Each extra version is additional preparation, approval and packaging work, even when the source photographs are the same. Decide who needs which version, what each must look like and who approves it. Then ask the quotation to state which versions are included and how further ones are priced.
The same photograph often has several lives. It may appear on a website, in a printed report, on a social post, in a presentation and in a partner's newsletter. Each use has its own requirements for size, format and sometimes branding.
This page belongs to our guide to event photography prices and quotation planning. It looks at how multiple versions affect the work and how to budget for them.
What does it mean to deliver several versions?
A version is a copy of an image prepared for a specific purpose. It may differ in resolution, crop, file type, colour treatment or added elements such as a logo or caption.
The source photograph stays the same. The effort lies in preparing, checking and packaging each version correctly. With a few images and one extra version, the effort is small. With hundreds of images and several versions, it adds up.
Which differences create work?
Different differences create different amounts of work.
| Difference | Typical work involved |
|---|---|
| Resolution | Resizing and export; low effort when standard |
| File type | Export in a different format; low effort when standard |
| Crop or aspect ratio | Reframing each image; moderate, needs a decision per image |
| Colour treatment | Adjustment for a medium or brand; moderate |
| Logo, frame or caption | Applying brand assets; moderate to high, needs approval |
| Naming and folder structure | Organising by recipient; moderate for large sets |
The table is a general prompt, not a statement about any supplier's method. Our photograph print size calculator helps you work out the resolution needed for a print use, and the portrait format and crop brief may help when portraits need specific crops.
Who approves what?
Every branded or cropped version needs someone to check it. If an image is cropped for a banner and the crop cuts through a person's head, someone must catch it. If a logo is placed in the wrong position, someone must say so.
Decide in advance who approves each type. For branded variants, this is typically the person responsible for brand standards. Without an approver, the supplier guesses, and rounds of correction follow. Our guide to proofs, selection rounds and additional editing explains how review rounds affect cost.
How do you keep distribution clear?
Name one person on your side to receive the files and pass them on. If the supplier is asked to deliver separately to several teams, ask whether that is included and how it works. Each separate delivery is additional coordination.
A simple folder structure helps. For example, one folder per recipient, with the versions for that recipient inside. Ask the supplier whether that structure is included in the delivery. Our corporate photography deliverables planner is designed for this kind of mapping.
A hypothetical example
For example, imagine a hypothetical company event with three recipients. The communications team needs web-sized images for the website and social media. The sales team needs a set for presentations in a widescreen crop. A partner organisation needs a small selection with its own logo applied.
The coordinator lists each need, the number of images and the approver. The quotation then states: a master gallery of edited images, a web-sized set, a widescreen set of a stated number of images, and a branded set for the partner, with the partner's logo supplied by them and approved by the coordinator. Further variants are requested through the coordinator and priced before work starts. Each recipient receives the right version without a flurry of reissued files.
How does image use link to versions?
Different versions often mean different uses, and different uses may need different permissions. A partner receiving branded images, for example, is a use that the quotation should cover. Our guide to using event photographs for business and reporting explains common cases, and the image-use and approval register helps you track which version is cleared for which use.
What about optional extras?
If you want albums or prints in addition to digital versions, these are separate. Our guide to optional retouching, albums and print costs covers how they are specified and priced.
What to ask the supplier
- Which versions are included in the quotation?
- How are further versions requested and priced?
- Who supplies the brand assets, and in what format?
- Who approves branded or cropped versions, and by when?
- How are files named and organised for each recipient?
- Can you deliver directly to several recipients, and is that included?
When we prepare a quotation, we ask who needs the photographs and in what form, and we state the versions included, the approval step and the way further variants are requested.
Checklist
- List every recipient and what they need the photographs for.
- Choose the sizes, formats and file types for each.
- Decide whether any version needs a logo, frame or caption.
- Name who supplies brand assets and who approves the result.
- Ask which versions the quotation includes.
- Ask how later variants are requested, priced and delivered.
Tell us who needs the photographs and in what form. We will state the versions included in the quotation, and how any further variant is prepared, approved and delivered.
Plan photo versions for each recipientCommon questions
Is a different size just a button click?
Resizing is straightforward, but a version for a specific use often involves cropping, colour checks, file naming and review. The effort rises with the number of images and the number of versions. Ask how the supplier treats each type.
What is a branded variant?
A version with a logo, frame, caption or template applied. It needs a design file or guidelines from you, and someone to approve the result. Ask who supplies the brand assets and who signs off.
Who decides which version goes to whom?
Agree one person on your side to manage distribution. The supplier delivers to the nominated contact, who passes versions to each team or partner. This avoids sending the wrong version to the wrong recipient.
Can I request more versions after delivery?
Usually yes, but it is extra work and may be priced separately. Ask in advance how later requests are handled, what information is needed and how long they take.
Plan photo versions for each recipient
Tell us who needs the photographs and in what form. We will state the versions included in the quotation, and how any further variant is prepared, approved and delivered.
What happens next: You send your event details on WhatsApp. Our team reads the brief, asks what is missing, then confirms in writing whether the date, venue and coverage can be booked, with a quotation. Opening WhatsApp does not send anything, and a message is not a booking until both sides confirm.
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