event photography, your workflow re: releases for anyone photographed at event

Hi All,

Experienced event photog here, with a new challenge.

My client next weekend is asking for every person photographed at an event to sign a release for use of their photos, and then they have asked me to put each person's name that is in a photo into the file name.

How would you (fellow experienced event photographers) work through the need to thoroughly shoot the event (with split-second happenings) and track who is who in the photos so you can include their names in the files?

This is a typical run-and-gun event, with many things happening simultaneously (it's an outdoor "family festival" with bands, some wild bird handlers, food and drink tables, singing etc etc). It's an open air event with no tickets, so no ability to have a blanket "if you are here you give permission for your photographs to be used".

I'll have an assistant who'll be dealing with the release forms.

If I take a photo and then stop to talk to people, ask them to sign (after reading), I'm not going to be able to cover the event with my typical thoroughness (and that'll make the client unhappy, even though I'm working under their constraints).

I'm thinking I'll try to shoot as normal while my assistant gets permissions (I'll point out who I've photographed) and, after she gets them to sign, I'll photograph the signed form with the relevant people in the background. Not overly efficient, but the only way I can think of to associate names on forms with faces.

Any other suggestions? (hmm, maybe I can get the assistant to use her mobile to do the forms + faces work...).

And yes, in 20 years of shooting events, I've never been asked to get releases from attendees (advertising work, yes, but never events).