It is the second day of a festival you travelled six hours for. You have a lanyard, a bag of flyers and a programme with forty talks marked in three colours. The talk you wanted started ten minutes ago and the room is full. In the hall someone hands you a card and you have nothing to give back.
By the evening you cannot say what you came for. One decision made before you book changes that: what you want to leave with.
IMAGE 1. ILLUSTRATION, AI ALLOWED. Ratio 3:2. Alt text: Visitors looking at large framed prints at a photography festival. Caption: Illustration. Prompt for ChatGPT: Photograph, not an illustration. Visitors at a photography festival exhibition in a converted industrial hall, seen from behind and slightly from the side. Five or six people stand in front of large framed black-and-white prints on white temporary walls. One person holds a camera by its strap, another reads a printed programme. Shot as a documentary photograph on a full-frame camera with a 35mm lens at f/4, available light only, track lighting overhead and daylight from high windows on the left, slight natural grain, true-to-life colour with a muted grade, mild lens vignetting. Handheld framing, subject off-centre, background partly cluttered with ordinary objects. People are adults of mixed ages in everyday clothes, with natural skin texture and small imperfections, relaxed unposed expressions and anatomically correct hands. Any camera gear is generic, with no visible brand names or logos. No text, no logos, no watermarks, no HDR look, no oversharpening, no beauty-filter skin, no symmetrical staging, no glossy stock-photo look. Aspect ratio 3:2, landscape.
The short version
For working photographers, four events stand out in 2027: The Societies Convention in London (expected in January), photoSCHWEIZ in Zurich (expected in February), Rencontres d'Arles (July to September) and Salon de la Photo in Paris (expected in October). The Photography & Video Show, on 13 to 16 March, is the largest of the gear shows.
Pick one event per goal: business training, work to look at, gear, or portfolio reviews. Several organisers have not published 2027 dates yet, so check the organiser's site before you book travel.
Dates are as published or expected in November 2026. Last updated 6 November 2026.
Choose by goal
Pick one goal first, then the event that serves it.
If you want to run your business better, go to a convention built for working photographers. The Societies Convention in London has masterclasses and a business school next to the trade show.
If you want to see strong work and meet people from the art and documentary world, go to a festival: Rencontres d'Arles, Copenhagen Photo Festival or Fotografia Europea.
If you want to handle gear, go to a trade show such as The Photography & Video Show, Salon de la Photo or Imaging World.
If you want your work reviewed, read the programme before you buy a ticket. Several festivals and conventions run reviews, including Xposure in Sharjah, and places are often limited.
Four dates for the diary
The Societies of Photographers Convention in London is expected in January 2027. photoSCHWEIZ in Zurich is expected in February 2027. Rencontres d'Arles runs from July to September 2027. Salon de la Photo in Paris is expected in October 2027 at the Grande Halle de la Villette. The Photography & Video Show runs on 13 to 16 March 2027 and is the largest gear show on the list.
Several organisers have not published 2027 dates yet. Check the organiser's site before you book travel, and arrange accommodation first at Arles and in Paris.
Getting something out of an event
Decide before you go what a good result is: three useful conversations, one review, or one technique you will use within a month. Book reviews and talks early, since popular slots fill up. Read the full programme and not only the headline, because talks, reviews and hands-on sessions are spread over days and you cannot attend all of them.
Bring printed work and a one-page summary of what you do. Within a week of coming home, write to the people you met and refer to something you talked about.
Read on for more context
Where an event trip goes wrong
- You pay for a ticket and a hotel, then spend two days on the trade floor without having decided what you came for. Pick one goal before you book.
- The talks and review slots you wanted are full when you arrive. Book them as soon as the programme is out.
- You bring a business card and no work. Bring a few prints and a one-page summary of what you do.
- You come home with a pocket of cards and write to nobody. Send your messages within a week.
- The event turns out to be aimed at beginners or at collectors, and you are neither. Check the audience of each event in the list below.
January to March
The Societies of Photographers Convention takes place in London, expected in January 2027 at the Novotel London West. It is aimed at professional photographers and lists more than 100 hours of masterclasses, a business school and a trade show.
photoSCHWEIZ is expected in Zurich in February 2027 at the Kongresshaus. The 2026 edition had about 25,000 visitors and around 250 exhibiting makers. It has a talks programme (photoFORUM), masterclasses (photoSCHOOL) and a marketplace for the industry.
The Photography & Video Show runs from 13 to 16 March 2027 in Birmingham or London, so confirm the venue with the organiser. It has more than 30,000 visitors and more than 500 talks. The audience mixes beginners and professionals, so read the talk list before you go.
