It was a pleasure to photograph AltoVita’s Smart, Safe, Sustainable Summit which took place over 3 venues, starting with The Nash Conservatory, which is situated on the outer edge of Kew Gardens. This conservatory was originally built at Buckingham Palace, and was later moved to Kew in the early 1800’s.
The Nash Conservatory at Kew Gardens is a fantastic space for corporate events, and really adds experiential value for the delegates. The short walk through the park to get to the Conservatory is a brilliant way to start the day - the guests were visibly energised as they arrived. I have honestly never seen so many happy and relaxed faces at an 830am coffee morning (and I’ve been to a lot of coffee mornings).
THE BRIEF
The brief was set up internationally over a combination of email and Google Meets. Ella and Ashley were great at giving a detailed overview of proceedings. I could then translate this into my own shorthand and print onto A5 which is kept with me as the day unfolds.
As well as providing the usual photography for such an event (people enjoying themselves, pictures of each speaker on stage, some group shots, as well as a step and repeat setup with branded backdrop), AltoVita were interested in getting video of the event. This is where my trusted colleague Oli stepped in.
OLIVER GOODRICH
Oli can provide high quality video with a reasonable turnaround from inception to completion. We have known each other for a number of years, usually on larger commercial photography and advertising sets, where we are also found if we are not shooting corporate events. For this brief, I brought along Oli as I knew he could do a great job for AltoVita.
DID THEY LIKE THE PHOTOS?
Yes! The day after receiving the images they booked me in for their next event!
WHAT ABOUT ROOM2 CHISWICK, AND THE GOLDSMITHS’ CENTRE??
Good question! Room2 Chiswick is a stunning hotel/home (also known as a Hometel) with exceptional sustainability credentials. The Goldsmiths’ Centre is a very nice venue and the food was great.
You can find more information by searching #AltoSummit or going here to look at more photos from the event.
It was a pleasure to photograph the newest interiors and window display for Prada’s store in Westfield, White City.
As usual, the attention to detail (and super fast turnaround) is world class. The creative direction from HQ and the manner in which it becomes reality on the shop floor is something to behold.
Thanks so much to Ambré who was my main point of contact, as well as all the staff I met who were totally dedicated to the Prada brand. The pace is fairly astonishing - we had 30 minutes to shoot about 20 images (of which 12-14 final shots will be used), during which the finishing touches for the shop were still being tweaked. There was a 2 hour window afterwards to process the images (including removing reflections of other brands’ stores in the windows), create a PDF out of them (thanks Julie Schroer for doing this so efficiently while I was editing), make extra tweaks based on feedback from Prada, then create a final updated PDF.
As with all interiors imagery, there are many technical factors to keep on top of, as well as producing compositionally pleasing images. Colours and contrast levels must feel engaging as well as accurate. There are plenty of tweaks involved in post processing to allow the camera’s own version of reality to align with how the human eye sees the space. For example, my Sony A1 has a very wide dynamic range, but there is no camera in the world that can capture what the brain perceives. So we use all sorts of techniques to present the space on a level that feels accurate as well as keeping technical accuracy in mind. Doing this in such a short space of time is of course both exhilarating and demanding, but somehow we manage to do it. Thanks again to the team at Prada!
It was a joy to photograph for creative events agency Abbi & Me at the fabulous 30 Pavilion Road venue hire for one of their corporate celebratory events. Much fun was had by all!
THE BRIEF
The brief was a familiar one for any event photographer: photograph the setup before guests arrive, take candid photographs of guests enjoying themselves, and make sure you get all the speeches!
For most of the images at this event, I took off my usual two large DSLR cameras and used a small Fuji instead (which looks like a 35mm film camera). This gave me some freedom to move among the crowds and capture candid images without pointing my big cameras in guests’ faces. The small downside is increased grain in very dark venues, and it’s a bit more work for me in post processing. However, clients and guests appreciate the friendlier look of a smaller camera in particularly intimate venues, so I always use it where appropriate. I always keep my larger setup within very close range, just in case I suddenly need it.
Overall I must say this was a very well organised event. The guests were extremely happy (the free bar helped), and the venue was beautiful. Thanks again Abbi & Me for having me photograph the celebrations.
