Photo Studio Manager - Services Design, International

Lex; Greater London; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

Apple Music's Visuals Studio in London is seeking a Photo Studio Manager to oversee the day-to-day operations of the photo team at our Battersea studios. You will lead production planning, staffing, scheduling, and equipment coordination, partnering with art directors and cross-functional teams to ensure every shoot runs smoothly.

The role requires a strong production background, hands-on knowledge of how photo productions are managed, and the ability to mentor producers and coordinators while

Qualifications

• Extensive experience in production management at EP/Senior Producer/Studio Manager level within creative settings.
• Proven ability to mentor a team of producers and coordinators across concurrent productions.
• Strong track record in photographer resourcing, freelance staffing and studio scheduling at scale.
• Experience translating briefs into cost-effective production plans with budget oversight.
• Contract/fee negotiation experience with photographers, agents and vendors.

Responsibilities

• Oversee the photo producer and coordinator teams across active productions, ensuring timelines and deliverables stay on track.
• Manage studio photographer resourcing, scheduling and onboarding of new photographers.
• Control use and scheduling of London-based studio spaces, including shoot-day logistics.
• Collaborate with art direction, artist relations, business partnerships and motion teams to integrate processes.
• Track monthly artist visits, captures and performances to inform staffing strategy and resource allocation.
• Advocate for the photo production team in meetings and coordinate image requests and asset delivery.
• Maintain production processes and documentation, updating in real time as needs evolve.
• Serve as main point of contact between internal teams and studio photographers, managing availability and feasibility.

Skills

Production management

Team leadership

Photographer resourcing

Budget management

Studio scheduling

Negotiation

Cross-functional collaboration

Time management

Communication

Job description

Summary

The International Content Design team conceptualises, designs and creates the content experiences for some of Apple’s most visible products. Your ideas can impact the way people consume media products, what they look and feel like and how they’re used by millions of people across the globe.

Description

We have a new opportunity for a Photo Studio Manager to oversee the day-to-day operations of Apple Music's Visuals Studio photo team in London, including production management, photographer resourcing, coordinator oversight, and studio operations at our Battersea studios.

This role sits at the centre of the photo team's operations, overseeing the photo producers and coordinators who run individual shoots, while also managing the dedicated studio photographers, studio space, scheduling, and equipment. You will partner closely with the Visuals Studio art directors, photo producers, motion content teams, artist relations, and business partnerships teams to ensure that every shoot runs smoothly from a production and operational standpoint. You will occasionally support projects across other Services (Podcasts, TV , Maps, etc.) as studio needs arise.

The ideal candidate has a strong production background, ideally as a former Executive Producer, Senior Producer, or Studio Manager at an agency or production company, with hands‑on knowledge of how photo (and ideally music or live event) productions actually run day to day. You know how to resource a team, manage a studio calendar, keep budgets on track, and keep a room full of moving parts calm and on schedule. You are highly organised, an excellent communicator, and comfortable managing people as well as process. You thrive in a fast‑paced, constantly‑changing environment and stay composed under pressure.

Responsibilities

• Oversee and support the photo producer and coordinator team across all active productions, ensuring timelines, workflows, and deliverables stay on track.
• Manage studio photographer resourcing, including scheduling, staffing strategy, and onboarding of new photographers.
• Manage the use and schedule of photo capture spaces across London based studios, including shoot day logistics.
• Partner with cross‑functional teams (art direction, artist relations, business partnerships, motion) to support workflow transitions and integrate the photo team's process into the broader production pipeline.
• Track monthly artist visits, captures, and performances, identifying trends and informing staffing and resourcing strategy.
• Advocate for the photo production team — attending meetings, coordinating image requests, and ensuring timely delivery of assets.
• Track photo approvals and quality‑check decks and links as needed.
• Develop and maintain production processes and documentation, updating in real time as the team's needs evolve.
• Act as a key point of contact between internal teams (show producers, Apple News, Music platform featuring, PR, etc.) and studio photographers, managing communication around availability , timeline feasibility , and deliverables.
• Manage spatial content capture, SOiP efforts, and @apple collaborations captured in the studios.
• Occasionally support studio captures onsite, which may require travel for shoots, events, and new photographer assignment preparation.
• Manage the quarterly photo studio budget, tracking equipment orders, studio bookings and production costs.

Minimum Qualifications

• Extensive experience in production management, ideally at EP, Senior Producer, or Studio Manager level within a creative agency, studio, or in‑house creative team.
• Proven ability to manage and mentor a team of producers and coordinators, overseeing multiple concurrent productions and ensuring consistent standards across them.
• Strong track record managing photographer resourcing, freelance/contract staffing, and studio scheduling at scale.
• Experience translating creative briefs into realistic, cost‑effective production plans, with strong budget management skills.
• Contract and fee negotiation experience with photographers, agents, and vendors.
• Music, entertainment, or live event production experience is highly desirable, given the nature of artist visits and performance‑based capture.
• Ability to build and implement standardised processes and best practices as the team scales across lines of business and expands internationally .
• Excellent project and time management skills, with an organised and systematic approach to documentation, filing, and archiving.
• A calm, proactive, and positive team player who can advocate for the photo team across cross‑functional partners.

Preferred Qualifications

• Ability to provide and present a portfolio or case studies of past productions managed at scale.
• Music, live event, or entertainment production experience is preferred.
• The flexibility to work and partner with colleagues across timezones when required.

At Apple, we're not all the same. And that's our greatest strength. We draw on the differences in who we are, what we've experienced and how we think. Because to create products that serve everyone, we believe in including everyone. Therefore, we are committed to treating all applicants fairly and equally. As a registered Disability Confident employer, we will work with applicants to make any reasonable accommodations. Apple will consider for employment all qualified applicants with criminal backgrounds in a manner consistent with applicable law.

At Apple, we believe accessibility is a fundamental human right. You’ll find that idea reflected in everything here — in our culture, our benefits and our digital tools. By welcoming as many perspectives as possible, we help you build a career where you feel like you belong.

Learn about accessibility in Apple’s workplace

Role Number: 200691191-2114