Scouting is half the job. I go back to the location a few days ahead, at the same hours of sun as the shoot date, mark where the wall falls into shade, and time how long it takes to move the fixed lines between sectors. The day plan grows out of that: wide frames when the light is low and raking, product details in the flat hours, portraits when the sun drops behind the ridge.
With brands I work almost always with real athletes, not models. A climber who actually climbs places their feet where feet go, chalks their hands the way it really happens, racks the harness the way people who use the gear rack it. None of that gets fixed in post, and viewers notice even when they cannot say why.
Use the product first, then photograph it
The most common request is to show the garment or the tool "in action". It only works if the action is real: the shell goes on when the wind justifies it, the rope gets loaded, the shoes are laced the way you lace them before pulling onto the route. I would rather photograph the product at the end of the day, with the dust and creases of twelve working hours, than fresh out of the wrapper.
The brand receives a reasoned selection: verticals for stories, horizontals for the website, a few tight details for product pages, and a note on what was shot where, with which athlete and which release. They build the campaign; my job is that every single file stands on its own.