Top 10 tips for the best corporate event photography

1.Start with good client coordination

Communication is key to success in any project and event photography is no exception. Be sure you have clear start and stop times and an estimate for when the edited photos will be delivered. Some clients will request a PR Rush, which means they want a handful of photos delivered quickly for press releases and social media. Work with your client to create a shot list, so you know who are the import speakers and sponsors. Ask for a schedule or "run of show" before the event.

Arrive at least 15-20 minutes before your start time. Check in with your contact person, walk through the venue, and review the shot list. Ask them to point out the VIPs for you.

2.Know your gear

Event photos can change location, activity and/or lighting quickly, so you will need to know how to change settings and lenses efficiently. Here's a list of ideal event photo gear, although gear will vary from job to job:

• Main camera

• Spare camera (essential!) 

• Extra charged batteries

• Formatted SD cards

• Wide zoom lens (like a 24mm-70mm)

• Telephoto zoom lens (like a 70mm-200mm)

• Two flashes and spare charged batteries

• Synch your cameras’ clocks to match your phone (this will help with organizing the photos by capture time.)

3.Learn how to master low light situations

Event photography involves all kinds of lighting conditions, but corporate event photography often happens in rooms with very little natural light. You'll need to use lenses that have a fairly wide aperture: 2.8 lenses are ideal for low light.

Learn the exposure triangle inside and out: aperture, ISO and shutter speed. Modern cameras work with higher ISOs very effectively, so pushing your ISO will often need to happen. If you go above 1600, you may need to de-noise your shots in your editing software. Don't let your shutter speed dip to low to avoid camera shake blurriness. Many telephoto zoom lenses do have image stabilization which can help with camera shake.

4.Master your flash techniques

Direct flash should be avoided, if at all possible. The flash should be pointed at the ceiling or wall for a pleasing soft bounced light. If the ceiling of the venue is black or too high for effective bounced flash a flash diffuser might be the best option.

If this is an indoor event, hopefully there is uplighting (gelled lights on the floor pointed up toward the walls) or other light in the space that can help create depth: chandeliers, lamps or windows. Set your ISO, flash and shutter speed to allow for flattering light on your subjects while also showing some of the background lighting. In a the example above (a large ballroom) my ISO is 1600, f4 and 160th of a second. My flash is at half power. A great way to test your settings is by taking some detail shots.

For photos of speakers, it’s best not to use flash because it’s too distracting during presentations. Use a 2.8 lens and higher ISO. 

5.Follow event photography etiquette

Dress professionally. No jeans, no t-shirts and no logos. Black slacks and tops are preferred.

Cameras and flashes can make you a bit bulky, so be mindful when moving around a space. Accidents happen, so apologize if you bump into someone. Be courteous to the staff of the event, and avoid getting in their way, when possible. Sometimes, it's unavoidable to block a guest's view for a few moments while you get a shot, but be sure to move out of their way as soon as possible. Be friendly with other vendors (like videographers and AV staff) and work with them so that they can do their jobs, too. Avoid photos of people eating. It makes people feel self conscious, and doesn't make for good photos.

6.Be observant and ready for candid moments

The key to being a great event photographer is to anticipate interactions between people. Your client has organized the event to bring people together. Your job is to document the event and help make it look fun. It's great to get some group shots of people posing, but mix them up with a lot of handshakes, hugs and candid shots of everyone connecting.

If there’s an activity on the shot list and you haven’t captured it, don’t be afraid to politely ask someone to explore that interactive station while you take photos. This would be unethical if you were covering the event as a journalist, but OK if you are doing photos for a client.

7.Remember to capture a variety of images with different focal lengths, rather than sticking with the same lens

For complete coverage of an event, be sure to get a mix of wide, medium and tightly cropped shots. Here's a brief list of images that should be on every event shot list.

• Detail shots 

• Room set up shots without people (This can be challenging, but if you work with the organizer, they can clear staff out of the room for a few minutes at the very beginning of your shot list.)

• Overall room photos with people, when the room is full of people. It's great if you can get up a little higher for this photo. This will give the viewer and idea of the scale of the event.

• Posed shots of happy people looking at the camera

• Candid moments

• Speaker shots (from the back of the room and closer up)

• Reaction shots of the crowd

8.Be prepared, event photography is hard work

Wear comfortable shoes, and be ready to put in a lot of steps. Many event photographers wear camera harnesses so that they don't have the camera's weight directly on their necks. They make harnesses so that you can easily wear two cameras, one on each shoulder. Putting your longer lens on one camera body and a wide on the other is a fantastic way to avoid changing lenses so often.

Photo by Shay Richards

9.Try some creative shots

In between photos that fulfill your client's shot list, try some creative images as well. Experiment with reflective surfaces like glass tabletops or shooting through objects as a framing technique. Try to see the event with fresh eyes and capture something unique.

10.Create a solid post processing workflow

Your job is not over yet! When you get home, your first job is to transfer your images to your computer and start culling your images. Lightroom, Adobe Bridge and CaptureOne all have culling capabilities, but I love PhotoMechanic for this part of the job. It doesn't do any editing, only sorting and renaming. After I have culled down the photos to the best shots, I make tweaks to the RAW images by cropping and adjusting exposure and color correction. Or, I send the photos to an editor to do this step of the process. Lastly, I export the RAW images to JPG files and upload them for my clients.