Most of what we write about event photography and videography is advice. This post is the other kind: one real job, start to finish, so you can see what a two-day exhibition coverage looks like when the client is a global brand, the stand is busy from the first minute, and the photos and video have to be ready while the show is still on.
The event was AI Everything Abu Dhabi 2026 at ADNEC on 6 and 7 October 2026. The brand was NetApp. The client who hired us was AHEAD, the event agency that designed, built and managed the NetApp stand and everything around it.
Below is how the job was briefed, how we staffed it, what we photographed and filmed each day, and how the photos and the highlight video reached the marketing team before the stand closed. Only a selection of the photos and one of the highlight videos are shown here.
2 days
at ADNEC, 6 and 7 October 2026: the stand, the main-stage keynote and panel, the MoU announcement, visitors and meetings
3-person crew
a lead photographer who also filmed, a second photographer, and a videographer who edited on site: photos out during the day, first highlight video by closing
The Brief: an Agency, a Global Brand and No Time to Wait
AHEAD plans and builds exhibition stands and events for brands, and NetApp was their client at AI Everything. Their request was specific: photos delivered instantly for social media during the show, a highlight video ready right after the stand closed on the same day, and someone editing on site with a laptop so nothing had to wait for the office. There would be a keynote on the main stage, a partnership announcement, meetings at the stand and a steady flow of visitors.
That brief rules out the usual “shoot now, edit tomorrow” model. The photographers can only work the floor if someone else is selecting, editing and exporting in parallel. So we proposed our largest event package, which comes with a two-person crew, plus a third person as an add-on: a videographer who also edits on site. We also set up an alignment call before the show between AHEAD, NetApp’s team and our crew, so everyone knew the run of show, the people who mattered and where the content was going.
Package, Crew and Price
This project ran on our MAX event package, which comes with a two-person crew, plus a third crew member as an add-on (videographer and on-site editor) and the Abu Dhabi travel fee. Our event coverage packages are published, so you can budget without a call: LITE from AED 3,300, Plus from AED 4,500 and MAX from AED 5,700, with extra crew and extra days quoted on request. Abu Dhabi projects carry an extra travel fee (from AED 500), a 50% advance reserves the dates, and the balance is due after delivery. What each package includes is on our event photography and videography page; how the market compares is in the event photography prices guide.
Two Days at ADNEC, Moment by Moment
The photos follow the order of the show: the empty stand before opening, the main stage, the signing, the stand in action, the show around it, and the crew at work.
Before the Doors Opened: the Stand
We arrived before the halls opened on day one to photograph the stand clean: the black and magenta structure AHEAD had built, the LED edges, the meeting corners, the coffee counter, the AI photo booth and the “intelligent data infrastructure” signage, all without a single visitor in the frame. These are the images an agency needs for its own portfolio and the brand needs for internal reports, and there is only a twenty-minute window in the morning to get them.
The Main Stage: Photographing and Filming the Keynote and Panel
NetApp’s session on the AI Everything main stage was the centrepiece of day one: a keynote in front of a full hall, then a panel on the same stage. Stage work is where event experience shows. The LED backdrop is far brighter than the speaker, the lighting changes with every slide, and the best moments last a second. We covered it from three positions: wide from the back to show the scale of the hall and the branding, tight from the pit for expressions and gestures, and from the side for the panel conversation, with the gimbal rolling for the highlight video at the same time. One photographer stayed on the stage for the whole session; the second covered the audience and the stand, which did not pause because the keynote was on.
The MoU Announcement
On the show’s announcement stage NetApp signed a memorandum of understanding with Open Innovation. Signings are short and formal, and the photographs are used in press releases, so they need to be clean and complete: the two signatories at the table with the branding readable behind them, the handshake, the documents being exchanged, and a wide frame showing the setting. We photographed the empty set first, then the signing, then the handshake, and the edited images went to AHEAD within the hour for the brand’s own channels.
The Stand in Action: Photos and Video Through Two Days
Between the stage moments, the stand is the job. Over two days we photographed and filmed visitor flow, product conversations at the screens, meetings in the seating corners, the team welcoming guests, and the view of the NetApp structure from the aisles as the halls filled up. For an exhibition client these images do three things: they prove footfall, they give the sales team pictures with the people they met, and they show the stand design working in real conditions rather than in a render. We also made a few deliberately slower frames with motion blur in the crowd, so the stand stands still while the show moves around it.
The Show Around the Stand
A brand’s exhibition photos should also place it inside the event. A handful of frames of AI Everything itself, the venue, the robots, the DJ, the crowd and the halls, give the social media team context shots to post between the brand content and remind the viewer which show this was.
