Event Photos Your Photographer Needs to Capture
Covered in this post—
Planning for Event Photos
6 Must-Have Event Photos
Event Photos From a Chicago Event Team
Remember the old adage – a picture is worth a thousand words? The truth is that in the modern marketing world, great event photos are worth much more. Capturing the right type of content during your next live event can have a ripple effect as you promote future events, showcase company culture, and generate engagement through various marketing channels.
These days everyone has a camera in their pocket or purse. The availability of event photographs from amateurs has never been higher. While getting candid shots and tapping into your attendees for photos is a great way to showcase your event, it is limited in many ways.
With a professional photographer on staff, you can feel confident that all of the shots on your must-have list will be planned and accounted for after the dust settles.
Great photography is one of the most versatile tools for marketing teams. Having a well-crafted plan and a team that can execute with minimal supervision and direction is essential. At Mark Campbell Productions, we know the power of great photography and we are here to help.
Planning for Event Photos
Planning the photography strategy for your event might be a small piece of the puzzle, but it's one that must be accomplished if you want to generate great content that can be leveraged before, during, and after the event.
In our experience, these four quick tips are essential to the planning process.
Assign a content coordinator – Every event has a huge number of moving parts, having a dedicated person to help orchestrate your photography process and strategy makes it less likely that something will fall through the cracks.
Depending on the size of your event, you may have 4 or 5 photographers who all have shot lists. Oversight is an essential component and keeps the entire team on track.
Create content capture lists – Just as no two events are the same, no two photographers are the same. Sending a photographer off into the wild to capture event photos might generate results, but will they capture what you want?
Communicating and creating a comprehensive capture list makes it easier for the content coordinator to manage the photography team and ensures that your vision comes to life.
Budget for time and space – As you plan your event, consider when and where you will strategically place photographers. If your venue is large, they need to be spread out enough to capture unique aspects of the event. In the case of smaller events, you don’t want photographers interfering with the guest experience or tripping over one another.
Time must also be considered to get the shots that you desire. The last thing you want is a photographer racing across the venue to try and capture a specific event.
Leverage multiple shooters – One of the biggest mistakes event planners make is only hiring a single photographer. The simple fact is that photographers can’t be in two places at once.
Having multiple shooters on the floor provides your team with options. Options ensure that your must-have shot list is executed with flawless precision.
6 Must-Have Event Photos
Regardless of the size and scope of your event, there are a few must-have shots that should be the foundation of your content capture list.
Greeting and Welcome
When the doors open camera shutters should be clicking. The early moments of your event are a great time to capture candid moments and first impressions of attendees. Images of guests walking into the event, greeting one another, picking up their name badges, gathering materials, and entering the showroom floor can all be used the day of on social media platforms to generate buzz and as promotional images for future events.
Speakers and Presenters
Most event managers prioritize photos of speakers and presenters while they are on the stage, by deploying multiple photographers, you can take that a step further. Capturing candids as speakers work the event should also be a priority. Candid photos as they mingle help create a story around each speaker.
Pro Tip → Stage an area where attendees can get photos with high-profile guest speakers for great exposure on social media.
The Crowd
People want to be in the know and they want to feel like they are part of the group. Few shots can highlight the size and significance of an event like crowd photos. Here are a few examples of crowd photos that are must-haves:
Crowds in full sessions
Participation photos such as dancing, asking questions, or celebrating
Breakout room photos
Panel discussion reactions
Drone shots – for outdoor events
With the crowd, capturing energy should be a primary focus. This is one area where an amateur photographer will likely struggle. Knowing how to frame the shot to capture the crowd's emotion requires expertise.
Decorations and Details
Great event photos aren’t limited to pictures of attendees and speakers. With a good eye, a professional photographer can capture all of the small details your team has put in place. Items such as event ambiance, vendor booths, food, decor, signage and more should all be at the top of your shot list.
Pro Tip → Images during vendor setup can be a great catalyst to build excitement the day before the event and help boost exposure for both you and your vendors.
Before and After Shots
Before and after shots are great for annual events. Ideally, your event has grown year after year. By staging a before and after snapshot you can showcase how attendee participation has increased or how you now have more vendors than ever before. These images can be leveraged as a recap to celebrate record attendance or as promo material for next year’s event.
Exit and Goodbyes
As the event winds down, the potential for great photo content remains high. Similar to the power of greeting photos, exit, and goodbyes are also powerful images. Stage a photographer just outside the exit to capture attendees with swag bags and final moments.
Always remember → People leaving happy is an enduring image and makes for great recap content.
Event Photos From a Chicago Event Team
Orchestrating an event, regardless of size, requires significant work. Capturing your success through a photographic story is one of the top ways to help boost engagement and encourage future participation. Choosing to partner with a professional photography team ensures the plan goes off without a hitch.
If you are planning an event in the Chicago area in the coming months, our team is ready to help your event come to life. At Mark Campbell Productions, we have the team and the tools to create a great content strategy that generates high-quality results.
Connect with our team to discuss your event and get a quote.