How to Set Up Photo Delivery at Your Event
TIME&SPACE · Organiser's Playbook
A step-by-step guide to automating photo delivery at live events so every guest leaves with professional photos of themselves.
Event Photo Delivery: The Complete Setup Guide
Every event produces hundreds of professional photos. Most guests never receive a single one. This guide walks you through setting up automated photo delivery so that changes from day one.
What Automated Photo Delivery Actually Means
Automated photo delivery is not a gallery link you email out three weeks after the event. It is a system where guests find their specific photos within hours of being taken, without browsing through thousands of images.
The core mechanism is face recognition. Every photo gets processed automatically as it is uploaded. A guest scans a QR code, takes a quick selfie, and the system finds every photo in which they appear. The entire experience takes under a minute.
This matters for three reasons. Guests get genuine value from the event. Organisers get organic social sharing in real time. Sponsors get visibility on every downloaded photo.
For a deeper technical explanation of how the face recognition pipeline works, see how face recognition finds your event photos in a crowd of thousands.
Before the Event: Planning and Setup
Successful photo delivery starts before the event day. The decisions you make in the week leading up to the event determine your delivery rate.
Define Your Photo Delivery Goal
Start by clarifying what success looks like for your event. Are you aiming for maximum guest coverage (every attendee receives at least one photo) or targeted delivery (specific speakers, VIP guests, or sponsor contacts receive their photos)? Are you using the photos for post-event marketing, or primarily as a guest experience deliverable?
The answer shapes everything: how many QR codes to print, where to place them, how to brief your photography team, and what post-event communications to send.
Most organisers are surprised to learn that a well-run photo delivery setup at a conference typically reaches 40-60% of attendees with matched photos. At a music festival with good QR placement, this number can exceed 70%. Neither figure is achievable with a traditional gallery link.
Configure Your Event in the Platform
Set up your event on TIME&SPACE at least 48 hours before the event. The setup takes under ten minutes.
The key configuration decisions:
Branding colours and logo. If you are on the Advanced or Pro plan, the guest gallery page uses your event's colour palette and logo. Getting this configured before the day means the experience feels like a natural extension of your event design, not a third-party tool.
Watermarks. If the event has a sponsor, this is when you configure the sponsor logo watermark. Every photo a guest downloads will carry the sponsor mark, applied automatically at download time. Set the position (we recommend bottom-right for most events) and size, and test it on a sample image before the event. For more on watermark strategy, see how to watermark event photos automatically.
Retention settings. The default retention period for selfie embeddings is 30 days after the event. For events with sensitive audiences or explicit privacy commitments, you can configure shorter retention at setup time.
Plan Your QR Code Placements
Once created, your unique QR code is ready to download as a high-resolution PNG. Plan your print run at least 24 hours before the event.
For an event with 500 attendees, a realistic minimum print run is:
- 4× A3 standing signs for the main entrance and high-traffic zones
- 1× QR per table if the event includes a seated dinner or reception
- QR codes on badge inserts or lanyards (optional but high-converting)
- A digital version for the main presentation slide deck
Every placement is a registration opportunity. The more touchpoints, the higher your scan rate.
Step 1: Create Your Event and Get Your QR Code
Log into the TIME&SPACE dashboard and create a new event. Name it exactly as it will appear to guests. Set the date range if the event spans multiple days.
Configure your primary contact details so that the guest gallery footer shows the correct organiser information. Upload a cover photo if you have a venue shot or event graphic, this appears as the header when guests open their gallery.
Download the QR code as a high-resolution PNG. You will need it for print files, digital displays, and badge production.
Step 2: Brief Your Photography Team
The photography team does not need to change their core workflow. They photograph as normal and upload directly through TIME&SPACE during the event.
One briefing note makes a real difference: face visibility matters. A photo where the subject is partially turned away or obscured can still produce a match, but a clear front-on or three-quarter face scan is faster and more accurate. Encourage the team to capture guest faces during natural moments at the registration area, networking sessions, and stage introductions.
Brief the team on the upload schedule. For a full-day conference, the optimal upload cadence is:
- During registration (08:00–09:30): Upload the registration desk shots within 30 minutes of taking them
- Mid-morning break: Upload the morning session photos
- Lunch: Upload the mid-morning uploads and any corridor shots
- Afternoon break: Upload the post-lunch session photos
- End of day: Final upload of all remaining images
This cadence means guests who register at 09:00 can find their morning photos by 10:30. Guests who check their gallery at the end of the day find the full set. The experience feels live, not archival.
For events using multiple photographers, coordinate upload schedules so no photographer is uploading simultaneously in large batches. Staggered uploads distribute the face indexing load and prevent any single upload wave from creating a backlog.
For a full guide to shooting and uploading for AI-compatible photo delivery, see the face recognition photography guide for event photographers.
Step 3: Set Up QR Code Placement
Registration rate is almost entirely determined by QR code placement. The right placements convert. The wrong placements are invisible.
The highest-conversion placement is badge pickup or event check-in. Every attendee passes through this point. They have a moment of idle time while waiting. A clear sign with a direct message converts well.
Secondary placements to add after check-in:
- Main stage entrance, at eye level on both sides of the door
- Conference room entrances before keynotes
- Networking areas, on table cards and bar tops
- Coffee and catering stations
The call to action should be benefit-focused and direct. "Get your professional event photos" outperforms any clever or brand-driven alternative. Guests do not need to understand the technology. They need to understand the value.
