Photocalls, celebrities and influencers at brand events in Barcelona: how to organise the coverage

A photocall with celebrities or influencers should be planned as a separate piece within the event: it has its own space, its own schedule and its own rules. The photos taken there are the ones most widely published the next day in the media and on social, so it pays to organise it properly, from the set-up to the same-night delivery.

At Noomadik we have covered photocalls and guests at brand events such as Vogue and Sunglass Hut, the GQ Creativity Awards 2025 dinner at the ME Barcelona hotel and the Vanity Fair event at Torre Melina. This guide sets out what you should have agreed before the day.

Setting up the photocall

Backdrop and logos

The backdrop is what makes a photo instantly recognisable as being from your event. A few things to check:

• Big enough to fit a group of three or four people without the edges showing.
• Repeated logos at a scale that reads in both full-length and mid shots.
• Matt finish, if possible. Glossy surfaces bounce back reflections from the flash.
• Space in front: the photographer needs distance to take full-length shots without distortion.

Lighting

A photocall almost always needs its own lighting, even if the venue is well lit. Event lighting tends to be warm, uneven or changing, and at a photocall you want every photo to look consistent from start to finish. Let the venue know there will be flashes or lights, in case there are any restrictions.

Location

Ideally, place it along the natural arrival route, before guests reach the main area. If it is tucked away, people skip it; if it is in the way, queues build up.

Arrivals, timing and coordination

Order of arrivals

A photocall works with an arrivals schedule, even a rough one. The PR agency usually keeps a list of confirmed guests and expected times. Ask them to share it with the photo and video team, with names, photos and the contact for each guest.

Who runs the photocall

Someone from the PR agency or the brand should walk each guest to the backdrop and tell them when to pose and when to move on. The photographer focuses on the pictures; they should not be the one managing the line.

Working with talent managers

Many well-known guests arrive with their manager or team. Before the event, it is worth agreeing with each of them:

1. Whether the guest will pose alone, with product or with other people.
2. Whether there is any brand or element they cannot appear with under contract.
3. Who will receive the photos on their side and in what format.
4. Whether they will want to review or approve images before publication.

Approvals and the right to review

The talent’s team often asks to see the photos before they go out and to drop the ones they are not happy with. This is not a whim: their image is their work. What matters is agreeing the process in advance:

• Who approves: the PR agency, the brand, the manager or several of them.
• How quickly: if approval takes too long, the photos reach the press late.
• What happens to rejected images: it is agreed that they are not published.

Discretion during the event

A photocall is an agreed moment: the guest knows they are being photographed. The rest of the evening is different. Inside the event, coverage has to be discreet:

• No photos of people eating, drinking or mid-expression.
• No following anyone around the room, and no insisting if someone signals no.
• Respect any private or reserved areas you have been told about.

If a guest does not want to be photographed outside the photocall, the team needs to know beforehand.

Photocall and event: two separate coverages

While guests pose at the entrance, something is already happening inside: the atmosphere, the product, the DJ, the speeches, the drinks reception. If there is only one photographer and they have to stay at the photocall, all of that is lost.

That is why, at brand events with well-known guests, the usual approach is two coverages: one fixed at the photocall during arrivals and another moving around the event. At Noomadik we handle this with several people from our team, each with their own role and the same brief. If you need a starting point for that brief, use our event photographer brief template.

Same-night delivery

Photocall photos are worth more the sooner they are published. To get them out in time:

• One person edits on site and prepares a short selection from the photocall.
• The selection goes to the PR agency, which distributes it to the media.
• Each talent team receives their photos, already reviewed, to post on their own channels.
• Press photos come with a caption: who is in the picture and at which event.

For the full workflow, see our guide to event photos published the same day.

Video for social media

On top of the photos, many brands want short clips from the photocall and the atmosphere for stories and reels: arrivals, a quick hello to camera, product details. Ask for them in vertical format and decide in advance whether they are delivered that night or the next day.

Image usage: who can use what

This is the point that raises most questions after the event. You need to distinguish at least three uses:

• The brand, on its website, social channels and event communications.
• The talent, on their own profiles.
• The press, in news coverage of the event.

Each may come with different conditions, and a contract with the talent may restrict, for example, advertising use of their image. That is why you should put in writing, before the event, who owns the photos, who can use them, for what and for how long, and how consent is handled for the people who appear in them.

This guide is not legal advice. For the legal side, read our guide on image rights and GDPR at corporate events and check specific decisions with your legal team.

Photocall checklist

1. Backdrop with readable logos, matt finish and space in front.
2. Dedicated lighting and the venue’s permission.
3. Arrivals list shared by the PR agency.
4. Contact for each manager and an agreed approval process.
5. One coverage for the photocall and another for the event inside.
6. A selection delivered that same night to the press and to each talent.
7. Image usage agreed in writing before the event.

If you are planning a brand event with a photocall in Barcelona, take a look at our brand events photography in Barcelona page or tell us what you have in mind.