Why “We Went in Another Direction” Is Rarely the Full Story
The conversations, considerations, and small moments that shape award decisions
One of the hardest parts of being a photographer, or any commercial image maker, is that you almost never feel like you understand the full reason you didn’t get the job.
Most of these decisions are thoughtful and considered, made by people who genuinely want to get it right. Photographers understand that, but the stakes are high. They spend days preparing a treatment. They assemble a production team and build multiple versions of the estimate. They imagine how the shoot will come to life. And, in their mind, they’re already emotionally and creatively inside the job.
Then the email arrives, and most of the time it looks something like this:
Thank you so much for your time. I’m so sorry, but we decided to go in another direction.
And that’s it.
No explanation.
No insight.
Nothing to learn from.
Photographers read that email and immediately start filling in the blanks.
After more than two decades representing commercial artists, I’ve watched this decision process play out hundreds of times; both the excitement of being awarded the job and the disappointment when it goes another way.
As a rep, I see these emails more often than art producers probably realize they’re sending them. And I understand why photographers struggle with them. Because when the only feedback you receive is “we went in another direction,” your mind naturally tries to explain it.
Artists tend to assume they lost because:
• they were too expensive
• their work wasn’t strong enough
• the client liked someone else better
Sometimes those things are true. But very often, they’re not the real reason.
Occasionally, the person delivering the news takes the time to write something more thoughtful. Something like this:
Good morning,
This is honestly the worst part of the job; especially when the work submitted is so strong.
I’m sorry to share that we’ll be moving forward with another artist for this campaign. Please know this was a very difficult decision for the agency and client. Your treatment was excellent and the level of thought, craft, and care that went into the submission did not go unnoticed.
In truth, we didn’t land on a final direction until just a few hours before the client presentation. We knew we had two top-tier options capable of producing an exceptional campaign.
In the end, it came down to a combination of a specific image the other team had in their portfolio and their previous experience with the product category. Everything else; the creative approach, the production plan, and even the bids, were incredibly close.
Thank you for the energy, craftsmanship, and collaboration you brought to the process. We truly appreciated working with you and would absolutely welcome the chance to do so again in the future.
You’re very much on our radar.
Messages like this are generous. They acknowledge the effort and give a bit more context than the typical one-line rejection. But even thoughtful notes like this don’t always reveal the full set of factors that shaped the decision.
When a note like this comes through, I usually forward it to the artist and give them a call. Because while losing the job is disappointing, hearing that the decision was genuinely close matters.
What happens after the presentations
What most photographers don’t see is what happens once the bids and treatments are presented. There’s usually a moment when the creative team and producers gather; sometimes in a conference room, sometimes on a call, and begin talking through the options.
They’re comparing photographers, yes. But they’re also comparing risk, logistics, experience, and confidence.
Someone might say:
“I love their work, but have they handled something this big before?”
Or:
“Their treatment really understood the brief.”
Or sometimes:
“This other photographer already shot something similar for this category.”
These conversations are rarely about a single factor. They’re about which photographer the team feels most confident moving forward with.
From a rep’s seat
As a rep, I sit in a somewhat unusual position. I see the photographer’s side of the process, but I also hear some of the conversations that happen inside agencies once the presentations are over.
And what I’ve learned over the years is this: The final decision almost never comes down to just one thing. It’s usually a mix of confidence, relationships, timing, and how clearly the photographer showed they understood the assignment.
What agencies are actually discussing
Production confidence
Can this photographer handle the scale and complexity of the shoot? Do they have a production team that can manage large crews, tight timelines, and significant budgets?
Agency trust
Has the team worked with them before? Do they know what to expect?
Relationships matter more than ever. It’s almost always easier to continue working with people you trust than to take a chance on someone new.
Risk tolerance
Does this choice feel safe, or does it feel like a gamble?
Advertising productions involve large budgets and tight timelines. Teams naturally lean toward photographers they feel confident betting on.
Creative alignment
Did the photographer’s treatment show they truly understood the brief?
Did they answer the agency’s questions, use the language of the campaign, and offer solutions to the creative challenges?
One of the hardest parts of the process for photographers is that they usually do not have direct access to the client. And while I completely understand why agencies structure things that way, it also means photographers don’t always get the opportunity to fully sell themselves directly.
The client often doesn’t get to experience the artist’s energy, excitement, thought process, or personality firsthand. They may never have the chance to ask questions directly or see how passionate the photographer is about the work.
