What happens to raw event photo files after the gallery closes

The published gallery from your event stays online for 30 days from delivery. What happens to the underlying raw files after that window is not something this article can state as a fixed policy, since it was not published as one; the reliable approach is to ask directly and agree it in writing before the event if raw file retention matters to you.

What the 30-day gallery window covers

The gallery you receive after an event is the edited, delivered set of images, available online for 30 days from the point of delivery. This window is the mechanism for downloading your files, sharing the link with colleagues or sponsors, and pulling selects for immediate use in a press release or social post. It is a practical delivery window rather than a comment on how long any files exist behind the scenes.

If you have not downloaded everything you need within that 30-day period, it is worth reaching out before the window closes rather than after, since access to the gallery link itself is what ends at that point. Saving a local copy of anything you expect to reuse later is the safest habit, regardless of what happens to files on the vendor's side afterwards.

Whether raw files are kept beyond that window

Raw files, meaning the unedited originals behind the delivered selects, are a separate matter from the 30-day gallery, and retention practice for them is not something published as a fixed policy here. Rather than guess or assume a particular answer, either that files are kept indefinitely or deleted immediately, the more reliable approach is to ask the vendor directly what their actual practice is and get the answer in writing if it matters to your organisation.

This is a reasonable question to raise at the time of booking rather than after the event. Vendors vary in how they handle raw files, and a straightforward question, asked early, avoids any ambiguity later about what you can and cannot expect to retrieve.

Requesting an archive before the gallery closes

If your organisation has a specific reason to want raw files preserved, such as an internal archive requirement or a compliance policy, raise this before the event rather than after the gallery has closed. Asking for an archive arrangement to be included as part of the booking, in writing, is more reliable than requesting it retroactively once the standard delivery process has already run its course.

Be specific about what you actually need: whether that is the full set of raw files, only the ones corresponding to selects you did not receive, or simply a longer retention period for the edited gallery itself. A specific request is easier for a vendor to confirm or decline clearly than a general one.

How retention questions fit into a PDPA review

File retention sits alongside consent and usage rights as part of a broader data protection review for any event where photos of attendees are taken. If your organisation runs a formal PDPA review process for vendors, it is worth including questions about both edited gallery retention and raw file handling as standard items, rather than treating retention as a separate, one-off question asked only when it happens to come up.

This is particularly relevant for events involving delegates who may later ask what happened to their image, or for organisations with their own internal data retention obligations that extend to vendor-held files. Building retention into the standard vendor questions, alongside consent wording and licence terms, keeps the review consistent across every booking rather than ad hoc.

Where this sits alongside your usage licence

Retention and usage rights are related but separate questions. The usage licence covers what you are allowed to do with the images you received, while retention covers whether files still exist on the vendor's side after delivery. It is worth not confusing the two when reviewing a contract: a generous usage licence does not automatically tell you anything about how long raw files are kept, and a retention policy does not change what you are permitted to do with the images you already have.

If your procurement or legal team is reviewing a photography contract as part of a wider vendor assessment, it is reasonable to ask for both points, usage rights and retention practice, to be stated clearly in the same document, rather than leaving retention as an assumed or undocumented detail.

Questions organisers ask

If raw file retention or an extended archive matters for your event, raise it when you first get in touch so it can be agreed before booking. Get in touch to discuss your requirements.

Related reading: who owns event photos singapore · pdpa event photography consent guide · express 24.