Problems with event coverage rarely start on the day. They start weeks earlier, when nobody agreed what the photos and video were for, who had to be captured, or when the first images were due. On the day itself, the crew can only work to the brief they were given.
This guide lists what to agree with your production team before the event, roughly in the order you will need it. Most of it fits on two pages, and every item saves a conversation during the event, when there is no time for one.
Agree what the coverage is for
Start with the purpose, because it decides the crew, the formats and the deadlines. Most events serve more than one of these, so rank them:
- A news release: a small set of strong, clean images of the key moment and the main speakers, delivered within hours, with names and titles for the captions.
- Social media: vertical and square formats, short clips, moments of atmosphere and a quick turnaround while the event is still happening.
- Internal use: people, teams and leadership, for internal communications, presentations and reports.
- The archive: a complete, well-labelled record at full quality, for uses nobody has thought of yet.
A crew briefed for the archive works differently from one briefed for same-day social media. If you need both, say so, and expect the crew and the budget to reflect it.
The shot list, the key moments and the people
Build the shot list
Split the shot list into must-haves and nice-to-haves. Must-haves are the moments you cannot recreate: the opening, the keynote, an award, a signing, a product reveal, the group photograph. Nice-to-haves include venue and branding shots, details such as décor, food and signage, and audience reactions. Mark the must-haves clearly so the crew knows what takes priority when two things happen at once. Our event photography checklist covers the photographic side in more detail.
Share a list of VIPs and speakers, with photos
Give the crew a list of the people who must be photographed, with names, titles and a recent photo of each, so they can recognise them in a crowded room. Note any pairings that matter, such as a guest of honour with your chief executive, and the order of protocol. On the day, ask someone from your team who knows the guests to stay near the lead photographer during the key moments and point people out.
Crew, positions and access
Crew size and positions
Crew size follows the brief rather than the guest list. One photographer can cover a small reception well. A conference with parallel sessions, photo and video at the same time, or same-day editing needs more people, because one person cannot be in two rooms, or shoot and edit at once. Agree what the crew will wear, too: usually dark, discreet clothing that suits the formality of the event, so they blend in rather than stand out.
Agree the positions in advance: a central position at the back for wide shots and speeches, side positions for speakers and audience reactions, and whether the crew may work in front of the stage between speakers. Everyone should know where the crew will be, and that no guest's view will be blocked. If you can, invite the crew lead to the site visit or the rehearsal, so they can check the light, sightlines and power points before the day.
Access, accreditation and stage rules
Send the crew's names for passes well before the day, and confirm which areas they can enter: backstage, VIP areas, speakers' rooms and loading bays. Agree arrival time, parking and where equipment can be stored safely. Set stage rules too: whether the crew may go on stage during speeches, where cables can run, and which positions are safe for ladders or raised platforms. If you want aerial footage, check which permits and approvals apply with the venue and the relevant authorities well in advance.
Timing, deliverables and formats
Work from the run of show
Give the crew the run of show and walk them through the moments that matter. They need to know when each key moment happens, where it happens and who is involved, and they need to hear about changes as soon as you do. One named contact who can reach the crew throughout the day prevents missed moments. If your running order is still loose, our guide to building a run of show will help.
Same-day deliverables versus the final edit
Separate what you need during the event from what can wait. Same-day deliverables might be a small selection of edited photos within hours of the key moment and a few short clips for social media. The final delivery comes later: the full edited gallery, a highlights film and full recordings of sessions if you need them. For each, agree how many items, in what form and by when.
Same-day delivery needs its own set-up: an editor working on site or nearby, a quiet workspace with power and a reliable internet connection, and a clear handover of cards or files from the photographers. Agree, too, who will publish the content, so the images are not sitting in a folder while the moment passes.
Formats and specifications
Describe how each deliverable will be used, and let the production team translate that into specifications. Photos usually need high-resolution files for print and smaller versions for the web. Video needs the right aspect ratio for each channel, such as 16:9 for screens and websites and 9:16 for vertical social formats, plus decisions on subtitles, lengths and file types.
Agree the look as well: a natural or a more stylised edit, with images from different photographers edited to match. For the highlights film, agree whether it includes titles, name captions, your logo and music, and check that any music can be used on every channel you plan to publish on.
Sensitivities and branding
Some things are best settled before the crew meets a single guest:
- People who prefer not to be photographed: agree a discreet way to identify them, such as a different lanyard colour, and make sure the whole crew knows it.
- Prayer times: avoid photographing people at prayer, and plan the schedule and the crew's own breaks around prayer times.
- Children: agree how children will be handled. The safe default is to avoid close, identifiable shots unless a parent or guardian has agreed, and to take advice on releases before anything is published.
- Cultural sensitivities: agree how to photograph senior guests and mixed groups respectfully, and which moments or areas are private.
Let guests know in advance that photography and filming will take place, on the invitation and on signs at the entrance, and tell them whom to speak to if they would rather not appear.
Branding needs the same forethought. Tell the crew where the logo walls, backdrops and lectern signs are, which sponsors must appear, and which angles keep them in frame. Check the backdrop behind the speaker, because it will appear in almost every shot of the stage.
Sound, backup and data handling
For video, clean audio matters more than most people expect. Arrange with the audio-visual supplier for the crew to take a feed directly from the sound desk for speeches and panels, and test it at rehearsal. A camera microphone should record the room as well, for atmosphere and as a backup.
Ask how the photos and footage will be protected. Good practice is to record to two cards at once where the equipment allows it, copy everything to two separate drives on site before any card is reused, and keep those drives in different places. Images of guests are personal information, so agree who can access the files, how they will be shared and how long they will be kept.
Approvals and delivery
Decide who approves images before publication, and keep it to one person with the authority to say yes. Same-day content cannot wait for a committee. Agree what must never be published, such as a particular guest or area, and how quickly the approver will respond. For edited films, agree the number of review rounds, and send feedback as one consolidated list with timings from the video, rather than as several separate emails.
Then agree how everything will be delivered:
- Links to shared folders, with a note of how long they will stay active.
- A folder structure by day, session or moment, with selected images kept separate from the full set.
- A file-naming pattern that includes the date, the event and the session, so files still make sense after they are downloaded.
- A named person on each side responsible for delivery and for confirming receipt.
Most of this fits into a short coverage brief that you send once and refer to on the day. If you would like a team that works from a brief like this, you can see how ARZO approaches event coverage on our multimedia page, or request a proposal for your next event.
