Hi All

After a very busy, but also enjoyable week photographing a 3 day conference for the Intercontinental Hotel Group in Edinburgh, i thought in this blog I would reflect a bit on the hidden aspects of conference photography ie some of the things you overlook.  As a professional conference and event photographer operating in Edinburgh, Glasgow and other parts of Scotland, I have learned a fair bit about conference photography and some of the main challenges are not necessarily related to technical photographic skills.  Modern conference events are a bit like weddings, you can't miss key moments of the day, you may also be covering evening dinner receptions, with dancers pipers etc, so make sure you are fully aware of the timings and to keep your energy up.  Most of the organisers will feed you, so make sure you don,t skip this, otherwise you will flag, especially if you have been up since 5am.  Try and persuade the venue to put the lights as high as they can tolerate, even though modern cameras are great in low light, darkness is still the enemy.  Make sure everything is pre-arranged ie your car should be fine, you should know the route, traffic etc and leave an hour earlier than you need to.  This is not an office job, lateness will not be accepted and you could be in deep trouble if you miss a key moment.  Think about any possible disasters ie have loads of charged batteries, extra lenses, lens cleaning clothes, flash etc, at least 2 of everything.  I know a few photographers who only have one camera at events, that would scare the hell out of me and to be honest, it is not very professional.

So happy conference photography shooting.

Until next time.

www.colinwrightphotogrpahy.co.uk

www.edinburghphotographer.com