Behind the Scenes: How a Photo and Video Crew of Three Works a Two-Day Expo
This is the part clients rarely see, so we photographed it too. Each day the crew was three people: Masoud Raoufi as lead, working hybrid with a stills camera and a gimbal; Nastaran as second photographer; and a videographer who was also the on-site editor, with a laptop at the stand. Everyone is on a headset, which sounds like a small thing and changes everything on a loud show floor: the stand manager can say “the NetApp director is arriving at the entrance” and a photographer is there before the handshake.
The rhythm of the day looks like this. The photographers hand memory cards to the editor every hour or so; between his own filming, the editor culls, colour-corrects and exports a first batch of web-ready images that AHEAD can post immediately. Video is shared between the lead and the videographer, so the stage, the signing and the stand are all filmed while the stills keep coming. In the afternoon the editor sits down with the footage, and by the time the halls close the first highlight video is cut, approved and exported on site. The second highlight and the full RAW footage follow within a day. On a two-day show, day two also benefits from day one: the crew already knows the brand’s look, the key faces and the shots the marketing team liked.
What Was Delivered, and When
- During each day: batches of edited photos for social media, selected and exported by the on-site editor.
- At stand closing: the first highlight video, cut and exported on site.
- About 24 hours later: the second highlight video, the full edited photo gallery and all RAW footage, through an online gallery and drive.
The Highlight Video: Event Videography Cut on Site
Here is one of the highlight videos from the show, cut on site on the day. It is short on purpose: social media first, with the stand, the stage, the signing and the visitors in under a minute. Filmed on a gimbal between the stills, edited at the stand, exported before the halls closed.
What This Project Shows
- Photos and video from one crew. A hybrid lead with a stills camera and a gimbal means the stage, the signing and the stand are photographed and filmed without doubling the team.
- Editing on site changes the delivery. Social media batches during the day and the first highlight video by closing are only possible when someone edits at the stand.
- Agencies and brands can share one crew. We were hired by AHEAD and coordinated with NetApp’s team through one alignment call before the show.
- Exhibition coverage is a plan, not a presence. Empty stand before opening, stage from three positions, press-ready signing frames, footfall and meetings, context shots of the show, and a crew that moves on a headset.
Your Event Photography and Videography Team
Masoud Raoufi led the coverage, photographing and filming, with Nastaran as second photographer and a videographer-editor on site each day. The same team covers conferences, exhibitions, launches and award nights across Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
Dubai's Trusted Event Photography and Videography Team
5.0 on Google from over 300 reviews, from holiday home operators, hosts and property owners across Dubai.
Event Photography and Videography in Abu Dhabi and Dubai: FAQs
Can you deliver photos during the event, not after?
Yes. With someone editing on site, edited batches go out during the day. Without that add-on, we still deliver a same-day selection after the event, and the full gallery within a few working days.
How many people do we need for a two-day exhibition stand?
For a stand with a stage session, an announcement and steady visitors, our two-person MAX crew plus a third person who films and edits on site is the right size when content has to be live during the show. For a smaller stand without a stage programme, one photographer can be enough. We recommend the crew from your agenda.
Do you cover AI Everything, GITEX and other exhibitions in Abu Dhabi and Dubai?
Yes. We cover exhibitions and conferences at ADNEC, Dubai World Trade Centre, Expo City and hotel venues across the UAE. Abu Dhabi travel is added to the package price.
Can the highlight video really be ready by the time the stand closes?
Yes, when someone edits on site and the footage is handed over through the day. The first cut is approved on site and exported before closing; a second, longer edit follows the next day.
Who owns the photos and videos?
The agency and its brand can use all delivered images and videos for marketing, PR and social media. If sponsors or partners will also use them, tell us before the event so the agreement covers it.
Can you work through our event agency rather than directly with the brand?
Yes. On this project we were hired by AHEAD, the event agency, and coordinated with both AHEAD and NetApp's team through one alignment call before the show. That is a common setup and it works well.
See the Full Event Photography and Videography Service
Holiday homes across Dubai with sample galleries, walkthrough videos, the booking policy and every package in detail. Shoots between check-outs, styling by the operator, amenities included, pay after the shoot.
Packages, hourly rates and what is included are in the event photography and videography prices guide. If you also need speaker portraits or team headshots at the show, our corporate photography team can set up on site.
Book Event Coverage in Dubai or Abu Dhabi
Send the unit size, location and the check-out window on WhatsApp for the earliest slot. MRPS photographs holiday homes across Dubai seven days a week, between check-outs, with 24-hour guaranteed delivery and no advance payment.
