One exhibitor with stands in several halls

A large exhibitor often uses more than one hall: a main stand with the company's range, a second for a different division, and a third in a themed zone. For the business, it is one presence. For a photographer, it is several separate places with a lot of walking in between.

This page belongs to our guide to exhibitor and brand-activation photography.

What does a multi-hall plan start with?

A list of the stands, each with its hall, number and timetable. Beside each, note what you need from it: a team portrait, a demonstration, a customer visit, a stand record. Then rank the stands by importance to your business.

Our multi-event photography commission organiser is designed for plans with several parts, and it keeps the list in one place.

How much does movement cost?

More than people expect. A walk between halls can take ten minutes or more once crowds, security and stairs are counted. If the photographer needs to be at a particular demonstration at 11am, the previous task must end well before then. Movement time is not coverage time.

An organiser may be able to tell you the typical walking time. If not, ask the venue or walk the route yourself in advance. The numbers belong in the plan.

Which approach suits your timetable?

There are three common models:

• A lead stand with the most coverage, and short visits to the others.
• A timed route in which the photographer follows the timetable from hall to hall.
• Separate photographers per hall, when simultaneous activity makes a route impossible.

The concurrent activity and crew planner helps you test them. Our guide to what an additional event photographer changes explains when a second person is worth it.

A hypothetical example

For example, an exhibitor has a main stand in Hall 1, a product-trial area in Hall 3 and a small partner stand in Hall 5. The main stand has a demonstration at 11am and 3pm. Hall 3 hosts a customer presentation at 1pm. Hall 5 is lightly staffed.

The plan is to cover Hall 1 in the morning including the 11am demonstration, walk to Hall 3 with a 25-minute buffer for the 1pm presentation, return to Hall 1 for 3pm, and visit Hall 5 at 4pm for a short record. Hall 5 has the lightest coverage by agreement.

Do the same rules apply in each hall?

Not necessarily. Halls may differ in lighting, floor rules and ceiling height, and different organisers may run different zones. Our guide to venue conditions that affect event photography lists what to check, and we confirm access conditions with you rather than assume them.

If the exhibition site is large or the halls are in separate buildings, travel between them becomes a bigger factor. Photography across several exhibition halls shows how an organiser plans this at show level, which differs from an exhibitor's needs.

Outputs for different stands

Each stand may be reported separately to a different manager. Decide whether the gallery is split by stand and how it is labelled. This is easiest to arrange before the show, and our quotation states what is delivered.

Confirming the plan

We confirm date, venue, crew, deliverables and quotation in writing, including the route and the priorities. If activity at a stand changes, tell us and we will say whether the route still works. A route with buffers is much easier to adjust than one with none.

Questions to settle

Which stand matters most? Where do clashes happen? Is a second photographer worthwhile, or is a lighter record enough for the smaller stands? How will the gallery be organised so that each manager finds their stand quickly?

Honest answers lead to a plan that does not promise continuous coverage in three places, and a gallery that gives each hall the attention you agreed.