Choosing when photographic coverage should start and finish

"How many hours do we need?" is the question that most affects the cost and the content of a booking. The better question is which parts of the day you want to remember. The hours follow from the answer.

This guide is part of our overview of run sheets, priorities and staffing. It compares the three phases of an event and leaves the arithmetic to the coverage hours planner.

Three phases, three kinds of photograph

Most events have a before, a during and an after. Each holds different images.

Phase	What it often contains
Before opening	Decor, empty room, setup, hosts preparing, early arrivals
Main programme	Speeches, rituals, performances, awards, formal groups
After the formal part	Farewells, conversations, informal groups, clear-down

None is better than the others. They suit different priorities.

Before opening

The hour before guests arrive is quiet. Light is easiest to judge, the room is complete and the hosts are often relaxed. Details such as table settings, signage and flowers photograph best now.

Starting earlier also gives the photographer time to walk the venue and meet the contact. Our guide to allowing setup and lighting checks before booked moments explains the value. If you do not need detail images, a later start saves hours.

The main programme

This is the core of most bookings. Key moments cluster here, and many are fixed. A ceremony, a ribbon cutting or a speech does not wait.

Check the programme for gaps. Some events have long stretches with little to photograph, such as a plated dinner. Our guide to planning breaks during an event with no obvious interval explains how crews rest, and coverage with a long unpaid-looking gap covers cost questions around gaps.

After the formal part

When the programme ends, guests relax. Conversations lengthen, families gather and hosts say goodbye. These photographs are often warm and unposed.

Not every event needs them. A conference may end exactly when the last session does. A wedding or family dinner may have its best moments afterwards. Decide which applies to you.

Choose the shortest window that holds your priorities

A simple method works well.

1. List the moments you would regret missing.
2. Find the earliest and the latest.
3. Add time for arrival, setup and a small buffer.
4. Check whether the window includes anything you do not need.

The priority photograph list builder helps with step one. If the window is long and the middle is quiet, consider two blocks. Our guide to choosing between ceremony-only and whole-day wedding coverage shows the same logic applied to a wedding.

Travel and several places

If the event moves between venues, travel time counts. A drive of thirty minutes is thirty minutes of the booking, unless the plan says otherwise. Add it to the window, and check the access times for each place.

If the programme overruns

Programmes often run late. Decide in advance what happens: does the crew stay, and how is extra time arranged? Our guide to understanding overtime and extended event coverage costs explains the questions to ask. Whether extra time is available depends on the crew's schedule, and we confirm this in writing.

A hypothetical example

Imagine a charity dinner. Doors open at 6.30pm, speeches begin at 7.30pm, awards are at 9pm and the formal part ends at 9.45pm. The organiser values the empty ballroom, the awards and the guests mingling afterwards.

A window from 5.45pm to 10.30pm holds all three: setup and details before doors, the awards, and the last conversations. If the organiser dropped the mingling, the window could end at 10pm. This is an illustration only.

Questions to ask yourself

• Which moments would we regret missing?
• Does the venue allow early access?
• Do the best moments come after the formal part?
• Is a split into two blocks sensible?
• What happens if the event runs late?

What we confirm

We confirm date, venue, crew, deliverables and quotation in writing, including the start and finish times and the overtime arrangement. If the window leaves out a moment you care about, we tell you before you decide.