HOW TO HIRE A PHOTOGRAPHER FOR CORPORATE EVENTS??!?!?!
Here’s some advice on hiring an experienced event photographer for work.
Every so often I’m contacted by a new starter in a company who is clearly feeling overwhelmed by their task of gathering quotes or picking out the best photographer for an upcoming event at work. Do not be afraid. I’ve seen and heard it all.
You are welcome to call or email me for help, with no obligation to take on my services. I just want you to feel like you’ve got someone who knows what they are doing on your side, which you do!
If you are an experienced events manager, look away now to avoid feeling patronised. If you have been asked to find a suitable photographer for an event but you don’t know where to start, read on.
Photographers quote based on the information they have - to avoid confusing re-quotes, it’s best to have at least the basics at hand. However you cannot be expected to know everything, and we do our best to accommodate in these situations.
Try to have this information available (if you don’t that’s fine, we’ll just need to get this in good time before the event):
Who you are.
Date(s).
Location(s).
Timings. Preferably the photographer’s arrival/leaving times as well as the event’s timings. You may or may not have full information when we first chat, which is fine for now.
Style of the event. Just a basic overview - is it a drinks reception followed by award ceremony followed by a party? Is it 18 panel discussions set across 4 lecture halls and tech demonstrations during lunch?
Purpose of the photos. I shoot in a style that is suitable for the intended audience, so it’s good to know.
Things that need photographing. Again, it’s best to know these things but often it’s impossible to say until further down the line. Sometimes the brief is as simple as a list of speech times, plus ”guests enjoying the evening”. Other times it’s a veritable spreadsheet. It is important to communicate with the photographer what you need - often for more complex events with lots of sponsorship or voluntary workers, there are details that need photographing which might not be at all evident to the photographer without being told. I tend to print out my own special running order of events so that I know exactly where I should be and at what time. This allows me to confidently go free-range for other images that have been requested which are not time-critical.
HOW DO I GET THE BEST PRICE OUT OF A PHOTOGRAPHER?
If you have received a quote from your favourite photographer but it’s not within budget, be open about it and say something. We are freelancers trying to live a normal life in the big city, which means we need to price accordingly, but we are open to negotiation if required.
If you already know your budget, you can state this and see how the photographer responds.
WHAT IS CORPORATE PHOTOGRAPHY ANYWAY?
Corporate photography simply means photography for businesses (in contrast to family portraits, weddings and kids’ parties, which are private rather than corporate). I specialise in corporate events and headshots.
I hope this slightly rambling guide helps you to feel a bit more at ease in reaching out to a photographer. Again, please do simply get in touch with any questions you might have and we can go from there.
Best of luck!
Josh
It was a pleasure to update Acumentice’s headshots, who work with data in partnership with the NHS.
The Brief
Lucy got in touch as the company needed some new headshots, for their website and marketing collateral. They needed options in colour and black and white, and a nice group shot. We also produced some semi-posed “meeting” shots for their future marketing.
Any Challenges?
Lucy was superb at helping to organise the shoot, and even on the day she continued to make great suggestions and help with the group shot. My camera was connected to a laptop so everybody could see how their photos were looking during the shoot itself. This means we can assess the images together in real-time, which helps the non-professional models amongst us to see what angles are working and where posture can be corrected. This makes directing the shoot a bit more collaborative, which I find works well for individual headshots.
The Group Shot
Group shots always involve some shuffling and last second alterations. Lucy was flawless in helping out with this, which was not part of her job description at all but it was much appreciated.
The Selection Process
The final images were required about 10 days after the shoot. We managed to keep post-shoot discussions efficient as we’d already selected the head shots that we liked in real-time on the computer, on the day of the shoot. I find this best as it ensures that everybody is happy with their images, and it increases efficiency a lot, especially on the client end (that’s you). No more group email discussions with dozens of photographs to look at!
Final Thoughts
It was a real pleasure to work for Acumentice. If you’re looking to update your own headshots, please do get in touch and we can discuss your own needs.
Final Final Thoughts
Is it spelled “headshot”, “head shot” or “head-shot” (here in the UK)? After much deliberation, I can conclude that there’s no real answer. However, an assessment of my emails suggests that clients tend to use the spelling “headshot”, so that’s what I’ll use too!
