Before sending anything, find out who at the client is authorised to approve the selection, and compare their instruction with the agency's brief. Deliver the approved version only. If two people at the client disagree, ask the agency to get one decision from the client's named approver. Do not send different edited versions or an open gallery to settle a disagreement.
Delivery should be the easy part. The photographs are edited, the selection is agreed, and the agency sends the gallery. Sometimes, though, two people at the end client ask for different images, or one asks for changes that the other rejects. The agency is then holding files and instructions that do not match.
This page is part of our guide to agency and recurring event-photography commissions. It covers what to do before anything is sent.
Why do selections conflict?
Different people want different things from the same event. A communications manager may want candid moments. A director may want formal photographs of leadership. A sponsor-facing team may want images with logos visible. Each may send the agency a list, and the lists do not agree.
Conflicts are also created by timing. A second person sees the gallery later and changes the view. Our guide to agreeing photography priorities with several decision-makers looks at preventing this before the event.
Start with facts
Before deciding anything, lay out what you have:
| Question | Record |
|---|---|
| Who sent each instruction? | Name, role, date |
| Is that person authorised to approve? | Yes, no or unknown |
| What does the original brief say? | |
| What did the agreement say about the approver? |
This turns an argument into a comparison. Often the table shows that only one instruction came from the approver, or that the original brief already answers the question.
Who is authorised?
The approver should be named in the agreement or confirmed in writing. If recurring work has seen approvers change, see recurring assignments with changing end-client approvers. If it is still unclear, the agency asks the client to nominate one.
The photographer should not guess. It is the agency's job to bring one decision back from the client. Until then, the last approved version stands.
Avoid the shortcut of sending everything
When instructions clash, the easy response is to send both versions or open a gallery for everyone. That passes the problem to the client's team and can create new ones. The wrong person may see or share images that were not approved for them. Two competing versions may circulate, and nobody knows which is final.
Our guide to how event photographs are selected for the delivered gallery explains normal selection, and requesting routine selections and agreed revisions covers how change requests are handled.
A worked example
For example, an agency delivers photographs of a 300-guest regional conference. The client's marketing manager asks for images featuring speakers. The client's regional director, separately, asks for images showing sponsors. The two lists overlap but several images are in one list only.
The agency compares the instructions with the brief, which named the marketing manager as approver for the selection. The agency tells the director that selections go through the marketing manager and asks the manager to include the sponsor images they consider appropriate. The photographer delivers the final selection to the approver only. The sponsor set is released to the right recipients afterwards, under the approved plan.
Keep the record
Record who decided what and when. The image-use and approval register is a convenient place to do this. If a disagreement resurfaces later, the record shows the instruction, the decision and the delivery.
After delivery, our photo delivery acceptance checklist helps the client confirm what arrived.
When requests arrive during the event
Conflicting instructions can also start on the day. Our page on direct requests from the end client during an agency commission describes the approval path that prevents the photographer from being drawn into them.
What we confirm with you
We confirm in writing the approver we are working to, the selection we deliver and the recipients. If instructions conflict, we hold delivery of the contested images, tell the agency what is waiting for a decision, and proceed once we have a single instruction from the approver.
Checklist
- Collect every selection instruction received, with the sender and date.
- Compare each with the original brief and the agreed approver.
- Ask the agency to obtain one decision from the client's named approver.
- Hold delivery of contested images until the decision arrives.
- Send only the approved selection to the authorised recipients.
- Record the decision, who made it and the date.
Send us the selection instructions you have received and who gave them, and we will confirm in writing what we deliver and to whom, once the client's approver has decided.
Resolve our selection requestCommon questions
Can we send both versions and let the client choose?
It may seem easy, but it can cause problems if the two recipients are in disagreement or if one of them was not meant to see the other's choices. Check who is authorised and what each is entitled to see before sending anything.
Who decides when two client contacts disagree?
The named approver in the agreement. If none is named, the agency asks the client to nominate one. The photographer should not decide between competing instructions from the client side.
What if the instruction conflicts with the original brief?
Point out the difference to the agency and ask which applies. Briefs change, but a change should come from someone with authority and be recorded. Until then, follow the last approved version.
Do we deliver an open gallery so everyone can pick?
Be careful. An open gallery lets many people see and share images that may not all be approved. Prefer a controlled selection that the named approver signs off, then release it to the right recipients.
Resolve our selection request
Send us the selection instructions you have received and who gave them, and we will confirm in writing what we deliver and to whom, once the client's approver has decided.
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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