A photography handoff, not a website-build service
A musician's website needs pictures that fit its placements and carry their context. This guide covers the concert photographer's image handoff to a musician or independent designer. Practical Photo Notes does not build websites, accept bookings or supply an owned image archive.
Before exporting, ask which placements are required: a wide header, a portrait biography image, press downloads, a live gallery or small thumbnails. Ask for the intended displayed dimensions, responsive crops and file-size limits. One full-resolution photograph is not automatically the best delivery for every placement.
Make a placement sheet
Placement | Information to request | Photo decision |
|---|---|---|
Wide header | Desktop and mobile proportions; text position | Protect performer and instrument; leave usable text space |
Biography | Portrait or square treatment | Choose a crop that remains recognizable at small size |
Press download | Required dimensions and caption/credit | Keep an identified delivery file with its rights summary |
Gallery | Ordering, captions and maximum file size | Deliver a consistent series with individual file identities |
Thumbnail | Smallest display and crop behaviour | Check whether the intended subject survives |
Treat those rows as a brief, not a requirement for one particular platform. Ask the designer what the implementation uses; do not guess export dimensions from a generic rule.
Deliver metadata and a plain index
The IPTC Photo Metadata standard covers descriptive, administrative and copyright information. Embed the fields your workflow supports, then deliver an accompanying index so a recipient can still identify the work if a later tool strips metadata.
Index field | What to include |
|---|---|
Filename and version | Exact delivered filename |
Subject and event | Verified performer, event, venue and date as appropriate |
Caption | Factual context, with uncertain facts left unresolved |
Credit | Agreed creator or agency credit |
Rights reference | The agreement and permitted placements |
Do not label sample names or dates as a real commission. If you provide a sample index to explain the format, mark it illustrative and replace every value before delivery.
Verify permission separately from file delivery
A supplied JPEG is not itself the agreement that sets its uses. Identify who can authorize the image and record the intended website, press, paid-ad or other placements. For US background, the Copyright Office's photographer guidance explains the protected work and rights; the actual agreement and applicable law determine the particular handoff.
Keep access rules separate too: permission to photograph a show does not automatically settle every later use. Resolve unclear terms with the appropriate rights holder before publishing a campaign.
Review the implemented result
Ask for the actual staging page. At desktop and mobile widths, check the crop, the performer under any text overlay, the caption and credit, and whether the download matches the approved file. Check exported metadata rather than assuming every tool retains it. This is an acceptance routine for your project, not a test of a website performed here.
Use the concert caption worksheet for the factual index and the delivery-turnaround guide to agree batches and clock times. Keep the final files, index, rights record and approval together. Sources checked 26 October 2026.
