Corporate Photography
Corporate Event Photography
This business and corporate event photography article has all you need to know on photography at corporate events.
Corporate event photography expertise is also applicable to all types of business events.
Corporate events need Photographers that have substantial experience to do it well. Corporate events are big investments so only use professionals.
The words corporate headshots are often associated with ‘Corporate Photography’. We think they are better described as business or executive portraits, rather than corporate photography.
For a detailed description on the main types of Corporate events, check out this article.
If you are managing, planning or photographing business and corporate incentives programs, corporate meetings, exhibitions or associated events, this article is for you.
Planning for Corporate Event Photography
For both event planners and photographers, what happens before the event is just as important as what happens during. Excellent preparation in the event planning stage of the process can make things run seamlessly on the day.
The professional photographer starts with getting to know the purpose of the business or corporate event. For example, some events are held just for the purposes of marketing and promotion, Trade Shows for example. While others are conducted for team building and employee development. Many are to thank their corporate clients with a Gala party and celebrate their success.
If you’re hiring a corporate event photographer, it will be advantageous if they know where you plan on using the photos post event. This helps to guide her/him when choosing various types of shots.
Professional photographers in Sydney will know to shoot close for LinkedIn photos, for example, and compose wide for long narrow web banners.
Photographers may also ask for examples to get a better idea of what you expect. Photos that illustrate the right focus, tone and/or subject matter. Another way to this could be done by images on your website, brochures and other marketing collateral.
Same goes for a conversation on budget. Open frank conversation about photography rates will help both parties.
Together with an overview of your vision for the event, the photographer can infuse their creative flair while at the same time get the photos you need.
Two way communication is key.
Writing Corporate Event Photography Brief
If you are an event Manager and you or your company has run many corporate events you may already have a solid photography brief.
A brief is a comprehensive but concise description of the mood, purpose or vibe you’re trying to create at the event. The brief usually includes a list of ‘must haves’ and a few things you prefer avoided.
A written brief is a good idea but also time permitting a conversation prior to the event on how you’d like to use the photos, and the end use of the photos. This gives an experienced corporate event photographer some guidance on the story brand you are creating for your client during and after the event.
You can rely on your professional corporate event photographer to know what shots to capture. They’ve shot this type of event over and over. If you don’t have a brief ready in time. Professionals will have you covered.
For one off events if there are specific photos of speakers, sponsors, other stakeholders or products that you really need captured, create a concise list, this is called a Shot List.
At some large corporate events you may have a media person at the show. If they can roam the event with the photographer to point out some additional key features or who the VIPs are, this team work will get exactly what you need.
Corporate Event Safety Regulations
What to capture at live events and what not to publish.
Photo selection or culling as it’s called is another very important step in a photographer’s process.
Every corporate event must comply with all the new health and distancing policies. Having photos of groups of people bunched up close together all diving in over the buffet lunch is not the look you or the event industry needs.
Everyone in the Events supply sector has a responsibility to demonstrate best practice in the safety of all staff and guests.
Photos play a big part in giving the public confidence that large scale corporate events are safe places to visit.
Photographers may inadvertently use angles or techniques that can give the impression that people are standing close together when in fact it wasn’t the case.
For example, photos from high above will show social distancing better than photos from a low position. Not always possible but something an experienced professional photographer and the event manager should discus and add to their photography brief.
Post event the photographer and marketing staff will need a greater care with culling and photo sharing. Don’t publish photos that may be interpreted by external media as not complying or unsafe. This extra level of care in photo usage by both the Photographer and event Manager will help or hinder progress in the return of our much loved live events.
Calculating Safe Attendance Numbers
Event Attendance Calculator
Sydney Events Have a 4m2 Safety Rule
Expo Event Safety Info graphic ICC ↗ – Corporate Photography Sydney
Photos in the New Era of Live Events
The must get photos are of all the safety measures in place such as; Social distancing in the foyers and reception areas. Photos of the signage with safety protocols. Guest and contractors registration for tracing process. The availability of hand sanitiser and masks if any. Extra wide aisle at trade shows. Conferences with double seat spacing. Corporate guests keeping distant from stall holders. Photos of security, information staff and extra marshals. Contactless payment systems and temperature screening. These are a few of the shots that the photographer should get.
Event Safe Photos to Capture
- Temperature readings taking place
- Thermal imaging devices ready for use
- People counting technology installed
- Contact-less payment solutions
- People using safety Apps
- Signage digital and physical
- COVID safe messaging photos
- Touch-less sanitising dispensers being used
- Safe queuing distances being observed
- Acrylic screens for hot food catering areas
- Food available in individual portions
These are on top of the usual photos that are captured at corporate events. There’s a handy 20 Shot List below you can reference for your photographer brief.
Capturing the above list of photos will help in showing the authorities and venue managers that the event is being managed thoughtfully and in keeping with current best practices. The other benefit is to also demonstrate to business managers that live events are safe and essential places for their staff to attend.
Business Events Need Great Attention to Detail
If this is your first major event, reference other websites and social media with similar events and see if any photos stand out to you. Your photographer also needs to know what will be happening when and where. As such, you can expect him/her to ask about the layout of the venue and key areas, a photography shot list, who the VIPs are, where they are sitting, sponsors tables, guest speakers and presenters.
Details regarding the key people at the event are very important. If you are working with an Event Planner or PR Company, they may create this for you. If not, just simply have a phone meeting with the photographer if there are specific people at the event who must be photographed. The same applies to other vendors if they are closely aligned with your brand.
