All corporate events need a good event photographer.
Business events like conferences, exhibitions, meetings, networking events, seminars, product launches, all fall under the category of corporate event and require a great event photographer who can capture their essence.
It may seem to some like an easy task where the photographer can simply walk around the room and snap easy pictures of the crowd and speakers. As easy as it may seem event photography is more complicated then this, especially if you are looking for quality photos. Yes, there is a huge difference between amateur event pictures and those taken by a professional photographer with lots of experience in the field.
How should you know if the event photographer you are about hire is a good one?
1. Ask him how much experience he has.
It comes with no surprise that any kind of photography requires practice and only practice to be better and more professional. Event photography is not only about snapping the photos but also your photographer needs to understand and have experience with different light settings that he will encounter at the event. For example, a huge bright screen behind the speakers can be a difficult task to someone without experience. Ask him for his experience at similar events to yours. The more experience the better.
2. Communication skills are the top skill in photography.
Surprised? Hope not, if your photographer is not communicating smoothly with you and asking for clear guidelines and requirements it can be a sign that he is not going to understand your vision. The photographer needs to know exactly what you want him to focus on, which speakers are important, what kind of shots you care most about. Make sure you have clear requirements ready before the event.
3. He has the proper photography equipment.
Your photographer would like to know the schedule of the event so he can prepare the right equipment to use in the specific situation at the event. There could be many different settings at the venue and your photographer will need to change lenses depending on the situation.
4. Quick doesn't mean good quality photos
There are many websites offering photographers on-demand where they send anyone to your event who will take pictures which then will be bulk edited by editing company and delivered to u within 24hours. If you are looking for quality don't expect this to be the best option. Your photographer should be able to edit his images and deliver a specific look and feel to the images that is his signature. Post-production takes time! Your photographer should be able to deliver a few highlight images the same day of the event for you to use it on social media but don't expect that all the images will be delivered edited right after the event as this will indicate to you that the process is compromised. Allow him a few days for the full delivery of the images that are edited properly and have a consistent look.
5. Price is adequate to photographer's experience.
If you are looking for a professional event photographer because you will use the photos for promotional reasons, don't look for the cheapest option on the market. The prices on the market vary hugely around the world, don't expect that the cheapest photographer will get you the high quality results. The price is usually adequate the experience of the photographer and only those who understand quality photography will deliver great results and experience including the delivery of the images on time and within the agreed framework.
The images in this post were taken for our client Rockstart in Amsterdam by event photographer Paul.
