Photographing a conference...

I was the event photographer for a conference held in Dallas by the AMA. The panel discussion was interesting, dealing with healthcare marketing and PR issues, and it had experts from several area publications speaking. It seemed like a typical scenario that a corporate event photographer might encounter, so I thought I'd use it as a tutorial of how to cover an event like this for your client...

Obviously, you'll want to get a shot of anyone who stands at the podium or in front of the microphone. These shots will include hosts, moderators, and featured speakers. The image can be pretty straight forward, showing the subject speaking to a crowd. The more shots of this nature, the better.

This is a must have photo! Both for internal and external use, a shot of all the speakers is a priority. Don't line them right up against the wall, though. You want to get some sense of where they were, so look for event posters, corporate logos or even sponsor banners to fill the background. You can try to get creative with these shots, but I've always found that the client just wants a straight forward, simple pose.

One thing that is overlooked is the entrance and/or sign-in table. Try to get an action shot of someone checking in or talking at the entrance. Another shot to add with this would be an outdoor building shot. Not always needed, but better safe than sorry...

The next four shots are your standard guest shots. Try to get a variety of tight shots, showing a couple guests posed, a few guests networking and chatting, maybe some guests enjoying the provided refreshments, etc. These images can be valuable to your client, so the more variety the better!

Next up is an important one for your client! Get shots of all the signs, banners, posters, etc... these could mean the difference between a sponsor continuing to support an event or not. It could also provide documentation required internally. I try to get creative with these images, showing the signs in relation to the people around them.

And finally, what I call the scene-setting shots. Shots like these often run with a story about the event in a newspaper or magazine, so they are a priority. Usually, you are being hired to shoot an event like this so the marketing department can send out a press release and images to the local publications (or at the very least, run a story internally, in a company eblast or newsletter). You NEED a good shot that shows a full house, with a lot of people listening to the speaker or networking.

And remember, this is just a sample of what you'll want to cover. Realistically, you'll wind up with a hundred or two hundred solid images to provide your client after shooting an event for a couple hours. So, don't just stop at these few shots... document everything you see, from as many different viewpoints as you can find. The more you provide for your client, the more often they will use you again - and the more you can charge for your services.

Of course, charging your client will have to wait for another blog post. That is quite a complex subject, it could easily take up a week of posts! For now, practice becoming the best corporate event photographer that you can be!