Sharing images with a supplier who was not part of the booking

After an event, suppliers often ask for photographs. A florist wants pictures of the arrangements. A caterer wants images of the buffet. A printer wants files for a banner. A venue wants images for its website. Each request sounds small, and most come with good intentions. Each also asks you to hand images to someone who was not part of the original arrangement.

This page belongs to our guide to event photography privacy and image use. It looks at requests from individual suppliers; our page on sharing event images with sponsors, venues and other suppliers covers the wider picture of partners with a role in the event.

Why is this not routine delivery?

Routine delivery sends the gallery from the photography team to the person who booked. The purpose, the audience and the terms were agreed at booking. A supplier's request creates a new route. The recipient is new, the purpose may be new, and the people in the photographs were not told.

Treating it as a new use gives you time to ask questions. It also protects the supplier, who may not realise that the images include guests who would not want to be in an advertisement.

Five questions to ask the supplier

1. What is the purpose? Reference, portfolio, website, social media, printed material, advertising.
2. Which images? All, a set of images of their work, or images with people.
3. How long? A one-time use or an open period.
4. Where? Their own channels, a client presentation, a competition entry.
5. Who handles the files? The supplier alone or other parties such as an agency.

Answers that are vague or broad are worth narrowing before you agree. A request for "the whole gallery to use as we like" is rarely the same as "three images of our flowers for our website".

Check your own terms and the rights

Your booking terms may say who can use the photographs and for what. Copyright and permission to use are different questions; see our page on copyright ownership and permission to use event photographs. If you are not sure what you can pass on, ask the photography team before replying. Our page on image-handling responsibilities across agencies and partner photographers shows how rights can sit with more than one party.

Also consider the people shown. Guests who agreed to a record of the event for the organiser did not necessarily agree to feature in a supplier's marketing. If the images show recognisable guests, children or restricted subjects, choose images of the work only, such as the table setting without faces.

A worked example

For example, a couple holds a 200-guest wedding reception. Their florist writes after the event and asks for "all the photos" for her portfolio. The couple ask the photography team what their terms allow. The team confirms the position in writing.

They reply to the florist with a smaller offer: five images of the flower arrangements without guests in frame, for her website and social media, credited to the photographer, with no use in paid advertising. The florist agrees. The couple send the five files through a private link that closes after a week, and keep a short note of the agreement. Nobody's guests have appeared in a business advertisement, and the florist has what she needs.

If the request is for advertising

Paid advertising is a different and more sensitive use. It can make a guest appear to endorse a product. Treat it as a separate agreement that needs its own approvals; see our page on using recognizable event photographs in paid advertising. For sponsors who want evidence of their presence, our guide on sponsor evidence that reflects what happened offers a more suitable route, and the sponsor photography checklist helps organise the request.

Record what you agreed

A short email is enough: the supplier, the images, the purpose, the period and any limits. If the supplier later wants a new use, they ask again. Keep the note with your assignment records; our photo sharing and privacy plan can hold it. Where the supplier's request involves a contract or legal obligations, ask a qualified adviser to review the wording.