Event photography in Dubai: a planning checklist for organisers
What to agree with your event photographer before the night — goals, run of show, access, delivery times and usage — so the images work for months.
Agency Verse··2 min read
Most event photos are taken on the night and forgotten by the weekend. The ones that keep working — on social, in sponsor reports, in next year's sales deck — are planned before the doors open. This is the checklist we run through with organisers before every event.
1. Start with what the images are for
Social posts during the event, a press release the next morning, a sponsor report, the venue's website, next season's tickets. Each needs different frames, sizes and timing. Write the uses down first; everything else follows from them.
2. Share the run of show
- Doors, arrivals and the red carpet or entrance.
- Speeches, awards or the headliner's set times.
- Partner and sponsor moments that must be captured.
- Any VIPs, artists or speakers — with names, so they can be recognised.
3. Agree access and positions
Stage access, the DJ booth, backstage, the VIP area, a raised position for wide shots. Agree them with the venue before the night — it is the difference between a photographer who moves freely and one who waits at the barrier.
4. Decide the delivery time
Next morning or the same day? For headline nights at FIVE we have delivered 150 edited photos by the next morning, and for Anjuna Deep at Bohemia the same day. Fast delivery is possible when it is planned: the edit starts during the event, not after it.
5. Plan for the light
Club lighting, stage LEDs, outdoor golden hour, a dim gala dinner. Tell your photographer what the production looks like so they bring the right kit — and keep the colour of your lighting design instead of flattening it with flash.
6. Formats, credits and usage
- Sizes for social (vertical and square), web and print.
- How the photographer and partners should be credited.
- Who may use the images — the venue, artists, sponsors — and for how long.
7. Think beyond the night
A well-covered event is a library: posts for the weeks after, a recap for the next edition, proof for sponsors. Ask for the full edited set to be organised so your team can find what they need months later.
