January 13, 2020
Your Event Photography Checklist
BY Tom Mahon
January 13th, 2020
Great event…’not so great’ photos. Here are 5 things to check off your list before your event.
Event Photography
Event photography should be at the top of your list when organising your event. Think of it like this: you have spent ages planning your event, organising the guests, sending out emails, and finally the big day is here. The room is buzzing with energy, everyone’s had a great time and the event turns out to be a huge success…but your photos don’t do it justice. Nothing says “we had a great time” better than amazing photos. Here is our event photography checklist to help you make your event one to remember.
1. Choosing The Right Venue
Choosing the right venue to complement your event photography is crucial. Top of the list is finding a venue with lots of natural light. There is only so much an event photographer can do in a dark, dingy room. Whilst our event photographers are always prepared for low light environments with flash, fast lenses, and other equipment, nothing beats natural light. If your venue lacks natural light, make sure that you have decent lighting options.
Looking for help finding the perfect venue? Our partners at HireSpace make venue booking easy! Check out their venue-finder tool.
2. Hiring A Pro
Do you want to hire a professional photographer? Event photography is actually much harder than it looks due to all the moving parts. A professional photographer has to constantly be aware of their surroundings, manoeuvring through the crowd whilst trying to capture people in the best light. In addition to this, your photographer will have to have a strong understanding of the features within the room, strategically blending shots of guests into the background…all of this for the ‘perfect shot’. Don’t want to compromise on your content quality? Hire a pro! It’s one less thing to worry about.
Looking to hire an event photography pro? Checkout our event photography page.
3. Having A Brief
Writing a brief is the ideal scenario for your photographer. How do you plan to use the photos? Already have an idea of what sort of photography you want? Write it down and ask your photographer to incorporate that. Creating a tight brief will decrease room for error and align expectations on both sides. Photographers aren’t mind-readers, so giving them a heads up on what you’re looking for can save a lot of time, money, and disappointment. Consider these questions when writing your brief:
- Is there anyone, in particular, I want the photographer to capture? A keynote speaker, an important guest, or the event organiser?
- Do I need print-quality stills? High resolution for social media?
- What is my preferred aspect ratio? 1×1 and 4×3 for social media or horizontal for websites?
- Do I require any extra photography services like headshot photography?
4. Preparation
Preparation, preparation, preparation! Preparation is key to making sure your event runs smoothly. This also applies to your event photography. Sending your event photographer your venue details well before the event date is a great step to ensure that they can prepare adequately. Our photographers usually have a site visit to understand the space, lighting and angles before the event day. Here are a few questions you want to ask yourself to prepare:
- Have I notified my guests that photos will be taken?
- Are there any interesting spaces in the venues I want the photos to cover?
- Have I sent my photographer the event schedule and brief?
5. Ready, set, capture!
Ready, set, capture! Your event day is finally here and you have ticked off everything from your list. Your event photographer should be well briefed and ready to get stuck into the action. At this point, let the photographer do what they do best – capturing your event! After your event, the best selects can then be touched up and graded to give your photos that extra wow factor. Take a look at some examples of great event photography below.