If the event has table cards or a printed programme, include the QR code there as well. It is a low-cost, high-persistence placement, guests return to their table multiple times during the event and each time is a potential scan.
Step 4: GDPR Consent and Privacy
At events in the European Union, guests must provide explicit consent before their selfie is processed through face recognition. Under GDPR Article 9, facial recognition data is special category biometric data, the highest protection class.
The platform handles consent collection automatically at the selfie step. Before any guest takes a selfie, they see a clear consent notice explaining:
- What data is collected (a mathematical face embedding, not the selfie image itself)
- What it is used for (finding their photos in the event gallery)
- How long it is retained (configurable, default 30 days)
- How to request deletion
As the organiser, your responsibilities are:
- Displaying an event photography notice at the venue entry (required under GDPR Article 13 for any photography at an event)
- Including a reference to biometric data processing in your event terms and conditions if guests register in advance
- Responding to data subject access requests within the statutory 30-day period
For detailed GDPR guidance and exact wording for your event notices, see event photo consent and GDPR.
Step 5: Monitor and Communicate During the Event
The platform dashboard shows registrations and matched photos in real time. During larger events, a quick check every 90 minutes tells you whether signage is working. If registration rates are low in the afternoon, you still have time to add QR codes or make an announcement from the stage.
A stage announcement at the beginning of a session is one of the highest-leverage actions available to you. Thirty seconds describing how guests can find their photos drives a measurable spike in registrations. Keep it short and benefit-driven.
"Every photo taken today is being matched to each of you. Scan the QR code on your badge holder to get your photos delivered directly."
Framing it as something that is already happening, rather than something guests need to opt into, works best.
What to monitor:
- Scan count vs attendance: If fewer than 15% of attendees have scanned by midday at a full-day conference, your signage placement needs adjustment
- Match rate: The percentage of scans that produced at least one matched photo. Below 60% suggests either low photo coverage of guests or lighting conditions affecting face recognition
- Upload progress: Confirm photographers are uploading on schedule, not batching everything for an end-of-day upload
Step 6: Deliver and Promote After the Event
Photo delivery does not end when the event does. Send a follow-up communication 24 to 48 hours after the event reminding guests to check their gallery. Include the event link and a direct message about what they will find.
For the organiser's own social media, the post-event window is valuable. Screenshots of the gallery interface, behind-the-scenes shots of the photo team, aggregate stats like "1,200 photos delivered to 340 guests" all perform well on LinkedIn and Instagram.
Post-event content consistently outperforms pre-event content on organic reach. Your delivered photos are the primary asset for this window. Guests who received their photos share them with personal context that no marketing team can replicate.
For a complete post-event marketing strategy using your event photos, see how to turn event photos into your best post-event marketing channel.
Measuring the Success of Your Photo Delivery
The platform analytics dashboard provides the data you need to evaluate the delivery and improve for future events.
Key metrics to review:
| Metric | What it tells you | Benchmark | |--------|------------------|-----------| | QR scan rate | % of attendees who scanned | 25–40% for a well-placed conference | | Match rate | % of scans that produced photos | 55–75% under good lighting | | Download rate | % of matched guests who downloaded | 70–90% | | Shares | Number of social shares | Varies by event type |
If scan rate is below benchmark, the issue is usually QR placement or insufficient call-to-action visibility. If match rate is below benchmark, review photo coverage, were all session rooms covered, or did photographers concentrate in high-traffic zones and miss breakout sessions?
For a full guide to reading and acting on your event photo analytics, see event photo analytics: how to measure what matters.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How long does it take to set up photo delivery for an event? The initial setup takes under ten minutes. You create the event on TIME&SPACE, configure branding colours and optional watermarks, and download the QR code. The photographer uploads photos on the day, and face recognition handles all matching automatically. There is no technical configuration required between setup and go-live.
Q: Do guests need to create an account to receive their photos? No. Guests access their photos through the QR code landing page without logging in or creating an account. The face matching is entirely anonymous until the guest chooses to download, at which point GDPR consent for biometric processing is collected via a clear, one-step confirmation before the selfie.
Q: How many photos can be uploaded per event? This depends on the plan. The Starter plan supports up to 1,500 photos, the Advanced plan up to 5,000, and the Pro plan has no limit. See the pricing page for a full comparison of what each plan includes.
Q: What should I do if a guest cannot find their photos? This usually happens when the face is partially obscured in all uploaded photos, or if the selfie quality is low due to poor lighting. Ask the guest to retake the selfie in a well-lit area, facing the camera directly. If matches remain elusive, organisers can share a link to the full gallery so the guest can browse manually as a fallback.
Q: Can I use photo delivery at a multi-day event? Yes. The event QR code works across the full event duration. Guests can scan on day one and continue to receive new photo matches as photographers upload from subsequent days. The Advanced plan covers 90 days and the Pro plan 365 days, making both suitable for multi-day events and conference series.
Q: What is the difference between AI photo delivery and a traditional gallery link? A traditional gallery link shows every guest all photos from the event. They must manually scroll through hundreds or thousands of images to find themselves. AI photo delivery uses face recognition to show each guest only the photos they personally appear in, typically 10–80 images out of the total event library. The guest experience is personalised from the first tap.
Related Reading
- AI-powered event photo delivery: the complete guide, the definitive technical and strategic overview
- How face recognition finds your event photos, how the matching pipeline works
- Event photo consent and GDPR, full EU compliance guide
- Event photo analytics: how to measure what matters, what to track and how to improve
Founder, TIME&SPACE