How often have you attended an event and as you’re exiting the venue on the last day, exclaim, “I forgot to take photos!”
It is easy to do. It is not your focus. That needs to change. These photos are not only great for real time social posting during the event, but create excellent evergreen content for your website, marketing, and sales material. You do not want to miss this opportunity!
Enter the Event Shot List
Designate someone on your team as Team Photographer. Arm them with a great camera (a smartphone will do) and a shot list – a list of shots they should be sure to get while at the event. Step one in creating your shot list, ask yourself, “How will we use the photos in the future?”
Once you’ve clearly identified the intent of the photos, it is imperative that this is communicated to not only the designated photographer, but also the team members attending. Otherwise, you will likely end up with teammates who do not understand the importance of the photos and not make it a priority which can make it difficult for the designated photographer. Teammates are also more inclined to take photos themselves when they understand how they will be used.
So how will these photos be used? What purpose do these photos serve?
- Social media
- Find out if the event has a hashtag you can use when posting
- Research the handles of speakers, industry peers, and other attendees you might want to tag. Save them in a spreadsheet to pull and post in real time.
- Website images
- Follow any tonal or styling guides for brand consistency
- Company culture images
- Group photos
- Enjoying coffee or meals together
- Images that visually show the camaraderie of the team
- Thought leadership content
- A thought leader speaking at an event is a great accompaniment to your written content
- Sales and Marketing materials
- Advertising creatives
- Ads with real people perform well
- Think how your designer may be able to photoshop images for engaging creatives
Create your shot list
Start with the event agenda and create a timeline of the events important to your company. Is someone on your team speaking? Is there a special guest you want to make sure you get a photo with? This timeline will make sure you do not miss the one-time opportunity shots. Ask yourself, why are we attending this event? And let your “why” guide your shot list.
The shot list:
- Set the scene and take event branded photos including signs, programs, tote bags, and related collateral.
- Interior and exterior photos of the venue
- Pre-event shots – team packing up or arriving
- Any promotional materials with the event’s date
- Time lapse photos of people entering the venue and approaching the registration table
- Registration table
- Name badges
- Your booth
- Up close photos of your promotional materials
- People engaged at your booth
- Before and after photo group shot of your team
- Candid shots that capture the look and feel or vibe of the event
- Wide angle shots and shots from above that show the larger scene are always a hit
- Shots of special guest and/or VIP speakers
- Candid shots of attendees at various points of the event
- Pull people together for group photos
- Panelists
- Networking
- Happy hour
- Meals out
- Other company booths
- idea generation
- Companies you may want to partner with in the future. Sending an email with a photo of their booth from an event you both attended is a great way to start a conversation.
Make sure to send these photos to the event planners and coordinator so that they can use it in their promotional materials. This creates a win/win situation. They get great images; your brand gets exposure.
And enjoy being back in person!! May we never take that for granted!
