A shot list defines which photos and video scenes should be captured on your stand, what they are for and when they happen. This guide gives you a template, the core shots almost every exhibitor needs and examples for different goals.
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Without a shot list, a good photographer still takes good pictures. Just not necessarily the ones you need later. Your managing director with your most important customer, the new machine in detail, the vertical image for a recruiting post: if nobody writes it down, it is missing at the end.
A shot list is a shared document between you and the crew. It answers three questions: what should be captured, what will it be used for, and when is the right moment? It does not replace the photographer's eye. It makes sure the must-have shots are secured, so the rest of the time is free for spontaneous moments.
This matters even more if you are flying in and meeting your crew for the first time on show day. The shot list does the briefing for you, in writing, before anyone lands. Keep it to one page. A twenty-page document will not be read on a busy show day.
A simple table with six columns works well. Build it in a spreadsheet and keep a printout on the stand.
| Shot | Purpose | Format | Time | Contact | Priority |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Empty stand, diagonal from main aisle | Website, press kit | Landscape | Before opening | Stand manager | A |
| Sales conversation at the exhibit | LinkedIn, sales deck | Landscape and vertical | Morning | Sales | A |
| CEO with key customer | Newsletter | Landscape | At the meeting | Assistant | A |
| Product details, three shots | Online shop, catalogue | Landscape | Afternoon | Product team | B |
| Team photo | Careers page | Landscape | Shift change | Stand manager | A |
Priority is the most important column. A means it must happen. B means nice to have if the situation allows. When the stand (booth) suddenly fills up, the photographer knows what to protect.
Whatever the industry or show, the same shots appear on nearly every list:
Think about where each image will end up. A website header needs a landscape frame with space for text, a LinkedIn post works in landscape or a slightly tall crop, Stories only in vertical. If you know a shot will become a banner, say so in the purpose column, and the photographer will leave room on one side for your headline.
From here, the list depends on what you want the show to achieve. Four typical focuses:
Plenty of conversation photos, the product in use, hands on the device, a tablet with the configurator, the meeting corner with customers. Add portraits of your sales contacts for email signatures and follow-up mails.
Stand architecture from several angles, logo and lighting mood, visitor crowds, stage moments, vertical formats for social media.
The team in conversation, younger colleagues at the exhibit, the team photo, short statements about working at the company. A dedicated recruiting film is often worth it here.
The reveal or presentation of the product, leadership with the product, clean product details, press conversations where the people involved agree.
Video needs its own block on the list because it asks for different material: movement, sound, sequences. A 30-second highlight lives on short shots. A 90-second trade fair film also needs interviews and a clear storyline.
Our guide on vertical clips from the show covers what works in 9:16. Formats and lengths are summarised on our trade fair video production page.
Send the shot list to your photographer and videographer about a week before the show. That leaves time for questions, for example about shots that are hard to get at a particular time. Our guide on how to brief a trade fair photographer lists what else they need to know.
On show day, keep a printout on the stand and name one person as the contact. Fixed-time appointments such as a customer visit go into a shared schedule. Our guide on the photo and video schedule on show day shows how to split the day.
Three mistakes come up again and again: too many A shots, so nothing is really a priority; appointments without a time; and shots without a contact person. If nobody knows when the key customer arrives, even the best photographer misses the moment.
At Pixer we go through the shot list with you before opening and tick off the A shots during the day. You usually receive the first images the same day and the full selection within 24 hours after the show ends.
A shot list nobody reads helps nobody. One page is enough.
Shot, purpose, format, time, contact and priority.
A shots must happen, B shots when the situation allows.
Leads, brand, recruiting or press each need different shots.
Movement, sound, interviews and vertical formats get their own block.
Send it early enough for questions to be answered.
As many as fit on one page. Priority matters more than the number: the A shots must be achievable in the booked time, the rest stays flexible.
A separate block on the same list is enough. It describes scenes with movement, interviews and the formats you want, such as 30 seconds, 90 seconds or vertical.
About a week before the show. That leaves time for questions and for planning fixed-time appointments.
That is what priorities are for. If an appointment falls through, a B shot moves up. Important A shots can often be caught in the afternoon or on the next day.
Usually marketing, with quick input from sales and the stand manager. Sales knows which customer meetings are booked, and the stand manager knows how the day runs.
Yes. The shot list secures the essentials. Spontaneous moments on the stand often produce the most natural images.
A clear shot list gets the most usable images out of the time you book. Send us your show and the shots you need, and we will come back with a proposal.
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