You need to take photos for your business event. How can you make sure they look professional?

Whether you hire a photographer, or have one on staff, it is always important to communicate what kinds of shots you wish to capture to ensure your photos match the brand, voice, and aesthetic of your organization.

Having a pro behind the lens is a game-changer. Before the event, create a your shot list and communicate this to your photographer. Trusting a professional means you can focus on running the event without worrying about missing those picture-perfect moments. Plus, they've got the skills to adapt to any lighting situation, so you won't have to stress about losing the light or missing out on great shots. Investing in photography isn't just about snapshots—it's creating great content that'll wow your audience long after the event.

Like any other skill, photography is talent plus passion. If you have both of the above, naturally the instinct of content highlighting the purpose of the event. For instance, people may be the highlight of the event content occurs automatically and let the participants take the product shot contents. Combine all the elements: People - Product - Message - benefit But if none of the two above exist, hire a professional.

Hire a professional! We know how to capture your event. The food & drinks will be gone, but you will always have your professional photos!

This is very misleading. Having the right equipment, of which includes a professional camera body, can do wonders in bet difficult to photograph environments. It's not only about having the RIGHT equipment for the right environment but also knowing what combo to use to achieve the desired look that conveys the right message to your client.

Don't be intimidated if you don't have top-of-the-line photo equipment or an unlimited budget. Few people or businesses do. Yet, today's cellphones are marvels for photography without having to toil in darkrooms. One of the keys is angles. Shooting subjects straight on is dull. It's even duller to line up people for a firing squad and blasting away. Try taking at least a few photos aiming up and down, even off side. Relax and shoot your subjects accordingly. Candid pictures are best, which you know if you've ever searched through smiley faces obviously posed in Unsplash and the like. So, if the pros don't always get the shots you want, don't feel bad if you don't hit pay dirt all the time. Keep shooting, and you'll be pleasantly surprised.

I completely disagree with this statement about equipment. A high resolution camera will give you clear details of people's faces in a large print. If you are the executive assistant asked to take a photo of the board of directors, I would be weary of showing up with ahn iPhone.

Depending on the environment and setting of where the photos are taken, you can decide what equipment works best for your situation. While I primarily use professional camera equipment for specific events, a high resolution phone camera can also work for quick captures. Make sure your employee or photographer has the instruments to be successful.

Smartphones are the right equipment. Period. If you are able to hire a professional photographer, by all means do. The photos will come out amazing. But trust me, in the age of constant content, people are more than happy to just be able to experience the event if the photos aren't completely smudged. What I really recommend is a stabilizer for the phone if you want to make videos like the DJI Osmo Mobile Stabilizer series which is incredible. For photos, plant your elbows and forearms if possible on a table or a wall to be able to take a straight photo.

Watch your background for distractions , like items arising from people’s heads or others walking by. Get in close and do the same with your subjects. You don’t need to see their feet! Instead, tell a story with props or body language. Have them interact with each of rather than standing in a row. This is not a school photo.

Most corporate events can be in large halls, which are not always well lit. Lighting equipment is almost always required. Additionally, many times there are can lights above your subjects which cause the eyes and eye sockets to go very dark. A fill flash helps to combat this situation.

The rule of thirds indeed provides a solid framework for composition, creating balance and visual interest. Additionally, minimizing clutter and distractions, adjusting exposure and white balance, and experimenting with angles and perspectives are key to capturing compelling shots. Remember, practice and experimentation are crucial for refining your photography skills and capturing the essence of your event effectively.

Work the room, you want some candid shots of the event space and the attendees. Make sure to take some detail shots of name tags place settings etc.

I agree with what is written, but do know the lighting before hand, and how big the space is. Know your camera settings and ISO. Shoot in raw so you can do some work in post processing. Or, hire a professional!

This may an unpopular opinion, but I think there’s a lot that can be done simply using your smartphone for event photography. This is especially true if there is no intention to print these images and they will be used in digital format only. Reading through the guides on your device or a finding a YouTube video tutorial can turn a novice into someone comfortable snapping a quick pic on-the-go. If you don’t have a guide then remembering to use the grids, rule of 2/3, and avoid the flash can take you pretty far. For significant events or to build an evergreen collection of assets then pull out the cameras, lights etc; however, most networking events and similar can be captured beautifully with a smartphone.

The most important part of capturing an event is to capture the emotion behind the attendees. Are they moved? Are they excited? Are they bored? Yep, might want to skip the bored picture but that will tell you more than any picture of a stage or table setting.

Shoot raw, post-process, add a watermark or copyright, have releases for people to sign, or just let them know what the images are for and they can decline. You own images you take. Be careful of taking pictures of others' product and make it sound like you are partners or collaborating. Communication is best!

I would add that a professional photographer will be insured for any public liability issues, where an amateur will not. By all means share, but locking down permission is essential, especially for social media. People are more aware of a professional photographer, who should be identified with a badge or laminate so anyone wanting to protect their privacy can make their wishes known.

As the photographer, you own the copyright to your images from the point of creation. As far as sharing your images goes, take into consideration who and what you are photographing. You wouldn't want to post the images of an annual board meeting on a gallery open to the general public. Many times, smaller corporate events have photographers sign an NDA.

There are many ways to capture an event or experience. While having a professional photographer is great, there are times when using an iPhone to take photos can be just as impactful. If you have the opportunity to do so, remember that the technology we have in our phones can produce high-quality results. After the event, you can use Photos on your MacBook or Photoshop if you are proficient to create incredible images and assets for social media, internal presentations, or pitch decks. If you have the ability to send the photos to an editor or hire a professional photographer, great! Remember to utilize your resources, be resilient, and embrace learning new skills and tools to make the most of what you have.

Communicate with your team and the speakers of your event before it takes place. If it's a large event and you can't take a photo of everyone, discuss who you should prioritise (who are the keynote speakers, who actually wants to be photographed etc.) and make a strategy, especially if you plan on using the photos for marketing collateral in the future. Also, if you ever post the photos on LinkedIn, tag both the speaker and their firm which should help with engagement and clicks.

If photos from your event will be posted or used on websites, social media, reports, etc. - consider whether you have the rights to feature people in company materials. Having attendees sign releases prior to the event will help solve this issue before it becomes a headache.

Besides hiring a photographer or even if you don’t have budget; ask different attendees to take pictures on their own, this will give you different angles and perspectives of the same event. The outcome might not be perfect, but these pics can be used for digital purposes, such as social media.

It is well worth the investment to hire a professional photographer. Pro tip: hire someone local, who knows the venue and landscape and local players. (Plus, support local, small business creatives!) Invite them to your pre-con for your event. Give them. List of key shots you want. And ask up-front for a few shots the night-of, so you have something to share on your social networks or in thank-you emails immediately.