Creative Director (Original Photography) - Services Design, International

Apple

About The Position

The International Content Design team conceptualises, designs, and creates content experiences for Apple products. Based in London, the Creative Director will lead Original Photography, set its visual direction, and oversee the operational work required to deliver it. The role combines creative leadership with hands-on responsibility for production, budgets, scheduling, and cross-functional delivery. It focuses on authentic, story-driven photography that captures real moments and remains effective across international markets, apps, and formats. The Creative Director will lead, evaluate, and develop a team of Photo Art Directors and Producers, while partnering with Design, Brand, Finance, Business Affairs, and Production Ops. The role will also help streamline processes, scale the photography function, improve on-set and post-production workflows, and contribute to studio-wide culture, process, and innovation initiatives. The position includes investigating how AI can support efficiency and creativity without compromising the quality or authenticity of original photography.

Requirements

Proven experience as a creative leader in photography or a visually driven discipline.
A track record demonstrating a journalistic, story-first visual sensibility and fluency in cultural and aesthetic trends.
Extensive experience managing and developing a team of art directors and/or producers, or similar creative or production teams.
Demonstrated ability to own budgets and operational processes, as well as creative output.
Ability to partner with Brand, Design, Finance, Business Affairs, and Production Ops, and communicate effectively about both creative and operational matters.
Hands-on experience leading performance management and workload planning.
Experience establishing or scaling a creative function’s operating model, standards, or team structure.
Experience building or maintaining a visual system at scale across multiple markets or product lines.
A strong creative point of view balanced with a collaborative approach to incorporating brief and business requirements.
Experience improving processes or adopting tools for on-set and post-production workflows.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor’s degree in a related field, or equivalent practical experience.

Responsibilities

Serve as the organisation’s leading voice on photography trends, emerging aesthetics, and cultural shifts, translating insights into clear creative direction.
Define a strategic point of view across projects, grounded in line-of-business insights and design principles.
Partner with Design to interpret the brand vision and give creative direction and feedback on original photography, maintaining design intent, scalability, and clarity.
Translate business needs into visuals that capture real moments and tell a story.
Build and maintain a scalable visual system across geographies, apps, and formats.
Lead, evaluate, and develop Photo Art Directors and Producers, raise the quality of their work, and delegate according to team capacity.
Oversee photography project budgets and partner with Finance, Business Affairs, and Production Ops to streamline processes, scaling, and budgeting.
Investigate how AI is changing photography and use it to improve efficiency and creativity without compromising the quality or authenticity of original work.
Explore tools that improve on-set and workflow efficiency, and contribute to studio-wide initiatives involving culture, processes, and innovation.
Manage performance and workload planning.
Establish or scale the creative function’s operating model, standards, and team structure.