Manager Photography Studio Hybrid

David's Bridal•King of Prussia, PA

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Photography Studio Manager plays a critical role in driving the organization’s success by managing operational production logistics for David’s Bridal photography and photo studio asset creation. This position owns photography vendor relationships, crew coordination, shot list and creative production documentation, and end-to-end budget and invoice management across e-commerce, editorial, creative, and social shoots. The role ensures alignment with brand initiatives, partners closely with cross-functional teams, and integrates AI-driven insights to enhance efficiency and cost control.

Requirements

Proven experience managing photography and video production budgets end-to-end, including invoicing, reconciliation, and month-end close.
Demonstrated experience creating and managing shot lists across a range of shoot formats — e-commerce, editorial, social, and video.
Strong negotiation skills with a track record of managing vendor, agency, and freelance relationships.
Ability to prioritize, multi-task, and work autonomously with a high sense of urgency.
Detailed, organized approach to budget tracking, shot list management, and financial reporting.
Effective problem-solving and decision-making skills under shoot-day pressure.
Open to new ideas while also pioneering original concepts; enthusiastic team player with a positive, can-do attitude.
Ability to communicate efficiently and professionally with people at all levels — crew, talent, leadership, and cross-functional partners.
Calm, strong, intuitive presence on set and in cross-functional settings.
Willingness to travel to domestic shoot locations as needed.
Position operates on a hybrid schedule with a strong in-studio presence required – must be available on-site 65-75% of the time to accommodate shoot schedules, production needs, and day-to-day studio operations.

Responsibilities

Build and maintain a roster of external vendors, freelance photographers, videographers, stylists, hair/makeup artists, and production crew — continually sourcing emerging talent with an intuitive understanding of the David’s Bridal brand.
Book and manage hired talent, including contract negotiation, usage and rate agreements, scheduling, and on-set coordination.
Lead talent onboarding including paid talent, Dream Makers, and Friends + Family.
In partnership with Executive Leadership, establish and manage the full photo and video production budget across e-commerce, fashion, still, video, creative marketing, and social shoots — including vendor estimates, crew day rates, props, equipment rentals, locations, travel, retouching support, and post-production costs.
Collect, process, and reconcile all vendor and freelancer invoices and expenses; own the month-end close process for photography production.
Forecast monthly and quarterly production spend based on creative and marketing calendar needs; incorporate AI forecasting tools to estimate costs, flag budget risks early, and identify opportunities for savings and efficiency.
Track actuals against budget on a shoot-by-shoot basis and deliver clear financial reporting to leadership.
Own and manage the budget and invoicing for David’s internal AI Studio, partnering closely with the Photography Director and third-party vendors to ensure all invoices are accurately reviewed, approved, coded, and paid on time.
Oversee daily operations of the David’s Bridal photo studio across fashion, still life, PDP (e-commerce), and video, ensuring sets are ready on time, talent is on set, and shoots run smoothly.
Coordinate schedules for the in-house studio team and all outside talent, including booking travel and transportation for hired crew.
Partner with the Photography Director to streamline studio production and create efficiencies within the PDP and broader photo budgets.
Collaborate with external production companies and creative agencies to support photography initiatives on a project need basis.
Build and communicate comprehensive production schedules for photography and video assets; coordinate creative and product shoots (in-studio and on-location) in partnership with marketing operations, PR/Social, visual styling, merchants, and planning — driven by deliverable timelines and sample availability.
Develop and maintain comprehensive shot lists in collaboration with the Photography Director, outlining coverage requirements, ensuring alignment with campaign goals, seasonal storytelling, and channel-specific deliverable needs.
Organize and distribute call sheets, production schedules, shot lists, and other shoot-related documentation to all relevant crew and stakeholders in advance of each shoot.
Proactively support broader studio operations and step in to assist across functions.
Participate in launch and planning meetings with internal and creative partners and operations team members, bringing a data-informed perspective to the table.
Proactively communicate project and operational challenges, proposing AI-informed solutions to mitigate risks for schedule and budget.