A common question from international exhibitors: fly in our own photographer and videographer, or hire a crew in Germany? Both can work. This guide compares the two honestly, including the costs that are easy to overlook, and describes a hybrid that combines both.
All prices plus VAT · delivered within 24 hours · See all packages & details
Your in-house photographer or your agency at home knows your brand, your products and your people. They know which side of the machine the engineers want to see, which manager dislikes being photographed from below, and how last year's catalogue looked. They shoot in your house style, cut in your templates and speak your language with your team and with customers from your home market.
Consistency counts as well: if the same person covers all your fairs worldwide, the material looks the same from Dubai to Düsseldorf. These are real advantages, and for some companies they outweigh everything else. The question is what they cost when the fair is in another country.
The fee is only one part. Before you decide, list everything that comes with sending one or two people to a German fair:
There is also a quieter cost. If your photographer is really a marketing colleague with a camera, that person is not in meetings, not talking to distributors and not following up leads during those hours. Put the full list next to a local quote and compare the totals, not the fees.
A crew based in Germany arrives without flights, visas or carnets. It knows the venues, the hall regulations and the typical light problems, and it speaks German with hall staff and the organiser's service teams. Editing can start while the show is still running, because there is no travel day in between.
At Pixer, the team on site is two to three people, the editing team works remotely, and delivery is within 24 hours after the event ends, with first photos usually on the same day. We work in English, German, Arabic and Persian, including interviews and subtitles. Packages have fixed prices: Basic €990 for two hours, Professional €1,490 for four hours and Full Day €1,990 for eight hours. Travel within North Rhine-Westphalia is included; for other German cities it is quoted once per trip and shared between exhibitors of the same show week. Companies from outside the EU are invoiced without German VAT.
The weak point of any local crew is that it does not know your brand from the inside. That is solved with a good brief, not with a flight: see How to brief a trade fair photographer.
| Criterion | Own team flown in | Local crew |
|---|---|---|
| Brand knowledge | High from the start | Built through brief and shot list |
| Travel, visa, customs | Needed for people and equipment | Not needed |
| Venue knowledge | Depends on experience in Germany | Knows halls, rules and light |
| Language on site | Your language | English and German; at Pixer also Arabic and Persian |
| Speed of delivery | Often after the trip home | Within 24 hours, first photos the same day |
| Consistency across fairs | High | High if one crew covers several shows |
| Time of your own staff | Tied up behind the camera | Free for meetings and leads |
Consistency with a local crew works when you book the same team for your German shows, for example MEDICA in Düsseldorf, HANNOVER MESSE and electronica in Munich, with one shot list and one set of brand rules.
For many international exhibitors, the practical answer is a combination. Your own marketing lead travels anyway as part of the stand team. They own the brief, know which customers are coming and direct the key moments: the CEO with the new product, the distributor signing, the busy stand at noon. The local crew does the photography, filming and editing. Your colleague stays free for meetings, and the material still matches your brand.
A second variant: your own team records interviews in your home language, for example Chinese, Turkish or Italian, while the local crew covers stand photos, conversation shots and the highlight film. Pixer can add English, German, Arabic or Persian subtitles to those interviews. How material for your home market should be cut is covered in Show material for your home market.
If you are also weighing an agency against a freelancer, read Agency, freelancer or in-house.
The strength of your own team. A local crew gets there with a thorough brief.
Flights, hotels, visas, carnet, excess baggage and travel days add up.
A local crew knows the halls, the rules and the light.
Within 24 hours after the event ends, first photos the same day.
Your marketing lead directs, the local crew shoots and edits.
Pixer works in English, German, Arabic and Persian; other languages via your own team.
Only if you compare the fee alone. Add flights, hotel nights in a show week, visa, equipment customs and travel days, then compare the total with a local quote. For fairs in North Rhine-Westphalia, Pixer's travel is included in the package price.
Yes, with a good brief: brand guide, examples of pictures you like and dislike, a shot list and the names of people to photograph. If the same crew covers several of your shows, the style stays consistent.
Yes. Agree the roles beforehand, for example your colleague on interviews in your language and the local crew on stand photos and the highlight film, so nobody films the same moment twice.
Usually an exhibitor pass from your allocation, requested through the organiser's exhibitor portal. Check the exhibitor manual for rules on external service providers.
With Pixer, within 24 hours after the event ends, and the first photos usually on the same day. Head office can post while the show is still running.
Yes. In Europe and the Gulf, travel and accommodation are quoted per trip and shared between exhibitors of the same show. We have worked at Paris Expo Porte de Versailles and at Dubai World Trade Centre.
Comparing options for your next German fair? Send us the show, dates and what you need, and we will send a fixed quote you can put next to your travel budget.
We reply within 24 hours. During a show week, WhatsApp is fastest.
