The Event Photography & Video Shot List: What Should You Actually Capture?
If you want event photography and video that actually tells the story of the day, you need to look beyond the obvious. Here's what to think about...
The arrival
The event hasn't officially started yet, but the story already has.
Capture guests arriving, registration, signage, the venue exterior and those first moments as people enter the space.
These shots establish a sense of place and anticipation.
The details
Events take a huge amount of work to create. Don't let all those details disappear into the wide shots. Look for:
Branding
Signage
Table settings
Lighting
Staging
Displays
Products
Food and drink
Printed materials
These details help show what makes this particular event distinctive.
The people
People should be at the centre of the coverage.
Capture speakers, organisers, guests, exhibitors, performers and staff.
But don't only photograph people looking at the camera.
The interactions between people can be just as valuable.
The reactions
This is one of the easiest things to miss.
Someone laughing.
An audience reacting to a speaker.
A team celebrating.
A moment of surprise.
People listening intently.
These reactions help communicate what the event felt like, rather than simply documenting what happened.
What's happening beyond the stage
The stage is important. But it isn't the whole event. Look at:
Networking
Conversations
Breakout sessions
Exhibitors
Sponsors
Informal moments
Behind-the-scenes activity
This is normally where the personality of an event comes through.
The atmosphere
Wide shots are useful for showing scale. Closer shots can show energy. Use both.
Look for movement, crowds, lighting, sound and moments of anticipation.
For video especially, don't underestimate the value of ambient sound.
Applause.
Laughter.
Music.
The buzz of a room.
These details can make a highlights film feel much more immersive.
The big moments
Of course, don't forget the things everyone came to see.
The keynote.
The award.
The product launch.
The performance.
The announcement.
These moments should be covered properly, but they shouldn't be the only story being told.
The behind-the-scenes
Events don't happen by accident. There are organisers, production teams, speakers, technicians, caterers and venue staff making everything happen.
A few behind-the-scenes moments can add another layer to the story and create useful content for future marketing.
The brand
Event content also has a job to do for the organisation behind it.
Make sure there is enough coverage of branding, sponsors, signage and key visual details to make the event recognisable when the images and footage are used later.
The ending
Don't pack up the cameras as soon as the final speaker finishes.
The last moments can be just as useful as the first.
Final reactions.
Celebrations.
People leaving.
A room at the end of a successful day.
These can provide the closing shots for a highlights film and help complete the story.
Capturing brilliant event video and photo content
The point isn't to capture 200 versions of the same thing. It's to build a collection of images and footage that gives you range.
Wide and close.
Big and small.
Planned and spontaneous.
People and place.
Action and reaction.
The result should be more than a record of what happened.
It should give someone who wasn't there a sense of what it was like to be there.
And that is what makes event photography and video content useful long after the event itself is over.
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