Event Photography Beginner Tips & Types, Coverage for Indoors & Settings

The old saying of, ‘you get what you charge’ sometimes is true. (it’s kinda of a new saying) Sometimes when clients haggle over a few coins they end up being the most fastidious customers you will have. Rather than going the cheap photography route, instead when your skills and confidence are up, convey to the prospect that the going rates you are charging will get them great photos and an amazing experience. Share with them how you consider all of the shots list 18 points below.

Event photography requires broad skills so make sure you charge accordingly.

Event Photographers be at the right place at the right time

Be conscious of not being one of those event photographers being in the wrong place at the wrong time. When photographing an event, the audience and main guests should be a primary consideration. Professional event photographers will know where to position themselves correctly, it should be second nature at most business and consumer events. Think ahead of time and do your research.

Professionals will get to the venue early and get an understanding of sight lines, have the correct equipment with them throughout the event and discreetly take the photos they need and move aside. By selecting the best lens and equipment for the shot it will speed up getting in and out of the way.

Your guests should have a clear sight and not miss key messages or get a poor impression of your professionalism. Their experience must always remain a positive one.

Event Photo quality tips

Event photography can be tough sometimes, lighting could be very low, your Speedlight doesn’t have enough power to bounce of the wall or ceiling. It can be a challenge to deliver technically high photo quality.

When the event venue is not easy to shoot in or the guests are a little loose for those group shots. And combined with camera equipment you may have that isn’t as advanced as you’d like, you need to default to what has worked for you in the past. Use your safe shooting settings. We suggest always prioritising a slightly high shutter speed so you don’t blur photos and recover any details and or reduce photo noise in post.

Photo processing

Your post processing software of choice can make a big difference in a new photographers tool kit. Is it set up with your recipes for Capture One Pro or pre sets for Lightroom. Also improve your knowledge of post processing, watch every video tutorial.

Don’t speed through your post processing. In the beginning of your photographer career you want to take your time, culling, cropping, and rendering a nice to the eye white balance and brightness. Don’t over sharpen as that may introduce more digital noise. Deliver your best and you will get repeat bookings.

Interacting with guests at the event

As a newbie photographer, you will need more than a good understanding of your camera equipment. You will also need to be flexible in your interactions with a great variety of guests at one of the many types of events.

You will be under pressure, your skills and comfort will only grow when you are being pushed to a new level of professionalism in your event photography development.

Events by their very nature are run and attended by teams of people. Working as a team during the event is paramount to it being a great experience for everyone.

Look after the guests, look after the event manager and capture great candid photos. Also try to stick to the event photography shot list as best you can.

Deliver on time and be remembered for being a team player. Then enjoy the appreciation of recording the important shared experiences for everyone.

Large scale event example

Outdoor photography can bring many challenges that photographers don’t face indoors. Indoors in dimly lit rooms have their own techniques, see below. So too does an outdoor full sun shoot.

More and more weddings are held outdoors. Music festivals, your local street fairs are obviously outdoors and have their own quirks. If you shoot sports, many of them will be brightly lit full sun. Sports photography is another genre of event photography that requires specialist skills, methods and equipment. We won’t cover that in any detail in this article.

Here’s a short list to keep in mind. Some are relating to camera equipment while others are techniques.

Outdoor headshots or headshot sessions, smaller groups can be easier to move to a shady spot. In our experience photos for large groups of people you just have to make the best of not having that option sometimes.

How to shoot in bright sunlight?

Use fill flash whenever possible. We’ve used fill flash outdoors at music festival, local council events and at outdoor workshops. Fill flash outdoors is so helpful we use it on most shoots where there is likely to be a high contrast of light or deep shadows on people’ faces.

What can you do if you can’t use fill flash outdoors?

Sometimes it is just not practical to use fill flash or there are better options for that particular event. Say when medal winners are holding their medals and trophies. Can you have an assistant hold a diffusor to shield direct light from hitting their face? Will the event coordinator move the location of the winners photos? Not always possible but good to keep in mind.

Can you place your flash on a stand closer to the people. Although off camera flash is a more advanced technique it is worth a mentioning here.

Sometimes none of these ideas will work and you just have to capture the best photos on the day your can when you can’t control the light.

What are extra tips on outdoor photography?

For fast moving action events, use a shutter speed to freeze the action 500 – 2000. Balance the high contrast area of light and do what you can in post.

Look out for people wearing sunglasses and hats, doesn’t always look good in photos. Ask them to take them off when you can.

Protect your equipment from rain, dust and high temperatures.

Look after yourself, heatstroke is serious, even mild heat exhaustion can affect your thinking and photography performance. Always wear sturdy shoes and long sleeves, carry a water bottle when you are working as an event photographer outdoors.

In summary
Move the people into a shaded area, use fill flash or try to screen their faces. Make the most of the photo opportunities at the time, stay healthy and enjoy.

Camera equipment for outdoor photography

If you are looking to create a soft out of focus depth of field (blurry background) in bright outdoor light, try using a 3+ stop ND filter on your lens and take the aperture to it’s largest opening, ie, 3.5, 2.8 or lower to f1.8 if you have that option.

Lens selection is another bit of camera gear to study. If it is raining you will need a professional grade water resistant lens. Otherwise most F2.8 to F4 zoom lenses work well outdoors.

It is good to have in your kit a wide angle and a tele photo lens (long lens) if you are going to be far away from the main subject. Most shots will be great with modern kit zoom lens if you are just starting out.

We use all pro level Nikon lenses but for beginners in bright light you should be ok. Master your event photography with what you have.

Good composition can be achieved with any lens.