Event photography can be gratifying if you know your tool and can perform well under pressure. You get most of the benefits of wedding photography without the pressures of capturing what two people may consider the most important photos in their lifetime.
We recently captured photos as event photographers at a 40th birthday party in Lawrenceville, GA (Le Gomier Restaurant and Event Hall). The theme was royalty, with the vibrant colors of purple and gold setting the stage. The guests, dressed in their best all-white outfits, added to the regal ambiance. The lighting, sometimes casting a purple hue and at other times, a mix of purple and gold, presented a unique challenge and opportunity for us as photographers.
Our comprehensive online web system ensures we have all the necessary client information upfront. In this case, we were prepared to capture the birthday woman entering and enjoying the festivities. This was not much to go with as she eventually changed into three different outfits, but she started with all white like the rest of her guests. Being prepared is key to successful event photography.
For the event photography tips we present in this article, we’ll use examples of images from this event to give tips on how to take better event photos from the photographer’s perspective. Sit back and relax, and please leave a comment if you like the tips or appreciate the work. Keep in mind that over 800 images were delivered to the event photography client 🙂 .
Tip #1 – Mastering Aperture: Set The Stage With Confidence
You can see in the image below what most of the room looked like, although the camera was focused on some of the decorations in the foreground. The background attendees help set the stage and make the image more interesting.
Tip #2 – Use Your Flash, But Make Sure To Still Capture The Ambience In The Room
You might drop the flash’s exposure down several stops to do this. This photography tip will give you good fill light while allowing ambient light to exist.
Tip #3 – Know When To Not Use Your Flash
Always determine if you need your flash in an image. A selfie light lit up the backdrop, so when the birthday lady went to take a picture in front of it, there was no need for a flash. Hence, you can see the light fall from right to left. Eventually, because I love my flash, the selfie light was dimmed down quite a bit, which allowed my flash to provide most of the light without being overexposed.
Tip #4 – Make Good Use Of The Rule Of Thirds
This image of the birthday cake before the cutting uses the rule of thirds for a slightly better picture. There was an object to the right side (somewhat visible in the photo), so using the right third to place the cake made sense. Using this rule can also help with your framing. If you switch the third from left to right, you can see what comes into the frame and what leaves from the frame. This can make for the most exciting photograph within the same scene.
Tip #5 – Use A Monopod And Remote Shutter Release To Take Your Images
This tip is a gem of photography advice that can improve your event photographs. The image below was taken with a monopod and remote shutter release. The purpose is to ensure you are not contributing to anything that makes an image less sharp. A monopod is lightweight and can be attached easily to your waist. The shutter release removes the blur that may happen from pressing the shutter button by hand. Having these two in combination can make a winner for low-light event photography. Note the ambient lighting and color cast are noticeable at the all-white event.
Tip #6 – Pay Attention To Your Surroundings And Take Meaningful Photos
If you are at a 40th birthday party, having the subject pose next to the lighted 40 sign would be more meaningful. This would celebrate her day with fashion, style, and meaning.
Also, in her 3rd outfit of the night, it was established the birthday woman loved her shoes. So, a shot focused on that would provide a meaningful photo for the client.
Tip #7 – Overexpose When A Majority Of The Frame Is White
It would help if you overexposed (move the exposure compensation, setting up a stop) when you are metering white subjects in your frame. You should do the opposite and underexpose when the meter looks primarily at black subjects. You can learn why you should do this by checking out our article about how the camera loves gray. This will give you lovely photographs in the camera just in case a guest asks to look at the image. They will be much happier if you make the correct adjustments in real-time versus post-production. It also helps to get many more prints if on-site printing is offered.
Tip #8 – Use A Wide Angle Lens To Capture Most Of The Action
In the image below, a wide-angle lens captures guests and table decorations at the event.
Tip #9 – Look For Unique Opportunities And Angles To Make The Photograph More Interesting
This decoration leaves a lot to be desired when photographed from the front. It is, in essence, a decorated table in front of a wall. Compared to everything else in the event hall, this was bland. However, after changing the perspective just a bit, an interesting image was captured that told a better story of the night.
Tip #10 – Don’t Be Afraid To Get Vertical
Vertical images naturally focus more on your subject with less lateral movement. Also, you can make your frame more interesting by including something in the foreground or background that adds to the photo. In this case, we have part of a plant that is slightly visible on the top left of the centered cake.
