More on Event Photography

More on Event Photography

Event Photography can be very lucrative for you as long as you keep getting gigs. But to keep getting those gigs, you need to improve your photography skills. Photographing events isn’t really all that easy as it requires you to constantly be aware of what’s going on around you,  and get good shots. Ideally, you want to do this without disturbing the guests and people. Essentially it combines elements of photojournalism and street photography. You need to move amongst the crowd without being noticed very much and you also need to document what’s going on while not interfering.

What is Event Photography?

There are things to look for when doing event photography. What I stick to is the elements of photojournalism: the newsworthy, the unusual, the emotional and the intimate. In between all that there are loads of filler images. Shooting each event is like telling a story. In fact you need to tell a story. You need to get:

– Cover Shots (the image that sums up the entire story and makes people want to view it.) – Establishing Shots (Where are we?) – Detail Shots (Perhaps glow sticks, alcoholic beverages, parts of a costume if the event is themed, etc.) – Closing shots (A final ending shot that tells us good bye in some way.) – Filler

It’s the art of capturing a story. There are other things to keep in mind as well. For example, why are we having this event? What’s so special about it? Is there someone in particular I should be trying to photograph? Who amongst the crowd is the most photogenic and loves the camera? How can I get around making that person not look into the camera when I shoot? These are just some of the things you should consider.

In between all this, there is a lot of portraiture tied into it. You are shooting people afterall. My particular style is usually to try not to interrupt or disturb anyone, but a big DSLR with large lens attached doesn’t always accomplish that. Further, there is a strong presence to my personality. Because of this, I tend to stick to the telephoto approach but I will get in very close with primes as well.