You looking at me?
Being in the business of event photography is like being in the business of making bread, in that the most highly valued component of an event photo is its freshness. Whether the shots are a series of candids taken throughout the night, or derived from a more party focused photobooth experience, the appetite for seeing the resulting images is highest immediately after the event. Let a few days go by, or even a week, and the photos are already stale.
This craving for immediacy, aside from being one of the underpinning pillars of modern society (for better, or worse) can be satisfied in a number of ways by an event photographer. The top methods I’ve adopted and offer to clients are:
- Onsite prints: while everyone has a camera in their pockets these days built into their phones, and there are petabytes ( unit of information equal to 1000 terabytes or 10^15 bytes) of digital images out there, people still love to get a fresh print in their hands the night of the event. I’ve written more about this subject here and here, and expect to see more people asking for immediate onsite prints in 2013.
- Immediate posting of select key photos to password protected website for media use and instant client access. Many events are hosted by PR consultants and agencies using the event to draw attention to a product launch, store/restaurant/club opening or to generate excitement around a brand in association with some larger event, like Subaru did with its new BRZ launch during Grand Prix week in Montreal. These pictures have their greatest impact and are most valued by clients if they can be placed in the hands of media outlets that will be able to use them right away, ideally published immediately on the web and no later than in the next morning’s news. Having a system to capture, edit and deliver these professional quality, high-res and media-ready photos for clients is critical when dealing with some PR agencies and highly valued by most event photography clients.
- Live streaming images to overhead projection screen: most event spaces, particularly company hosted parties for employees or award ceremonies, come equipped with at least one or several screens where slideshows are projected. These screens can be accessed and used to show photos from the evening right back at the guests who are featured in them. (We do this often with our sister company lePartybooth). This kind of instant use of imagery is highly popular at events where event planners are concerned with showing guests the best time possible. Employee oriented events aimed at boosting morale, celebrating company victories or simply acknowledging the value and importance of what employees contribute to a company’s bottom line are all great candidates for providing this kind of added value service.
