Event Photography Challenges!

Event photography is a dynamic and constantly changing field. People always want to know if we get bored of photographing similar types of events, and the answer would be no. Certainly, there are some events that we photograph on a regular basis: conferences, trade shows, concerts etc. These types of events all have certain elements in common such as crowds, people engaged in activities or just simply standing around waiting for their session to begin. However, each event has its unique features, especially the individual speakers that present at such gatherings. They bring life and personality into an otherwise standard event-type image gallery.

So while photographing these familiar scenes does become repetitive after a while it would not prevent us from taking on another assignment to capture yet another conference, trade show or concert. It is the variation in the type of events that help keep our work interesting. We know how important these images are and what we are capturing. this always drives us to get stronger images at any event.

When it comes to photographing unique events, such as launches, film sets and private sessions where access is limited, one can sense the anticipation build-up towards this experience. While these types of assignments are not necessarily more difficult than other assignments they do carry their own set of challenges. For example, on an average PR/marketing job we could often spend two or three hours photographing people walking around during a night-time event (standard issue for marketing photography). On the same assignment, we would be able to cover all angles and make use of multiple lighting setups at different exposures to achieve results. During special exclusive events, however, access is limited and the client would like to see everything captured in one quick session. This makes it difficult to achieve consistency throughout the image gallery because we only get one chance of photographing everything properly.

Event photography, regardless of what type of assignment it might be, covers a range of photographic genres (portraiture, still life, architecture etc.). However, there are some genres that are more closely related to special event coverage than others. Promotional photography for instance uses many of the same techniques as standard marketing imagery or corporate portrait photography; however, you will often find that most promotional photographs tend to be action shots rather than people interacting with their environment. This makes sense when you consider where these images fall within an overall PR/marketing campaign. They are usually used to convey the mood of an event or convey information that may otherwise bore the viewer.

Another genre of photography that has many similarities to special event coverage is social documentary/street photography; which focuses on capturing realistic images in public places including people, architecture and urban landscapes. The difference with the social documentary is that it does not necessarily require permission to take photos (although street photography always requires consent). However, there are some events where you would not consider taking pictures without permission such as awards ceremonies, private product launches etc. It would be considered rude and intrusive to do so. Social documentary is normally more focused on people than objects whereas special event coverage can include both depending on your client’s requirements.

One of the most popular genres of photography covering special events is sports coverage. This would include individual sporting activities such as golf, triathlons and car racing, as well as team-based activities like football, rugby and cricket. As with all types of photography, the focus is on documenting what happens in front of your lens during that split second when you take a photograph. While taking good action shots requires skill and continuous practice it is not always easy to capture the decisive moment (the best expression). It also depends on how much time you are given to cover an event; for example, if you are photographing a Formula One race you only have one chance at getting “the money shot” (the winning action or expression after crossing the finish line). You cannot push the button on your camera whenever you feel like it, otherwise, you will miss all of the action.

All types of special event photography will require good timing and fast reaction times to capture particular moments or expressions. This is also true for more general sports coverage where you might only get one chance at photographing an athlete mid-action. However because you have more time to prepare for a shoot in our case, we can use additional lighting equipment to produce better results-paced nature of these events. On a standard marketing job there might be a sequence of events that need documenting throughout a night-time party (e.g., arrival, dinner/speeches etc).

For any assignment, we always try and work out what is most important before we set up our equipment. Sometimes it might be a face shot, sometimes it might just be an isolated action frame that captures everything about that moment. Although with special event coverage you do not always have time to plan things as much as you would like because of the fast-paced nature of the job. This is why we try and test all our equipment beforehand to make sure we don’t miss any crucial moments in an event (i.e., ensuring we have enough batteries, back-up gear etc).

Although special event photography might be fun, it can also require great patience because you do not always get what you want or expect at such events. For example, if you are covering a fundraiser dinner it might be difficult to get good shots because people will feel inhibited taking pictures during speeches and presentations. On the other hand, there could be some pressure from your client because they want particular images for their promotional material so you need to somehow convince them that everyone will look their best in candid shots taken with available lighting. This is where your expertise comes into play; we can normally work around these situations and convince guests to smile for the camera.

Another issue that could be encountered when photographing special events is language barriers, as you might be working with people from different cultural backgrounds (e.g., a fashion show in another country). This could also make it difficult if you are setting up before an event starts because most of the photographers will need access to certain areas (e.g., backstage) and that might not always be possible due to security protocols. However, it does provide us with an opportunity to meet and talk with other professionals which usually turns out to be a lot of fun!

One common we encounter with our clients – especially in the corporate world – is that they want to see a wide variety of images from their event. This might mean they want us to take hundreds, if not thousands of photos–which can be a little overwhelming for us at times. We usually try and find out beforehand what our clients want because it will help us plan accordingly (e.g., taking enough back up equipment to last throughout an entire day). It also means we need to adjust the way we work during an assignment; for example, you normally take fewer risks with your photography when working on commercial jobs than you would if asked to cover an exhibition or fashion show.

However, there are always different expectations depending on who you are assigned by so you need to know how far you can push your creative boundaries. For example, most PR photography jobs will come with a set of stock images that you will need to include in your reportage. Although if working for an advertising company there might be more room for additional shots (e.g., they might want some dramatic lighting to make their product stand out).

Our event coverage is always fun to edit because there are so many different things going on and sometimes you need to try and tell a story throughout a series of images. It also means we get the opportunity see how other companies work at special events so we can learn from each job we do. Although it does require a lot of patience while waiting for certain moments to happen-which is not normally something photographers have!