Our Top 5 Event Photography Tips

Your event photography checklist

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. This is where our event photography checklist comes in handy. Here is our event photography checklist aka, our top 5 tips, 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? Have a look at the beautiful spaces on offer at Lumiere London, Village Underground or get in touch with us, we’ve worked at hundreds of fantastic venues and will be able to find the perfect location for your event and shoot.

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.

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, for instance.
• 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?
• How quickly do I need the edited images?

Check out our event photography brief, we’ve even included a free downloadable template to get you started!

4. 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!

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 – capture your event! After your event, the best selects can then be touched up and graded to give your photos that extra wow factor.

London Filmed is your top event production company. Contact us for more information about our photography services.