Tip #11 – Anticipate The Big Moments
A lot of great images come from natural moments. Anticipating when something emotional will happen can greatly improve the photography results. Here, you can see the birthday woman hug her husband on her actual birthday (past midnight), with the crowd very joyful. Capturing these unique, fleeting moments makes event photography so thrilling and rewarding. It requires attention to detail, experience, and a process where the client tells you about any surprises up-front.
Tip #12 – Like Every Other Trade, Hard Work And Determination Can Produce Lucky Results
In this image, you can see the husband and wife dancing with the crowd, participating in the joyful celebration. If you look at the husband, you would think he changed his glasses to have 40 on them in celebration of his wife. That’s not the case. This is a lucky image where the lighted-up 40 in a prior image reflects off his glasses, making it seem like they were bought as 40th birthday glasses.
Tip #13 – Try Pics Without Flash But Be Prepared For Slower Shutter Speeds
The image below came from the subject, suggesting she did not look good with a flash. She most likely meant the cheap flashes, but I happily obliged, only to be very happy with how the photo came out. The exposure time of this photo was 1/20 while being handheld. Most photographers would not be able to get an image this sharp, and I’m surprised it came out this good after going back and realizing what the shutter speed was. Anyways, the slow shutter speed brings out the beauty of the ambient lighting but be forewarned of the slower shutter speeds. Also, note that slower shutter speeds create much more motion blur (which may be undesirable), so there are trade-offs. Once again, preparation and hard work can sometimes lead to good luck.
Tip #14 – Having A Wide Aperture And Being Very Close To Your Subject Can Create Some Great Event Photographs
Here, after the cake had been moved to where it would be cut, a close-range focus of the cake with a wide-angle lens gives the cake the beauty it deserves, with the birthday gal in the background, although that is not readily apparent.
Tip #15 – Use Aperture To Maximize Your Creativity
In this image, the cake is the focus point, leaving the birthday woman slightly out of focus. This makes for an overall pleasant image and would be great for an advertisement since the focus is on the event (the birthday). There were also plenty of pictures with the birthday woman in focus and the sparklers lit. You also never know what someone will like, so having both in the deliverable gives you more options for joy.
Tip #16 – Pay Attention To And Capture Interesting Subjects
The woman on the right was wearing an all-white African outfit. The birthday woman was from Guinea, which is most likely where most guests were from. The all-white outfit was splendid, so it was captured as most photographers like to capture things they consider splendid. Hopefully, the client also enjoyed the image.
Tip #17 – Utilize Different Angles If Possible When Noticeable Events Are Happening
Right before the cake cutting, the birthday woman removed a sparkler and held up a champagne bottle. I was in a position to capture her and the crowd (it was also challenging to get through the crowd as they were vested into this part of the evening). This image would not have been possible if I had been with the rest of the crowd. Don’t be afraid to move your feet.
Tip #18 – Take Advantage Of Natural Fashion Models
Although most people you run into will be shy of the camera, now and then, you get a natural that poses on their own. Take advantage of this and capture their images whenever possible, which can help with your other services.
Tip #19 – Capture Mood (Candid) Photos
A great way to get photos with a lot of emotion is to be prepared and have a sense of predictability. By paying attention to details, you can determine the fun and more emotional people. This image was captured because it was obvious that they were still having a blast (3rd outfit) as the liquor started to take effect.
Tip #20 – Shoot In Raw
I shoot in both RAW and JPEG because I sometimes compare the processed RAW to the original JPEG. We also offer on-site printing, so RAW files would be useless there. Shooting in RAW helps you make adjustments without losing any quality. Based on the memory in your camera, try to shoot in RAW if possible, or adjust your camera settings to save a smaller dimension of the RAW file to save space.
Tip #21 – Improve Your Post-Production Skills
Hue, saturation, contrast, color, grays, whites, and so on are all important to an image. I recommend using the professional standard (Photoshop) for your post-production and post-processing work. You can click in the top menu on Help -> Photoshop Help -> Tutorials to find videos on how to use Photoshop more effectively for your edits. You will find priceless information that can be used to achieve a great result.
Also, remember that this event was in a similar environment throughout all 4 hours. That is only sometimes the case. The last event we did had the bright sun followed by a sunset. If you don’t pay attention, the adjustments you need to make for low-light event photography can creep up on you. We can’t share those images because the client requested privacy through our online system. Still, it is something to remember to produce top-quality professional photos consistently throughout the event.
If you are in the Georgia area or have a budget that includes travel for a photographer, we’d love to serve you. I hope you enjoyed the event photography tips and photos. Please comment below with any feedback about this article.
Have an event coming up and need a photographer? Choose us as your next event photographer.
