Your event planning is proceeding well, excitement is starting to mount and you are looking forward to a day to remember. So, how do you pick a great photographer to record the occasion?
Budget, personality, communication, organisation and reliability are all crucial. And aspects such as providing timely images to meet your deadlines for social media and publishing. But what if the photos themselves are a bit.. ..flat? Here are a few aspects to consider when checking through galleries of event photographers.
Review the Photographer’s Own Work
Check through portfolios, for samples of work from similar events. When considering a photo agency or booking service, make sure to see photographs from the actual photographer who will attend the event.
An Observer / Watcher – and an Organiser / Director
A good event photographer should have skills at observing a situation and anticipating key candid moments, as well as being able to arrange and direct shots to make things happen – well composed group shots of 50+ people don’t just happen by themselves! Do you see examples of both types of shot?
Emotion & Composition
For most events, the key photography will be of people, so shots should show lively interactions and convey emotion. The strongest shots tend to show great body language, engaged eye contact and strong hand gestures, captured at the right instant, all arranged well within the image! A portfolio showing with too many blinks, eyes looking at the floor, awkward hand positions and poor composition should be a turn off.
A Range of Images
Look for an interesting diversity of photographs. Typical event coverage may include candid networking and conversation shots, speaker or performer close-ups, wider shots of the location and event space, stage shots, branding and venue details shots and posed groups or award-winner photographs. Is this diversity represented?
Lighting & Processing
Think about the range and quality of the lighting. Does the photographer use light creatively, and adapt well to a range of lighting situations? If a portfolio has only been shot on cloudy days outdoors, will the photographer cope well with moody, dramatic indoor event lighting?
Technical Quality
Generally, the subject of a photo should be in focus. Are the eyes of the main person in each photo sharp, or is the focus often “missed”? Is there motion blur on images that should be quite static? Are images too light or dark, or too washed out?
Processing
There isn’t a single “correct” version of any photograph, but photos should show good brightness, natural colour and a pleasing contrast between lighter and darker areas. Many photographers adopt processing styles (such a degree of soft-focus on wedding images, or a colour-effect filter), but these effects should contribute to the overall feel of a set of strong images, not just try to compensate for lacklustre photography.
Summary
Check out a few event photographers with these points in mind, and you can be confident of picking one whose images will be up to scratch!
