Most short films book a stills photographer late, brief them in one line, and then wonder why the images do not look like the film. Half a page sent the week before fixes it. Here is what goes in the half page.

What to send before the day

Three things, and none of them takes long.

The script, or the scenes being shot. I am not going to read it on set, and knowing where the story turns is what tells me which take to be ready for.
The call sheet. Locations, unit moves, who is on which day. If the cast you want in the images is only there on day two, that is the day I should be there.
The look book, or three reference images. If the film is warm and soft, the stills should not come back cool and contrasty. Two minutes of reference saves an argument in the grade.

The three frames every short needs

Whatever else you get, make sure the day produces these.

One frame that works as a poster. A single image, strong enough with no context, that carries the tone of the film. This is the one that goes on the festival submission.
One frame of the director working. Funders, festivals and your own future crew all want to see the person who made it.
One frame of the room. Wide, with the rig in it. This is the image that says a real crew made a real film, and it is the one that ages best.

Everything past that is a bonus. Ask for those three by name and you will get them.

Call time, access and who to tell

Put the photographer on the call sheet. It sounds obvious and it is the single thing most often missed: if the first AD does not know a stills photographer is coming, the first hour is spent explaining rather than shooting.

Give a call time that starts with the crew, not with first team. The setup is where the behind the scenes material is, and arriving after it means arriving after half the story.

Clearances, NDAs and cast approval

The production holds the releases. Cast, crew, extras, anyone under eighteen, and the location owner if the images show a private space. If a cast member has approval over their images, say so before the shoot, not after the gallery lands. The same goes for an embargo date or a closed set.

None of this is difficult, it just has to be decided by someone. On a short film that someone is usually the producer, and usually at eleven at night, which is why it is worth putting in the brief.

What it costs, and what that buys

A stills photographer on a short is not an hourly extra, they are a half day or a full day on the call sheet like anyone else. What you are buying is the day, the selection and the grade, and a gallery you can hand to a festival or a distributor without apologising for it.

Rates for a production day are on the behind the scenes page, and short films and student productions should ask rather than assume: I keep some capacity for projects I want to shoot. If you have one coming up, send me the dates.