How many shots should each guest get?
Too few and guests hoard them; too many and you're sorting a thousand blurry photos. A practical guide to choosing the roll size for weddings, parties, company events and nights out.
The roll size is the most important setting on a disposable camera event. It decides how carefully people shoot, how many photos you'll have to go through afterwards, and how full the album feels. Here's how to choose.
Why the limit matters
On a normal phone camera, a photo costs nothing, so people take ten of the same thing and never look at them again. A limited roll changes behavior. Guests pause, frame the shot and wait for the moment. The photos get better, and there are fewer to sort.
But a limit that's too tight backfires. If guests think every shot is precious, some will save them all for "something good" and leave with a full roll.
A rule of thumb
Start from the length of the event and how much happens in it:
| Event | Length | Shots per guest |
|---|---|---|
| Dinner party, shower, small birthday | 2–3 hours | 6–10 |
| Wedding reception | 4–6 hours | 10–15 |
| Whole wedding day (ceremony to last dance) | 8+ hours | 15–24 |
| Club night or concert | 3–5 hours | 5–10 |
| Company party or conference evening | 2–4 hours | 8–12 |
| Off-site or multi-day retreat (per day) | full day | 10–20 |
| Race, tournament or festival day | half to full day | 8–15 |
If in doubt, go with 12. It's enough to feel generous, small enough to make people choose, and it divides naturally into "a few at dinner, a few on the dance floor, a few at the end".
Do the album maths
Multiply your guests by the roll size, then by the share of the roll you expect people to use. Some guests won't use them all, so planning on about 70% is reasonable:
100 guests × 12 shots × 70% ≈ 840 shots to look through.
That's an evening's curation with coffee. 100 guests × 36 shots would be nearly 2,500, which is why "unlimited" rarely helps. If you're the one curating, pick a number you'll enjoy going through.
You can also set a total for the whole event. The camera stops for everyone once that many shots are taken, which puts a ceiling on how much you'll have to sort through.
Photos, videos or both?
With Event Camera, a video clip uses one shot, and you set the longest clip allowed (up to 60 seconds). Video is great for toasts, speeches and first dances, but long clips are slow to watch back. For most events, a limit of 15–30 seconds keeps clips punchy. Because a one-minute clip costs the same single shot as a photo, guests tend to reach for video. If you mostly want stills for the album, turn video off.
Tips for getting the roll used
- Say the number out loud. "You've got 12 shots" on a table card or from the DJ gives people a budget to spend.
- Give prompts. "One photo of your table, one of the dance floor, one of something we'd miss" turns a limit into a game.
- Let them know when the camera closes. Guests who know the camera stops at midnight use their shots before then.
If you get it wrong
You can change the number of shots per guest in your event settings while the event is running, for example to give everyone a few more when the night is going well. Guests see the new count next time they open the camera. If you raise it, check the total for the whole event too.
Ready to set your number? Start an event, or see how hosts use Event Camera for weddings, company events and nights out.