Xposure International Photography Festival is in Sharjah from 18 to 24 March 2027, outside Europe. The 2026 edition listed 420 makers, 95 exhibitions and 570 events. It offers portfolio reviews and awards.
April to June
Fotografia Europea in Reggio Emilia is expected in May 2027. It is Italy's main photography festival, spread across the city, with a focus on art and documentary work.
Camerado Festival is expected in May 2027 near Kraggenburg in the Netherlands. It has a trade floor and workshops by Dutch makers and targets enthusiasts and semi-professionals.
Copenhagen Photo Festival is expected in June 2027. It is the largest photography festival in the Nordics, with the Royal Danish Theatre and about 30 other venues and a networking programme.
Kamera Express Fotofestival is expected in June 2027 across several stores in the Netherlands and Belgium. Entry is free and workshops are paid. It offers photo walks and a gear area where you can try cameras.
Photo Basel is expected in June 2027 during Art Basel and is a fair for collectors of photography. Fotogipfel Oberstdorf, also expected in June, is a festival with workshops in southern Germany and a mainly amateur and outdoor audience.
July to November
Rencontres d'Arles runs from July to September 2027 and draws about 150,000 visitors over the summer. The opening week is the busiest for meeting people from the industry. Arrange accommodation early.
Cortona On The Move, a documentary photography festival in Tuscany, takes place in summer 2027.
Salon de la Photo in Paris is expected in October 2027 at the Grande Halle de la Villette. The 2026 edition had about 37,000 visitors and around 20 masterclasses, and it has a programme for professionals.
Imaging World in Nuremberg is expected in October 2027. It has more than 200 exhibitors on 12,000 square metres, plus workshops. The audience is broad.
Paris Photo is expected in November 2027 at the Grand Palais. It is a fair for galleries and collectors with about 70,000 visitors. No gear is sold there, but many people from the photography world are in Paris that week.
Photopia in Hamburg has not run since 2023, so older lists that include it are out of date.
IMAGE 2. ILLUSTRATION, AI ALLOWED. Ratio 3:2. Alt text: A photographer with a backpack and tripod walking through a narrow old-town street. Caption: Illustration. Prompt for ChatGPT: Photograph, not an illustration. A photographer with a backpack and a tripod strapped to it walks along a narrow stone street in a southern French town on a July morning, seen from behind at a three-quarter angle. A few people are far down the street, shutters on the windows, a bicycle leaning on a wall. Shot as a documentary photograph on a full-frame camera with a 35mm lens at f/4, available light only, low morning sun from the end of the street with warm light on the stone, slight natural grain, true-to-life colour with a muted grade, mild lens vignetting. Handheld framing, subject off-centre, background partly cluttered with ordinary objects. People are adults of mixed ages in everyday clothes, with natural skin texture and small imperfections, relaxed unposed expressions and anatomically correct hands. Any camera gear is generic, with no visible brand names or logos. No text, no logos, no watermarks, no HDR look, no oversharpening, no beauty-filter skin, no symmetrical staging, no glossy stock-photo look. Aspect ratio 3:2, landscape.
IMAGE 3. ILLUSTRATION, AI ALLOWED. Ratio 3:2. Alt text: Two photographers talking at a table in a conference foyer, one holding a small stack of prints. Caption: Illustration. Prompt for ChatGPT: Photograph, not an illustration. Two photographers talk at a high table in a conference foyer. One flips through a small stack of prints, the other holds a paper coffee cup. Lanyards hang around their necks with unreadable badges. A glass wall and other people are out of focus behind them. Shot as a documentary photograph on a full-frame camera with a 35mm lens at f/4, available light only, soft daylight from a glass wall on the right, slight natural grain, true-to-life colour with a muted grade, mild lens vignetting. Handheld framing, subject off-centre, background partly cluttered with ordinary objects. People are adults of mixed ages in everyday clothes, with natural skin texture and small imperfections, relaxed unposed expressions and anatomically correct hands. Any camera gear is generic, with no visible brand names or logos. No text, no logos, no watermarks, no HDR look, no oversharpening, no beauty-filter skin, no symmetrical staging, no glossy stock-photo look. Aspect ratio 3:2, landscape.
FROM THE SET: one paragraph from Edition 1. What did participants do between the masterclass and the sets? Name the maker and quote one thing they said. Only after the event has taken place.
About Behind the Shoot
Behind the Shoot is a platform that brings photographers and hybrid shooters inspiration, on the site and above all at the events we organise. Those events are for professional photographers and prosumers who want to learn more about photography and everything around it. We invite industry leaders and bring brands and product specialists who supply the equipment, so the day is hands-on. The programme is educational and informative.
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Sources and testing
Compiled in November 2026 from the organisers' websites. Visitor numbers are from the most recent edition published. Events without announced dates are marked as expected.