It was an honour to meet Sandi Toksvig briefly for a mini photoshoot at BBC Broadcasting House, in one of their older studios, for a Radio Appeal to boost recognition and funds for the charity Hand In Hand International.
The brief was to keep the images literally light, lighthearted and enough space for text to be added on the left side of the photo.
Sandi is as fantastic and effortlessly witty in real life as she appears on TV. We had less than five minutes to set up the lighting (in a very dark, yellow-lit old studio) and get about 12 different shots. With Sandi we managed it in 3!
Hand In Hand International (HiH) is a great charity doing important things, and the staff are really passionate.
“In Kenya, Tanzania, India and Afghanistan we teach women the skills they need to earn a living – running their own businesses on their own terms, so their families don’t have to live in poverty”. HiH
Thanks to Jen Glyn, Dorothea Arndt and Ann Dickinson at HiH for the correspondence and help on the day which made it all go so smoothly.
I’ll be lecturing at LCC on 22nd September! Yes, my other name and persona will also be there (I am an artist as well as a corporate event photographer, and have given myself separate names to avoid confusion). Two worlds collide! https://www.eventbrite.com/e/online-freelance-photography-talk-tickets-711023348977?aff=odcleoeventsincollection&keep_tld=1
I was honoured to be asked back to photograph the reSHAPE: Investing for Impact at Scale event at the RSA this year. The choice to have images in black and white was really inspired and suits the creative nature of the event.
Freelance events manager Sarah Umar was my main point of contact with Sean Farran for Aspect overseeing the whole event, and clearly knew how to put on a good multi-track, multi-faceted event and make it all run smoothly, which is no mean feat!
It was a joy to be asked back by Gabriel Scott to photograph another panel discussion event and networking opportunity at their showroom in Mayfair, London.
Gabriel Scott led a discussion on high-end hotel design, for which they design and create lighting and furniture worldwide. You can see more photographs by me, a sought-after corporate event photographer in London, and a more detailed article at Hotel Designs.
THE BRIEF
The brief was to arrive a little earlier than the talk was scheduled, to first take a photo of the bar installation. I also couldn’t resist photographing a few close ups of their light fixtures which adorned the space. From there, I photographed people arriving, mingling, and engaging with the panel discussion. The main guidance that I received was to make sure at least some of the images had their product in the background, but the main focus was really on the people. The images were delivered within a couple of days of the event.
PHOTOGRAPHIC CHALLENGES
The staff at Gabriel Scott are really fantastic to work with. Following the brief given via email, things were clear from the start. With the fairly straightforward brief in mind, I was left to photograph the event as I saw fit.
One of the main challenges when photographing decorative lights as part of the atmosphere of the room is the large difference between the brightest and darkest areas of the photo. For interiors photography without people, we would take a few pictures and blend them together (like HDR but very subtle). But people move in event photography so I have to use the very best cameras to make sure the details are retained, without using flash. Fortunately I have a lot of experience as an event photographer in dark or challenging conditions, so I can work out the best exposure to then tweak in my software afterwards.
DID THEY LIKE THE PHOTOS?
Yes, they were as complimentary as always. It’s great to have such a nice client!
You can see my LinkedIn article here.
A big thank you to Digital Leaders for asking me back to photograph their highly successful Impact Awards, now in its 6th year. The event took place at Ministry Venues in Elephant and Castle.
The whole team at Digital Leaders were incredibly helpful for both me the photographer, and the venue itself. The professionalism and experience is immediately obvious when working with these guys.
Here are a few screenshots from their website, so you can see an example of how they were used.
PHOTOGRAPHIC CHALLENGES
Of all the interesting challenges of working in such an atmospheric venue, one that I was not expecting was during the award ceremony itself. The stage had great lighting, and I had been given the opportunity to test my flash and settings before the event took place (this is a rare treat). However, the test-run and the actual show was quite different as the atmospheric haze (a theatre/club trick used to make light beams more visually appealing) was much stronger on the night. It took me a few clicks of the first winner to realise that my flash was actually bouncing off of the haze and causing the images to look misty! So, counterintuitively, I had to quickly switch off the flash and increase my camera exposure to get a clearer image. I must admit that my photographer’s brain had to run at 100% capacity to work out that turning off the flash would produce a cleaner image. Thankfully I was quick enough that nobody realised my tiny crisis, and everybody got nice clear shots of them receiving their awards.
Thanks again to the team at Digital Leaders, particularly Ellie who was the first to struggle with the branded banner with me before others got involved! We got there in the end! Hope to see you all again soon!
