20 festival photo ideas with friends, and how to share them without signal

Shooting without signal, and what to do before you go

A field full of phones is hard on mobile signal. Photos sent to a group chat sit waiting, or arrive days later, compressed. A shared roll works differently: every friend shoots onto the same private roll, and when there is no signal, shots wait on the phone and upload when the connection is back. The roll fills itself over the weekend. More in photo sharing without signal.

1. 01

   Make the moment before you leave

   Set it to start when the gates open and end on the last night, and pick a film look. Black & white suits a late night; Original lets everyone choose at the camera.

2. 02

   Share the link in the group chat

   Everyone gets the papershot app and joins at home, on Wi-Fi. No accounts: they type a name, and they are on the roll. The link works any time, and the camera opens when the moment starts.

3. 03

   Videos for the sets, memos for the campsite

   Every friend gets one of each. Ask one memo question for the campsite: “What was the best set?” By Sunday, the weekend is there in your friends' own voices.

Festival photo ideas: the campsite and the field

Put a handful into Guest Lens and they show in every friend's camera; each ticks itself off when someone shoots straight from it.

• The tent, before and after.
• Breakfast at the campsite.
• The walk in on the first day.
• The best outfit in the field.
• The queue for food.
• Your flag, from across the field.
• Wristbands, glitter, and muddy boots, up close.
• Someone asleep in a camping chair.
• The plan for the day, written on someone's arm.
• The meeting point, so nobody forgets it.

Festival photo ideas: the sets and the night

The sets are where the phones come out anyway. Spread yourselves out, one of you at the barrier and one at the back, and the roll has both.

• The view from the barrier.
• The view from the very back.
• Someone on someone's shoulders.
• Faces during the headliner.
• 10 seconds of the chorus.
• The stage lights over the crowd.
• The friend who knows every word.
• The sunrise you stayed up for.
• The last song of the weekend.
• The walk out.

One video each: the best 10 seconds of a set

Every friend can add one video, 5 to 30 seconds, filmed in the app in 4:3. One each sounds strict at a festival, and that is the point: nobody films an hour of shaky footage, and everyone saves theirs for the song they would pick out of the whole weekend.

Set the length to 10 seconds and write a prompt, up to 120 characters, such as “10 seconds of the song you came for.” More prompts in video guest book ideas.

Practical tips for the weekend

1. 01

   Charge everything before the gates

   Bring a power bank for every tent. A phone searching for signal all day drains fast; between sets, aeroplane mode saves battery, and shots taken in it wait on the phone like any other.

2. 02

   Pick a meeting point for the reveal

   Agree a place and a time to open the roll together: the car, the coach stop, or the first café on the way home. It is better with everyone there.

3. 03

   Pick shots for the whole weekend

   For a long weekend, 36 shots each; for a day or two, 24. Keep a few for the last night.

4. 04

   Keep your phone close

   A zipped pocket in the crowd, and a dry bag if rain is forecast.

Developing on the way home

Set the roll to develop a few hours after it closes, so shots still waiting from the field have time to upload as phones find signal on the way out. Until it develops, the host sees everything that has arrived, and everyone else sees a blurred tile for each shot, with who added it and when.

A free moment takes up to 4 guests, and its roll is kept 48 hours after it closes; for a bigger group, a paid size from 8 guests up keeps it 30 days. Download it before then. More on the festivals page, and for a night closer to home, see friends' nights.