Live event gallery or an approved post-event collection?

Some hosts want guests, sponsors or colleagues to see photographs while the event is still happening. It adds energy and gives people something to share. It also adds work and risk. The alternative is a collection that appears after the event, once images have been chosen and edited.

This guide is part of our look at choosing photography formats and optional event outputs. It sets out what each route needs, so that you can decide whether speed is worth the effort.

What a live gallery is

A live gallery shows selected images during the event. The photographer, or a helper, picks images, makes quick adjustments and uploads them. Recipients open a link or view a screen.

An approved post-event collection is a set shared after the event. Images are chosen, edited and, where agreed, approved by you before they reach recipients.

Compare them

	Live gallery	Approved post-event collection
Timing	During the event	After the event
Editing	Quick, light	Fuller
Review	Very short, or none	Time to review
Needs	Internet, a person to upload	Time after the event
Main risk	An image appears that should not	Waiting longer

What a live gallery asks of the event

A live gallery depends on several things working at once.

1. Connection. The venue needs reliable internet where uploads happen. Ballrooms and exhibition halls can be poor. Test it in advance.
2. A person. Someone has to select and upload images. If the photographer does it, they are not photographing during that time. Our live-event rolling photo production planner maps the steps.
3. A rule on approval. Decide who can say no, and how fast.
4. A rule on access. Decide who can see the gallery.

Ask us whether a live gallery can be offered for your date. We confirm what is included, including who selects and uploads, in writing.

Privacy and live images

Images shown during an event are seen before anyone has had time to review them. A guest may not want to appear. An image may show a name tag, a document or a screen that should stay private. Our guide on private gallery access and onward sharing explains how access settings work.

Keep the audience as small as the need allows. A closed link for the organising team is simpler than an open one. Our photo sharing and privacy plan helps you decide who sees what.

When live is worth it

Live suits cases where the speed brings real value:

• a sponsor who wants posts during the event;
• a team that shares updates with leadership as the day unfolds;
• a long event where guests enjoy seeing images from earlier.

It suits less well when the value is only novelty, when the venue connection is poor, or when many people must approve each image.

When an approved collection is better

A collection after the event gives time to choose carefully, edit with attention and check privacy. It also means the crew stays focused on photography during the event. If the images are for a report, a website or a family album, the wait seldom matters.

You can combine the two. A small live set for the organiser, followed by a fuller collection after the event, is a common pattern. Our guide on photographer-selected previews or client-selected highlights explains the middle path.

A simple example

Imagine a trade fair over two days with a sponsor who wants social posts during the show. The organiser asks for a live gallery.

We would first ask about internet in the hall. If it is poor, we would suggest a short, scheduled upload from a quieter area near the entrance, and a team chat link for the marketing staff only. A named marketing officer approves images for posting. The full edited collection follows after the fair and is described in the quotation as a separate item.

What about a slideshow?

Showing images on a screen is a related format, with its own needs. See photo slideshow during the event or a later recap for the comparison.

What we confirm in writing

We confirm the date, venue, crew, coverage hours and deliverables. For a live gallery we also record who selects and uploads, who has access and how removal requests are handled. The approved collection is listed as a separate deliverable with its own delivery timeline.

Questions to prepare

• Who needs to see images during the event, and why?
• How reliable is the internet where uploads would happen?
• Who approves live images, and how quickly?
• How will a guest ask for an image to come down?
• What do you want in the final collection?