Professional event photographers are used to and are normally happy to work with a shot list. If you haven’t developed one yet, established Corporate photography services providers would be happy to collaborate with you and/or your Event Planners and PR people.
The type of photos required will determine the type of gear the photographer may need to have with them at the event. They should carry a pretty comprehensive kit anyhow. If you and photographer exchange as much information as practical beforehand the greater the flow of the night for everyone.
After all Corporate events are meant to be about bringing a community together in a relaxing and fun way.
Corporate Photography Rates
Corporate event rates haven’t changed much for many years. With a competitive market and limited amount of large trade shows and other corporate events, it has led to professional photographers with corporate event experience holding their prices.
Professional Photography Pricing and event photography rates are covered in long form over two separate articles.
Why Sydney Corporate Events Are So Important
Using our local business sector as an example. Your city of may be of similar size and scale.
The City of Sydney is made of 33 suburbs. On average every day approximately 615 000 people visit the area.
Using the national average of travellers to Australia, 20% visitors attend business events such as meetings, training workshops, summits, seminars and expos. Source Deloitte ↗
The population growth in the City of Sydney over the last 10 years is 38.9%. Outer Sydney grew by just 18.6% in comparison.
How closely does this relate to Corporate events? Over the last 10 years, the number of hotel stays has increased by 1 million a year. In 2019 the Sydney City will have over 4.5 million hotel visitors. A proportion is just holiday travellers for sure, many combine business while here. Taking just one event venue as an example, The Sydney ICC, some trade show expos have over 10 000 people.
In 2019 the business events sector employed 229 000 jobs and generated $35.7b to the Australian economy.
With 21,500 businesses in the Sydney City area and a large number of the top 500 companies in Australia are located just down the road. A proportion of the top 500 (41%) that are located in the State of NSW would hold events in Sydney CBD Area. Source City of Sydney ↗
The corporate events sector is very important, it keeps the business community connected, increases knowledge sharing and you will do more business.
Importance of the Corporate Events Sector in Australia Infographic BECA
Shot List for Corporate Events
20 Photography Shot List Ideas
- Getting ready photos
- Stage shots
- Photos of speakers presenting
- Pictures of staff working
- Photos of guests engaging and networking
- Artistic images of food and drinks
- Interior of the venue and branding
- Reportage style photos
- Staged portraits
- Photographs of the general location, i.e. Sydney Harbour
- Photos of the program, flyers or other collateral.
- Full room photos
- Images of the details and close-ups
- Candid shots of participants
- Exterior photos of the venue
- Images of staff networking
- Event signage
- People having fun
- Event guests at the Media wall
- Photos of other vendors and service providers
For those that haven’t come across this term before. The history of the word “Shot List” comes from film making. To go way back to the very early days it was the old film cameras that needed to be cranked by hand like an old machine gun and it fired ‘Shots’. Now it’s simply a list of cuts for film or frames for stills photography.
The Shot List helps both the Event Managers and their media and marketing teams deliver their post-event marketing strategies. It also helps the photographer to better understand what the client’s teams are looking for.
Having said that and having provided the shot list above. Rarely a single photographer will be able to capture everything on the list. Some of the reasons might be that various activities are happening at the same time located too far apart at the event. It could also be that the actual activity didn’t happen, making it impossible to capture. And that happens fairly often. There are some workarounds but not in every case.
Hopefully, this list gives you some inspiration to add to your Shot list or just simply leave it to a professional Sydney photographer as they would typically capture most of these moments at major events.
As you may have gathered, early preparation will help the photographer to consider these and other factors such as dress code, lighting (particularly if the event is held indoors or at night) and the intended final use of the photos.
Corporate Event Photographers Are Creative
Creative photos are expected. For photographers with the experience and freedom to shoot in their own style, your clients and fans will be rewarded with a photo album that holds their interest. The photos will conveys the essence of the event long after the final marketing story vanishes on socials.
Corporate events are dynamic, professional photographers with experience in corporate events will capture them in a reportage style while creatively capturing the emotion and diversity of the event.
So, even though we’ve outlined what you should include in your detailed brief, you’ve also got a list of “safe event photos” to capture and the general top 20 shotlist.
Leave a little or a lot of space for the photographers to be creative. Experienced photographers will keep your individual brand shinning through all the while infusing their talents.
Experienced Corporate Photographer Benefits
- Capture the key moments
- Ensure the event is reported in its full visual glory
- Justify your spend in hiring them for the job
- Raise awareness of your company to a new audience
- Build relationships with new prospects
- Increase your network of contacts
- Showcase your new products and services to new markets
- Position yourself as an industry leader
- Present yourself as valuing your brand
- Increase your visibility
- Enhanced brand awareness
- Be consistent with marketing campaigns
- Online exposure through all your media channels
- Expand your online/web presence to drive traffic to your website
- Maximise sales opportunities across all your sales funnels
These may appear basic but sometimes reminders about the basics are what’s required. Having concise lists to check and double check all points of opportunity for both photographers and clients is a great way to gain a greater understanding of the responsibilities of both parties and the expected deliverable.
From the client side, it may also help to maximise the full potential of the photos to your business. Both clients and photography services providers may also find these lists useful when drafting hiring contracts. There may be some cross over with this list and others on this page or on our other primary pages. Hopefully, this list is the one that strikes a cord and is useful to you.
When you need an experienced photographer, we are ready and available.
