How to Pick a Good Photographer for Your Event

Most event photography goes wrong before the day. Someone books the cheapest quote, or whoever their mate recommended, and finds out in the gallery that the photographer can't cope with a dark room.

Start by asking for a full gallery. A portfolio page is twenty frames picked from years of work. Anyone can look good there. A complete set from one event, start to finish, shows you whether the speeches are sharp, whether the group shot has everyone's eyes open, and whether image 180 is as good as image 12.

Then look at the light. Most events don't happen in nice light. Function suites at the racecourse. A community hall in Thorne in January. A conference with a projector screen behind the speaker. Ask to see something shot indoors, at night, with bad overheads. If every example is outdoors at golden hour, that tells you what you need to know.

Look for people. An event is the people in it. Some photographers fill a gallery with centrepieces, empty stages and wide shots of the room because those are easy. You want the laugh during the speech, the handshake with the sponsor, the volunteer who's been on her feet since seven.

Match the photographer to the job. A good wedding photographer isn't automatically right for a council launch. A conference needs someone who can get the keynote, the panel, the sponsor photo and the networking, then send twenty edited images over by the afternoon so your comms team can post them the same day. A charity gala needs someone who can work a room for four hours without anyone feeling watched. Different jobs, different skills.

Ask how they behave. A good event photographer is mostly invisible. They know when to step in and when to back off. Ask someone who's booked them before. Ten minutes on the phone will tell you more than a website.

Agree delivery up front. How many images, how fast, in what format, and what you're allowed to do with them. If you need selects for social media on the night, say so at the booking stage, not at 9pm.

On price. A low quote usually means something's missing. No backup camera. No insurance. Or 900 unedited frames dumped in a folder for you to sort. Ask what's included and compare like with like.

If you're planning something in South Yorkshire and want to see a full gallery of mine, what are you reading this blog on my website, so just pop over to our work page.