Treat the showcase as a presentation of learning, not a display of employers' work. Agree with the programme and the host companies which projects, slides and names may appear, and photograph students presenting rather than the confidential material itself. Then deliver in two steps, so the programme can check images before release.
A placement showcase brings together students, programme staff and representatives of the companies that hosted them. The students present what they did and learned, often with slides, posters or short demonstrations. The programme wants a record that shows the quality of the placements. The companies want to be treated fairly and not to see sensitive material end up in a newsletter.
These aims fit together if they are agreed early. This page sets out how.
What is the showcase actually presenting?
Placement showcases vary a great deal. Some are short talks in a lecture room. Others are poster sessions in a hall, with students standing by their boards while visitors circulate. Some include a panel of employers or a small awards segment.
Write down which format yours is. Then separate two things: what the student learned, which is the subject of the showcase, and the host company's work, which is background. The first is the programme's to present. The second may belong to someone else.
Whose information is on show?
During a placement, a student may handle client data, internal process, unreleased products or financial figures. Even a clean-looking slide can show these. Ask the placement office to give students clear guidance on what may be presented, and to mark slides or posters that include company material.
Our guide to photographs that show confidential business information explains how readable detail can slip into an image, and what to do about it. For our part, we photograph students presenting and avoid close, legible images of slides unless the programme tells us they are cleared.
Which images does each party need?
| Party | What they usually need | Care needed |
|---|---|---|
| The programme | Evidence of learning, students presenting, the overall event | Student and company approvals |
| Students | A clear image of themselves with their poster or talk | Personal use is usually simple, publication is not |
| Host companies | Images of their intern, or the event, for their own communication | Their own rules and the programme's agreement |
Our guide to photographs in partner case studies and event-success claims is helpful if the programme intends to use the images to promote placements. It shows how to describe results accurately.
A hypothetical example
For example, imagine a showcase with 40 students from a business programme, a poster hall, three-minute talks and about 15 employer visitors. The placement office has told students to avoid client names on posters, and marked six posters as restricted. A plan could cover the welcome, the talks, students at their posters with legible images only for cleared ones, and a group photograph of students and employer visitors who agree. The first-stage gallery goes to the placement office, which checks it before sharing with the faculty.
What to tell the photographer
Share the programme, the poster plan or room layout and the names of the host companies. Tell us which visitors are from industry and whether any of them prefer not to be photographed. Name the person who will answer questions on the day. Our event photography brief builder collects these details in one place.
How does this affect the booking?
Coverage length depends on the format: a morning of talks needs a different plan from a long poster session. Deliverables depend on whether you need a general event gallery, a set of student images, or both. The post-event image use planner helps you work out what each group should receive.
Your quotation states the coverage window and deliverables in writing, including how and when images are released for checking. We confirm the date, the assigned crew and the delivery arrangements when we confirm the booking.
Questions to ask before the showcase
Ask the placement office whether every student will present or only a selection, and whether the order is fixed. Ask whether employer visitors will sit in the audience or walk the room, since that changes where we stand.
Ask also how late changes are communicated, for example a student withdrawing or a company asking that a project be removed. A named contact on the day makes these changes simple to follow.
Checklist
- List the presenting students, host companies and project titles.
- Ask the placement office which projects or slides are confidential.
- Check whether host companies have agreed to be named or shown.
- Decide whether company logos and staff may appear in released images.
- Agree what counts as learning evidence for the programme record.
- Plan where the photographer stands during presentations.
- Name one approver for the first-stage review of images.
- Decide whether students receive their own images.
Send us the showcase format, the list of host companies and any confidentiality rules, and we will confirm date, crew and deliverables in writing.
Plan our placement showcase coverageCommon questions
Can we photograph slides that show company work?
Only if the host company has agreed. Placement projects often involve data, clients or designs the company has not released. Ask each student or the placement office to mark such slides, and tell us, so we keep them out of released images.
Do employer representatives need to agree to be photographed?
It is courteous and often necessary. Visitors from host companies may have internal rules about images. Ask them in the invitation, and tell us who agrees, so we know whose images may be released.
Can the programme show company logos in photographs?
Logos on banners, badges or slides appear naturally in event photographs, but showing them in promotion can imply an endorsement. Ask the programme what it intends, and whether partner companies should approve.
What counts as learning evidence?
It might be a student presenting a reflection, a poster on skills gained, a portfolio of work samples or a short talk on a project. Decide what the programme needs as evidence, such as a clear image of the student with their poster, and tell us.
Can one booking serve both the programme and the students?
Yes, if the quotation says so. A programme record and a student keepsake are different uses with different approvers. State what each should receive and who approves it.
Plan our placement showcase coverage
Send us the showcase format, the list of host companies and any confidentiality rules, and we will confirm date, crew and deliverables in writing.
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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