As an event photographer, I work a lot of late evenings and one of the things that keeps me going, along with regular exercise and morning meditations, is a healthy dose of caffeine.
While I rarely drink it in the afternoon, I was tempted at this latest gig, a new product launch at Nespresso’s Montreal showroom on Crescent street. The rich coffee aroma in the room was intense and gave me a lift just breathing it in. Working on contract with a PR agency, my role was to capture close ups of the product (a new machine, the Vertuo line, that makes a full long coffee, not just the short espresso) once revealed, as well as shots of the invited guests interacting with the machines, the hosts and of course, sampling the coffee.
Event photography is always a combination of scenery, people and interactions. Where product launches differ is there are some key shots required of the product itself, but in the context of the launch, showing the product being used and, ideally, being enjoyed by good looking people. Happily, such enthusiasts tend to be high on the invite list to such events and so there is no shortage of models to work with.
As difficult as it is to hold the camera steady with over-caffeinated fingers, I know that my job is an easy one compared to the team who did this ice wall sculpture which was assembled in-situ and hopefully is more than just a puddle today as the temperature here in Montreal briefly “soared” above 4 degrees even though we’re still not out of winter yet.
