ISE Barcelona photographer: a guide to photographing your AV stand
How to photograph your stand at ISE 2027 (Fira Gran Via, 2-5 February): LED screens without banding, a day-by-day plan, passes, delivery and prices.
By Juanjo Vega Santa-Cruz · Noomadik
ISE (Integrated Systems Europe) is Europe’s largest audiovisual and systems integration show, and it takes place at Fira Barcelona Gran Via from 2 to 5 February 2027. For a manufacturer or integrator, the stand is the product: LED screens, projection, lighting and sound all running at once. Photographing it well brings technical problems you do not get at other trade shows. This guide explains how to solve them and how to organise the coverage.
It is based on our work at Fira Gran Via, including the INFiLED stand at ISE.
Why ISE is not just another trade show
At most trade shows, the challenge is making the stand look busy and well lit. At ISE there are three extra difficulties:
- Very bright screens next to dark areas. Many stands are almost black so the screens stand out. Expose for the people and the screen burns out; expose for the screen and the people go dark.
- Banding and flicker on LED walls. Screens refresh many times per second. With a shutter speed that is too fast, the photo shows stripes or black areas you cannot see in person.
- Moiré. The screen’s pixel grid and the camera sensor’s grid can create wavy patterns, especially in straight-on shots.
That is why it pays to hire a photographer who has worked with LED screens. For a manufacturer, a photo of its own product with banding is useless.
How to photograph LED screens without banding or moiré
What we do on an AV stand:
- Test every screen before the doors open. With the stand switched on and no visitors, we take test shots at different shutter speeds to see where banding appears.
- Slower shutter speeds. Usually 1/60 or slower for screens. With people moving, we compensate with stabilisation, low-power flash or by choosing the moment carefully.
- Balance the exposure. We expose so the screen content reads well and add just enough light to the people, without the flash killing the atmosphere of the stand.
- Change distance and angle if moiré appears: a small shift is usually enough.
- Ask for the right content. If possible, run colourful content without black backgrounds during the key shots. It looks better in photos and on social media.
If the stand has projection or mapping, find out the show times so it can be photographed at its best moment.
What to photograph on an AV stand
The basic list is the same as at any trade show, as we explain in our guide to trade show stand photography. At ISE, add:
- Each installation on its own, with its content: the video wall, the curved screen, the LED floor or the projection room. These are the photos that go into the catalogue and onto the website.
- Technical details: the LED module up close, the edge of the screen, the controller or software in use. For a technical audience, these details sell.
- Demos with visitors: people in front of the screen, taking photos on their phones or trying out a system.
- Meetings with distributors and integrators, which is where the show’s business gets done.
- Presentations on the stand and industry awards, if there are any.
- The team, both group shots and quick portraits for LinkedIn and press releases.
A day-by-day plan
ISE runs for four days, Tuesday to Friday. You do not always need to cover all of them:
- Build-up or the first hour of day one: the empty stand, clean and with every screen on. It is the hardest photo to repeat.
- A full first day: the stand with visitors, demos and meetings.
- The busiest day: presentations, important visits, a launch.
- The last day usually has fewer visitors and can be left out if the budget is tight.
If you have client dinners or parties outside the venue, include them in the same plan. They have different light and a different pace, and they often give the liveliest photos for social media.
Delivery during the show
To post while the show is on, the useful option is an edited selection of 20-40 photos every evening. Your marketing team can then post on LinkedIn and send photos to the press and to distributors the next morning. The full gallery follows a few days later. We explain it in more detail in our guide to same-day express photo delivery.
Video of the demos
At an AV show, video shows what a photo cannot: the screen content in motion, the sound, the audience’s reaction. The usual approach is a short clip per installation and a highlights video of the stand. Video is shot by a videographer from our team and photography by a different professional, coordinated on the same plan so they do not get in each other’s way at key moments.
Passes and venue rules
To work inside the venue, the photographer needs a pass. Usually they are registered as stand staff through the exhibitor area, on an exhibitor badge, including for the build-up days. Confirm this in the ISE exhibitor manual for the current edition and ask the photographer for their details early.
As at any trade show, keep in mind:
- Photograph your own stand. Photographing other stands without permission is frowned upon and is usually restricted by the show rules.
- Tripods and cables stay inside the stand, out of the aisles.
- Check the exhibitor manual for build-up times, access and any rules on filming.
If your company is based outside Spain, our guide to hiring an event photographer in Barcelona as an international company covers invoicing, VAT and remote coordination.
Prices for ISE
All prices are starting prices and exclude VAT, with the edited gallery included.
| Coverage | From (+ VAT) |
|---|---|
| First day of the show (up to 8 hours) | €900 |
| Each additional day | €800/day |
| All four days of ISE | €3,300 |
| Express selection each evening (20-40 photos) | +€250 per day |
| Second photographer, full day | from €650 |
| Full day of video | €1,300 |
| Vertical reel (with a booked shoot) | €180 each |
If you only need one key day or a few hours, that works too. The full list is in our guide to event photographer prices in Barcelona.
When to book
Exhibitors start looking for suppliers six to ten weeks before the show. For ISE 2027, ideally confirm before mid-December, especially if you need more than one photographer or video. If you are also going to MWC a month later, you can book both shows at once.
If you will be at ISE, see our conference and trade show photography in Barcelona page or tell us your plan. We will send you a fixed quote within 24-48 hours.
