Preparations can include cooking, decorating, dressing and gathering, and some of this is private customary work. We ask the hosts which preparatory activities and which people they want recorded, confirm who has agreed, and treat invited coverage as separate from open access to everything that happens before the event.
Preparations are often where a celebration takes shape. Food is cooked, spaces are arranged, attire is prepared and relatives arrive. Some hosts want this recorded; others consider part of it private.
This page sits alongside our cultural community overview and focuses on one question: what to include before the event.
Which preparations might hosts want recorded?
Common examples are cooking and baking, decorating a venue or home, preparing attire and accessories, welcoming early arrivals and setting out food. These usually involve family members and helpers.
Not all are equally important. Rank them. If time or budget is limited, choose the two or three that mean the most to the family. Our priority photograph list builder offers a simple format, and a short written list works too.
What is private customary work?
Some preparatory work may carry a customary meaning or be done by particular people. We do not assume which parts those are. The hosts and their reviewers know.
For anything that may be private, we ask a plain question: should the photographer be present? If the answer is no, or if no one is sure, we stay away until a person with the right to decide says otherwise. We never ask for details beyond what is needed to plan.
How is invited coverage different from open access?
Invited coverage means the host asks us to come to a particular place at a particular time to record a particular activity. Open access would mean freely photographing whatever happens in the days before the event. We only offer the first.
When we are invited, we ask who else is present and whether they agree. If someone declines, we adjust. This is especially important in shared households and community spaces, as described in celebrations in a longhouse setting.
How do preparation days affect time and cost?
A preparation session adds coverage time, possibly another day, and perhaps travel. Cost drivers are listed in our guide to event photography prices and quotations. Extended or separate sessions are explained in overtime and extended coverage costs.
Use the coverage hours planner to estimate how long you need. We write each session separately in the quotation, so you can see what each covers.
A hypothetical example
For example, imagine a family preparing a large festive gathering. They invite us to record an evening of cooking two days before, with three relatives involved, and the final arrangement of the hall on the morning of the event.
One elder is happy to be photographed; another prefers that only their hands appear. The family asks us not to photograph a private blessing by the elders the night before. We confirm these points in writing. This is a made-up example.
What about captions and credit?
Preparation images often show people whose roles the family wants acknowledged. Agree who is named and how. Our event photograph caption worksheet helps hosts supply names and terms correctly.
If a community member has a recognised role in the preparations, see community-approved ceremonial image custodians for how roles in image review work.
Deciding what to leave out
Leaving something out can be the right choice. If a preparation is quiet, sacred to the family or simply too crowded, you may prefer to remember it without a camera. We do not ask hosts to explain such a decision.
If you are unsure, start small. Choose one preparation session and one person to guide us through it. After the first session, the hosts can decide whether to add more. We never assume that permission for one session carries over to the next, and we ask again each time.
When preparations involve many helpers
Large celebrations often rely on neighbours, relatives and volunteers who share the work. They may not expect to appear in photographs, and some may be uncomfortable with it.
Ask the host to tell helpers in advance that photography is planned, and let them opt out quietly. We can photograph hands, food, decorations and finished tables without including those who prefer to stay out of frame. If helpers do agree, ask the host how they would like to be named, if at all, and share the names with us before the session.
Checklist
- List preparatory activities you might want recorded.
- Mark each as invited coverage, open or private.
- Name the people involved and ask whether they agree.
- Plan separate times and places for preparation days.
- Decide which contributors should be named in captions.
- Choose what to photograph if someone declines.
- Check whether the venue allows early access.
Tell us which preparations you would like recorded, who is involved and where they take place. We will return a plan listing what is covered, by whose invitation, and what remains private.
Plan our preparation photographyCommon questions
Why do preparations need their own agreement?
They often involve private spaces, family work and people who have not agreed to be photographed. Event-day permission does not cover earlier days. We ask the host who invites us, who else must agree and what should remain private, then confirm the arrangements in writing.
Can we include a day of cooking or decorating?
Yes, if the people involved agree. Tell us the day, location and who will be there. Coverage of a preparation day adds time and may add travel, so ask us how it would be quoted. We keep it separate from event-day coverage in the plan.
What if an elder prefers not to be photographed while working?
Their wish is respected. We photograph hands, ingredients, decorations or the space instead, or leave that part out. Hosts can mark who is willing and who is not, and we take direction from them.
Do preparations have to be photographed at all?
No. Many hosts choose to record only the event itself. If preparations are very private, or if time is limited, leaving them out is a perfectly reasonable choice. We help you compare what each option includes.
Plan our preparation photography
Tell us which preparations you would like recorded, who is involved and where they take place. We will return a plan listing what is covered, by whose invitation, and what remains private.
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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