Event photography

As we get back into the rhythm of the corporate event calendar, I’ve been reflecting on the role that photography plays. As a photographer, how can I best contribute to the organiser’s efforts to communicate their event?

Traditional event photography primarily served as a record – of the ministerial handshake, the chief executive’s speech, and the award ceremony. Such images still serve a purpose, of course, and I’m happy to make posed portraits of individuals or groups if required.

But what my clients mostly want these days is photos that “capture the essence of our event” as one put it recently – photos that convey the excitement in the room. They want images that remind participants what a good time they had, and make non-participants curse their bad luck and promise themselves to go next year.

I wish I’d been there

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A successful event photo evokes the response: I wish I’d been there!

It could be an image of the fabulous venue, or of the canapés at the reception. But most of all it will be an image of human connection. So what I always look for is emotion and interaction, heads turning, hands pointing, laughter. And, above all, the eyes of people fully focused on what someone else is saying. Because although a photograph cannot convey the content of a conference, it can show how information and ideas pass between us.

Dramatic shots from difficult event lighting

Event photography plays an important role in spreading news about a conference, seminar or award ceremony to those who could not attend – both members of the organisation’s immediate community and those in the wider sector. To do this successfully, whether on social media or in newsletters and the press, the photographs themselves must be visually and emotionally engaging, and the more engaging the better.

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The lighting is always sh*t

Lighting is critical in making strong images of any kind. Unfortunately for event photographers, the lighting of conference venues is never designed to help them. Sometimes, theatrical lighting effects are created to enhance the spectacle for those in the room. More typically, no thought at all is given to lighting and the photographer (and the participants) must simply make the best of whatever mix of natural, fluorescent, LED and vertical halogen spot lighting the venue happens to have. These days, we also have to cope with projection or LED screens, and often both. I use on-camera flash if I absloutely have to, but in general the results are stronger if I can find a way to work with the ambient light.

Work with what you’ve got

I have developed a two-fold strategy. First, I always try to arrive at the event venue at least half an hour before I am due to start shooting. This gives me time to explore the space, find out where and when key moments will occur, and check my route to the places with interesting angles to shoot from. Just as important, though, I assess the difficulties and the opportunities presented by the lighting. Sometimes, I even suggest changes to the event organiser, who can then pass on the request to the venue manager.

Creating drama

Two recent events presented contrasting examples of the challenges I often face, and the photographs above and below show how I tried to turn the difficulties to my advantage in order to create dramatic shots that grab the viewer’s attention.

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The first event was in a black-painted auditorium with no natural light at all. The overall light level was extremely low, with a few powerful spots focused on the stage area where a panel discussion would take place. I made a number of shots from behind the audience. But the best images were made from behind the panel, using the stage lighting to create dramatic contrast.

The second took place on a bright summer evening, with low sunlight streaming in through large windows along one side of a rooftop bar. I exploited the strong contrast to create strong individual and group portraits, often with the main light source behind the subjects.

Conference season, autumn 2021

From the number of enquiries and bookings for event photography that I’ve received in the last couple of weeks, it seems that 2021 will see a return of the traditional conference season in September, October and November. As always, photography will play an important part in documenting these key moments in the life of an organisation or a network, providing valuable visual content for subsequent communication.

Of course, few organisations are planning traditional thousand-person, two-day conferences. The events I've been hired for aim to attract more modest audiences, and these will be strictly controlled by the organisers. One client warned me: “We will request a vaccination certificate and conduct rapid tests on the day (both days) to ensure your safety and the safety of all participants.” Happily, I was able to provide my EU Digital COVID Certificate.

Most event managers will invest more heavily than in the past in infrastructure to extend the content of their event to virtual participants, whether through simple streaming, by opening back channels for questions and voting, or with full two-way videoconferencing. A hybrid approach avoids the risks of air travel and super-spreader events, leaving a smaller number of physical participants – VIPs, speakers and panelists – to be controlled and tested.

New formats and new venues, fewer people and more screens will create new photographic challenges, but I’m excited to explore the new possibilities!