HOW TO HIRE · PHOTOGRAPHY & VIDEO

How to hire an event videographer in the UK
The checks, the questions and the paperwork.

Event filming is unregulated in the UK. Here is who owns the film, the music question, and what to put in the brief.

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THE 60-SECOND VERSION

Hiring an event videographer in five steps

  1. Write the briefWhat the film is for — a recap, the talks in full, social clips — and who must be in it.
  2. Plan the soundTalks and panels need a feed from the venue's sound desk or a microphone on each speaker.
  3. Clear the musicA track used in a published film needs a licence. Ask which library the event videographer uses.
  4. Match the licence to the useInternal, website, social media or paid ads; the licence must say which.
  5. Tell attendees about filmingOn the booking page and at the door, with a way to stay out of shot.

BEFORE YOU BOOK

Check before you book

No register applies

Filming events needs no licence in England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland, and no register of event videographers exists. A full sample film, references and a written brief are the checks. No law requires an event videographer to carry insurance, but venues often require public liability cover from crews bringing in cameras, lights and cables.

Ask for a complete film from a similar event and a client to ring. Ask the venue first, then for the videographer's certificate.

Copyright and your licence

For a film, section 9 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 makes the producer and principal director its authors, and section 11 makes the author the first owner — so the event videographer owns the copyright in your event film and footage. Unless they sign a written assignment (section 90), what you have is a licence to use it.

Read the licence clause: can you publish the film, cut it into clips, keep the raw footage? Where ownership matters, get a signed assignment. legislation.gov.uk →

Music in the film (copyright)

Putting a film online is a communication to the public, an act restricted by copyright under section 20 of the 1988 Act. A track used without the rights holders' licence can see the film muted or removed.

Ask for licensed music, and for the licence terms in writing. legislation.gov.uk →

ICO data protection fee

Holding footage of every attendee makes an event videographer a processor of personal data. The ICO data protection fee — £52 or £78 a year for most small businesses — is payable unless an exemption applies, and payers are named on the ICO's public register. Filming identifiable people at an event means telling them how the film will be used.

Check the ICO public register for the trading name, and agree a deletion date for your files. gov.uk →

VAT

Event filming is standard-rated, with 20% VAT on the crew hours, the edits and the cut-downs. A business whose taxable turnover passes the £90,000 registration threshold must charge it and show it as a separate line on the invoice.

Ask whose VAT number goes on the invoice, and check that the crew day and its 20% VAT are shown separately. gov.uk →

“May I see a complete film from an event like this one?”

A good answer: A full edit, not a reel, so you can judge the sound from the stage as well as the pictures.

“How will you record the sound from the stage?”

A good answer: A feed from the venue's desk, or microphones on speakers, plus a backup recorder.

“What music will the event film use, and is it licensed for online use?”

A good answer: A licensed library, named, with the terms written down.

“Which video edits will be delivered, and by when?”

A good answer: Each edit by length and format, social cut-downs if agreed, and dates.

“Who owns the footage, and can we have the raw files?”

A good answer: The videographer unless assigned in writing; raw files priced or included, stated clearly.

“How do you handle attendees who do not want to be in the video?”

A good answer: A visible opt-out, and those people kept out of the published edit.

“Do you have public liability cover for this venue?”

A good answer: A certificate at the level the venue requires.

Getting the quote right

  • Who actually attends with a camera — the lead videographer, each crew member, and whether they are employed or subcontracted
  • Hours on site, crew size, and the overtime rate
  • Each deliverable by length and format, with delivery dates
  • Sound: desk feed, speaker microphones, backup
  • Music licensing and the licence you get for the film
  • Travel, equipment, and any extra edits as separate lines
  • Payment terms, and when the balance falls due
  • The VAT number, with VAT on the filming and the edits as a separate line

Walk away if

  • Only reels, never a full event film
  • No plan for recording the talks or speeches
  • Popular music promised for a film you will publish, with no licence
  • No licence clause, or one that does not cover your use
  • No insurance where the venue requires it
  • Unclear delivery dates
LOW
£390
TYPICAL
£600
HIGH
£1,500

What an event videographer costs: £390–£1,500 per event

Event videographers price by the event, by crew size and hours, with each extra edit, cut-down and licensed music track adding to it. Event Videographer price guide →

Guide prices compiled by the Locufy team from published Irish and UK provider price lists and 2026/27 cost guides. Updated 2026.

