Party photo scavenger hunt: 40 ideas, from the door to the last song

How to run it with Guest Lens

The classic version is a printed list, a pen, and someone checking phones at the end. On papershot, the list lives in the camera instead. Guest Lens is the host's shot list: your prompts, up to 80 characters each, shown in every guest's camera.

1. 01

   Make the moment

   Name the party, set when the roll starts and ends, and pick a film look. Vintage or Black & white sets one look for everyone; Original lets each guest choose.

2. 02

   Paste in your prompts

   Pick your favourites from the 40 below, change the names to the people in the room, and add them to Guest Lens.

3. 03

   Hand out the invite card

   One card by the door is enough. Guests scan the QR, get the app if they need it, type a name, and shoot. No account.

4. 04

   Let the list run itself

   A prompt ticks itself off when a guest captures straight from it. There is no tick to press, and no score sheet to collect.

5. 05

   Open the roll together

   The roll develops as it happens, when it closes, or after a delay you set. Until then, other guests see a blurred tile for each shot, with who added it and when, and you see everything.

Mention it once, as guests arrive: there is a list in the camera, and they can shoot from it whenever they like. Shots taken without signal wait on the phone and upload when the connection is back, so the garden and the cellar count too.

Arrivals, the food, and the cake: 14 ideas

Start at the door, and give the food its moment before it disappears. Seven for the arrivals:

• The first guest through the door
• Someone waiting on the doorstep
• Two people hugging hello
• The pile of coats on the bed
• The shoes lined up by the door
• The best outfit to walk in
• A present, still wrapped

Seven for the food and the cake:

• The table, before anyone touches it
• Someone sneaking food before it is served
• Whoever made the food, mid-stir
• The cake, before anyone cuts it
• The candles, mid-blow
• The first slice
• The plate everyone fought over

The people and the dance floor: 15 ideas

People make the best party photos, far more than the decorations do. Eight for the people:

• The host, finally sitting down
• Two people who met tonight
• Someone telling a story with their hands
• The loudest laugh in the room
• Three generations in one photo
• The person who knows everyone
• Friends who have not seen each other in years
• Your whole table, in one photo

Seven for the dance floor:

• The first person to dance
• Somebody dancing badly, with total joy
• Everyone singing the same line
• Shoes off, under a chair
• Whoever is in charge of the music
• A dance-off, mid-move
• The dance floor, from above

Late night, and 10 seconds of video: 11 ideas

The hours after midnight are the ones a busy host misses. Seven for late at night:

• The kitchen, where everyone ends up
• The best conversation on the stairs
• Someone asleep on the sofa
• The leftovers, at two in the morning
• The washing-up nobody wants to do
• The taxi home
• Last one standing

And four for video. Each guest has one video, 5 to 30 seconds, so these go to whoever wants them most:

• 10 seconds of the loudest song
• 10 seconds of happy birthday, sung badly
• 10 seconds of the kitchen at midnight
• 10 seconds of the room, turning slowly

How many prompts and shots to give

A list works when it is a nudge, not homework. Give guests fewer prompts than shots, so there is room for the photos nobody could plan. You choose the shots per guest: 5, 10, 16, 24, or 36.

For a party or a night out, 10 shots each and six to eight prompts is plenty. For a long party, or a birthday that runs from the afternoon into the night, try 16 shots each and 10 to 12 prompts. Keep 24 shots for a celebration that runs all day, so the last hours still have shots left in them.

Pick the prompts that suit your night, not all 40, and change the names to the people in the room. There is more on the numbers in how many shots each guest should get, and a list made for a wedding in the wedding photo scavenger hunt.

Setting up a particular night? The party, birthday, and friends' night pages each carry a short shot list of their own, and the setup for that kind of night.