That’s part of why treatments and creative calls matter so much. In many ways, they have to carry the weight of the relationship before the relationship actually exists.
The creative call
If a creative call is part of the process, it can change everything.
This is often the first time the agency and photographer actually speak. And while everyone says the decision is about the work, the call can play a much bigger role than people realize.
Did the photographer offer creative insights beyond what was written in the treatment?
Did they connect naturally with the team?
Did they demonstrate that they understood the creative challenge?
Just as importantly:
Did the conversation make the team excited about collaborating?
More than once I’ve seen a photographer go into a creative call as the third choice and come out as the recommended one. Because suddenly the agency could imagine what it would feel like to make the work together.
Prior experience
Sometimes another photographer has already shot something similar — the same category, product, or technical challenge.
When everything else is equal, that experience can become the tie breaker.
Timeline confidence
Who can move the fastest if the schedule tightens? Did the photographer demonstrate a clear production plan?
Value
Another factor that can tip the scale is value.
Did the photographer address everything on the shot list?
If something was removed from the estimate, was there a clear explanation?
Sometimes value comes in the form of:
• capturing additional content while the set is already built
• expanded usage flexibility
• alternate crops or formats that help the campaign live across more platforms
• a production approach that stretches the budget further
Agencies are constantly trying to solve the puzzle of how to deliver the most creative impact within the available budget. Photographers who help solve that puzzle stand out.
Ease of collaboration
Sometimes the deciding factor is simply who the team believes will be easiest to work with under pressure.
The exact image
Occasionally the decision really does come down to a single photograph in someone’s portfolio; the one image that makes the client feel confident.
And sometimes…the client decides
Agencies typically present several strong options to the client. Even when the agency has a recommendation, the final decision still belongs to the client.
And when all the options are strong, the deciding factor can be surprisingly small.
And here’s the important thing to understand:
Many of these decisions have very little to do with whether one photographer’s work is objectively “better.”
They have to do with confidence, trust, and perceived risk.
It’s also worth saying that most producers and creatives genuinely wish they could give photographers more detailed feedback. But the reality is that bidding cycles move quickly. Teams are juggling multiple projects, and decisions are often made by groups of people.
Sometimes the person delivering the news wasn’t even in the room when the final decision happened. By the time the award is announced, the team is already moving on to the next production. So feedback is often minimal. That doesn’t make the silence any less frustrating. But it does explain why the explanation is often so short.
I’ve always said — just give me one more sentence. It usually goes a long way.
What photographers can actually control
Photographers can’t control agency politics, existing relationships, timing, or a client’s risk tolerance. But there are a few things that consistently strengthen a photographer’s position in the bidding process.
• A treatment that goes beyond beautiful imagery and clearly addresses the brief.
• A production approach that makes the agency feel supported and confident.
• A clear point of view and creative vision.
• Responsiveness, collaboration, and professionalism throughout the process.
• And perhaps most importantly, the ability to make the agency and client feel excited about what it would be like to create the work together.
None of these things guarantee the award. But they do help build trust. And trust matters in every part of this business.
Why being considered matters
It’s also important to remember that by the time a photographer is bidding a job, they’ve already been chosen out of a much larger field. Most jobs begin with long lists. Then shorter lists. Then conversations about who feels right creatively, strategically, and personally for the project.
By the time an artist is one of the final few being considered, the agency has already invested real time and attention into the possibility of working together. They’ve studied the work. Shared it internally. Talked through treatments and estimates. Spent hours imagining what the collaboration could look like. That matters.Even when the job ultimately goes another way.
Because opportunities like that often become the beginning of future relationships and future awards.
The reality is that many photographers lose jobs they were absolutely capable of doing well.
Sometimes the decision comes down to experience.
Sometimes timing.
Sometimes relationships.
Sometimes a single image in a portfolio that suddenly makes the client feel certain.
And sometimes there simply isn’t a clean explanation.
That’s what makes these decisions so difficult and so personal for the artists involved.
But understanding how the process actually works can at least keep photographers from assuming that losing the job automatically means the work wasn’t good enough. Sometimes it simply means that another team felt like the better fit for that particular moment. And sometimes the same agency that passed on you this time becomes the one that calls first the next time.
Because in this business, familiarity and trust are often built over time, not through a single award decision.
Thanks for restacking!
So well put, Heather. And Dan's imagery illustrate the writing perfectly.