Event photography shot list for conferences and summits

A good event photography shot list is a working document, not a wish list. It turns the conference programme into a set of moments, names and rooms that a photographer can cover in the order they happen. It also makes the conversation with your conference photographer much more precise, because both sides can see exactly what success looks like before anyone arrives at the venue.

Go through the agenda line by line and mark each item as must-have or nice-to-have. A signing between two ministers is a must-have. A coffee break on day two is not. When two sessions run at the same time, the list tells the team where to be. For the wider planning questions, such as team size, timelines and post-event products, see our conference coverage guide. This article focuses on the shots themselves.

The quiet hour before delegates arrive is the only time to photograph the venue cleanly, with the lights on, the branding in place and no clutter on the stage. These images are used for years in reports, websites and the next event's promotion, so they deserve a slot of their own on the list.

Ask the photographer to arrive early enough to cover the list below without rushing, then move to the entrance before the first delegates come in. If a minister or head of agency is expected, agree with protocol staff where the photographer may stand, because arrival points are often closed to everyone else once security is in place.

• Wide shot of the main hall, set and lit, with branding visible
• Stage, lectern and backdrop, straight on
• Registration desk, signage and directional branding
• Exhibition stands and partner displays
• Delegates arriving and collecting badges
• VIP arrivals, positioned with protocol staff in advance

For every speaker, plan at least three images: a tight portrait at the lectern with the event branding behind, a wider frame that shows the stage, and a shot from the side or back of the room that shows the audience listening. The wide shot proves the room was full; the tight shot is the one the speaker's office will ask for.

For panels, cover each panellist speaking, the full panel in one frame and the moderator. Audience reactions, questions from the floor and note-taking are easy to forget and hard to recreate. Give the photographer the list of speakers in running order, with a photograph of each, so that nobody is misidentified in a crowded session.

Formal moments last seconds and cannot be repeated, so they need a plan. Agree where the signing table will sit, which side each signatory will be on, and where the photographer can stand without blocking cameras from the press. The essential frames are the signature itself, the exchange of documents and the handshake turned towards the camera.

For group photos, prepare the order of names from left to right before the event and give it to the photographer and the protocol officer. A riser or steps help when the group is large. Take several frames, because someone will always blink, and photograph the moment just after the pose, when people relax and talk.

The official moments tell people what happened. The candid images show why it mattered. Plan time for breakout sessions, the exhibition area, side events and networking, and ask for natural interaction rather than people looking at the lens. These are often the images that communications teams use most in the months after the event.

Make sure the images reflect who was in the room: women and men, young delegates, different countries and sectors. If you are recording short interviews, add them to the list with a time and a quiet location, and note which speakers have agreed in advance. In our own practice, we treat these interviews as their own small production, separate from session coverage.

Some sessions should not be photographed at all, and others need extra care. When a meeting is held under the Chatham House Rule, the identity and affiliation of speakers and participants may not be revealed, and Chatham House says you cannot take photos or video in the room or post them on social media.¹ Mark these sessions clearly on the shot list so the team does not walk in by mistake.

If children take part, for example in a youth panel or a performance, UNICEF's ethical reporting guidelines ask for permission from the child and their guardian, and say the child's best interests come before any other consideration.² Also agree how delegates who do not want to be photographed will be identified, for instance with a coloured badge or lanyard, and brief every member of the team on it at the start of each day.

A photograph without an accurate caption is hard to use and risky to publish. Agree a caption format before the event: who, what, where and when, with names and titles checked against the programme. Embed it in the file. The IPTC photo metadata standard includes fields such as Creator, Credit Line and Copyright Notice, and Google Images displays these three where they are available.³

When the images go online, each informative photo needs a text alternative. The W3C Web Accessibility Initiative says that images must have text alternatives describing the information they convey.⁴ For short clips and highlight films, add captions, which give people who are Deaf or hard of hearing a text version of the audio.⁵ Finally, agree file names, folder structure and delivery times session by session.

• Programme marked must-have or nice-to-have
• Speaker list with photos and running order
• Venue and branding shots before doors open
• Signing positions and group photo order agreed
• Chatham House and no-photo sessions marked
• Consent plan for children and opt-out delegates
• Caption format and metadata fields agreed
• Delivery times set for each session