KNOW WHAT TO LOOK FOR? NOW FIND ONE

Event videographers near you, with the badges that matter shown

ID checked, trader status and one score from every review — on the card, before you message anyone. Nearest first. No account needed to look.

Or post the job free and let them come to you.

  1. BriefPurpose, audience, key moments, speakers, and the edits required.
  2. Technical reccePower, light, sound desk, positions for cameras, any filming restrictions.
  3. The eventCrew on site before doors open, sound checked, filming to the brief.
  4. Backup and editFootage duplicated the same night; edits to schedule, with licensed music.
  5. Delivery and reviewDrafts to you for comments, finals in the agreed formats, licence in writing.

Desk feed
The sound taken straight from the venue's mixing desk.
Cut-downs
Short clips edited from the main film for social media.
B-roll
Background footage — the room, the crowd, the details — cut over talks.
Raw footage
Unedited camera files.
Licensed music
Tracks you have the right to use in a published film.
Rounds of amends
How many times you can ask for changes to an edit.

AFTER

When the job is done

Download and back up every fileTwo copies, and the licence terms kept with them.
Check each edit against the briefLength, content, sound quality, formats, dates.
Edit out anyone who opted outBefore anything is published.
Tell others how it wentA review of the event film can only come from a booked job on Locufy. Problems first go through the make-it-right step.

STEP 1Put the filming or the edit in writing to themA short email is enough: the problem, and whether you want the filming or the edit put right or money back. A business must perform a service with reasonable care and skill (CRA 2015, s49), with repeat performance or a price cut as your remedies.
STEP 2Ask Locufy to help put it rightWhen you score a booked event videographer below four stars, you choose whether the event videographer sees the problem first. We follow it through, then you review.
STEP 3Trading Standards for a trader who will not engageSince event videographers have no regulator, the route for the filming or the edit is advice and a possible Trading Standards referral: Citizens Advice on 0808 223 1133 in England and Wales, Advice Direct Scotland on 0808 800 9060, or Consumerline on 0300 123 6262 in Northern Ireland.
STEP 4Small claims, as a last stepIf the event videographer still will not refund or put it right, a small claim needs no solicitor: £10,000 is the limit in England and Wales, £5,000 for simple procedure in Scotland, £5,000 in Northern Ireland.

Hiring an event videographer: questions people ask

Filming an event needs no licence anywhere in the UK.

The videographer: under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 a film's authors are its producer and principal director. It passes to you only by a written assignment.

Not if you publish it without a licence. Online publication is a communication to the public restricted by copyright; ask for licensed music.

£390 to £1,500 an event, typically around £600. Crew size, hours and the number of edits move the price. Prices by crew, hours and edits are in the event videographer price guide; enter your town above for crews near you.

Yes, in practice: footage of identifiable people is personal data, so say how it will be used and offer a way to opt out.

Rarely. Business bookings carry no consumer cancellation right, and for a private event booked for a set date, regulation 28(1)(h) of the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 usually removes the 14 days. Agree the cancellation and rescheduling terms in writing.

MORE GUIDES

More hiring guides in photography & video

How to hire: Event PhotographerHow to hire: Live Streaming ServiceHow to hire: VideographerHow to hire: Video EditorHow to hire: Wedding VideographerHow to hire: Drone VideographyHow to hire: Headshot PhotographerHow to hire: Product PhotographerAll 701 hiring guides →

Event videographers near you

Event videographers in LondonEvent videographers in ManchesterEvent videographers in BirminghamEvent videographers in GlasgowEvent videographers in BelfastAll event videographers on Locufy →

Sources — checked October 2026

  1. Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, section 9 — authorship (films: producer and principal director)
  2. Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, section 11 — first ownership
  3. Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, section 90 — assignment
  4. Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, section 20 — communication to the public
  5. gov.uk — pay the data protection fee
  6. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 49 — reasonable care and skill
  7. Citizens Advice — more help with a consumer issue
  8. gov.uk — make a court claim for money: court fees
  9. Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 28 — exceptions to the right to cancel
  10. VAT rates — VAT rates for goods and services: standard rate 20% on most goods and services
  11. GOV.UK — Register for VAT: when to register