or a detail that explains scale. Test each frame against those priorities.
More surrounding space can create options, but it is not automatically a better composition. A crop that technically contains the subject may still feel cramped or remove useful context.
Test at the size someone will see.
Inspect the proposed image in its actual placement. A small object that reads clearly on a large monitor may disappear in a phone banner. Check the subject, any nearby copy and the surrounding page together.
When formats conflict, a separate photograph may be the useful answer. Record that decision in the scope before production, while there is still time to make it.
A brief checklist
- Where will each image appear?
- Which subject details must remain visible?
- Will copy or controls sit beside the subject?
- Who approves the final crops?
- Do the agreed usage terms cover every placement?