Pitch visuals should be relevant to the client's event, cleared for this use and credited to whoever made them. Do not present borrowed images as your own or as the work of the photographer you propose. If an image comes from another event or supplier, label it as a reference. If you have no suitable work, use a written plan instead of a misleading picture.
A pitch has to show a client what the event could look like. Photography is the quickest way to do that, and so there is a pull towards using the most striking images available, whoever made them and wherever they came from. That pull is where problems start.
This page is part of our overview of agency and recurring event-photography commissions.
What is the pitch trying to prove?
Start with the client's question, not your image library. A hotel group planning an awards night wants to know that a photographer can work in a ballroom with mixed light and a tight programme. A technology client planning a launch wants to see how speakers, products and the audience are handled.
List what the pitch needs to show. Typical items are the scale of the event, the type of room, the pace of the programme and the kind of images the client will receive. Then choose visuals that answer those points. A beautiful portrait from a wedding does not answer a question about a conference.
What counts as genuinely relevant work?
Relevant work is similar in type, setting and demands to the client's event. It does not have to be identical. A smaller dinner can illustrate how table moments are handled, and a different venue can show comparable lighting.
If your own team or the proposed photographer has work that matches, use that. If not, say so. A pitch that is honest about the gap and offers a clear plan tends to read better than one that stretches a loose match.
Permission comes before use
An image existing is not permission to use it. Event images may contain guests, children, staff or confidential content. The original agreement may limit use to the client's own purposes. Pitching is a new use.
Before including an image, confirm in writing that it may be used in this pitch. Our guide to agreeing whether photographs may appear in a portfolio explains the logic, and the page on personal, internal, press and advertising uses of photographs shows why the purpose matters. If an image was made for another client, that client's agreement may also matter.
Attribution: who made these images?
Be exact about who made each image. Our guide to checking who actually made the portfolio photographs is written for buyers, and the same standard applies to agencies presenting work to their own clients.
Three situations come up:
| Image source | How to present it |
|---|---|
| Made by the proposed photographer, and cleared | Credit by name, state the event type |
| Made by another photographer or supplier | Label as a reference, credit if agreed |
| Stock or generated imagery | Say so, and do not imply it is from a real event |
If you are proposing a specific photographer, avoid wording that implies they made every image on the page. If you are proposing our team, we will tell you in writing which images you may attribute to us.
A hypothetical example
For example, an agency pitches to a bank for an annual dinner for 400 guests. It has a reference gallery from an earlier dinner that it produced, photographed by a freelancer. The agency wants three images in the pitch.
It asks the freelancer in writing whether the images may be used in a pitch, and removes one frame where a guest's face is clearly shown. In the deck, the images are captioned as reference photography from a previous dinner, with the photographer's name. A separate slide sets out the coverage plan proposed for the bank's event. The client sees both what has been done and what is being offered.
What to say when you have little to show
A written coverage plan can carry a pitch. It should say which moments will be covered, how many photographers are proposed and why, how images are reviewed and how they are delivered. Our photographer portfolio review worksheet shows the questions a client may ask, so you can answer them in advance.
Avoid inflated claims such as numbers of past events or named clients unless they are verified and cleared. If you cannot support a statement with a record, leave it out.
After the pitch
If the pitch succeeds, the images used remain a reference, not a promise of style. Clients sometimes expect the delivered gallery to look exactly like the pitch images. Explain that the event itself, its light and its people will shape the result.
If you want to use the final event images later in your own case studies, agree that at the booking stage. See photography for an agency's own event case study for how to plan it, and the shared guide on photographs in partner case studies and event-success claims for the cautions on wording.
What to send us
Tell us the client's event type, the scale and what the pitch must show. We can talk through the coverage plan, the images that would be useful and the credits that would apply. We confirm in writing what you may use, and for which pitch, before it goes to the client.
Checklist
- List what the client needs to see: type of event, scale, setting, style.
- Choose images that match that need, not just the best-looking ones.
- Confirm in writing that each image may be used in a pitch.
- Credit the real photographer, and label reference images as such.
- Check for identifiable guests, children or confidential content.
- Keep a record of what was shown to which client.
Tell us what the pitch needs to show and which of our images, if any, you would like to reference, and we will say in writing what you may use and how it should be credited.
Ask what pitch images you can useCommon questions
Can we use images from a past client's event in our pitch?
Only if you have the right to, and the use is covered by the original agreement and any client or guest restrictions. Many event images are not cleared for pitches. Ask the photographer and the original client in writing before using them, and keep the reply.
How should we label images that are not ours?
Label them clearly as reference images, with the photographer's name where agreed and the type of event. A short line such as 'Reference: conference photography by [name]' is enough. Avoid wording that suggests your agency or your proposed photographer made them.
Can the photographer share a few images for the pitch?
Ask us. Whether any image from a past assignment can be shown depends on the people in it and on what was agreed for that event. We confirm in writing which images you may use, for which pitch and for how long.
What if we have no relevant images at all?
Describe the approach instead: the coverage plan, the shot list, the delivery format and the review steps. A clear plan is more honest than a mismatched picture, and clients can usually judge it. You can also propose a short briefing call with the photographer.
Ask what pitch images you can use
Tell us what the pitch needs to show and which of our images, if any, you would like to reference, and we will say in writing what you may use and how it should be credited.
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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