Event Photography Shot Lists

When planning a gathering like an event, a meetup, a town hall, or a conference for your nonprofit there are a lot of factors that need to be considered. One way to make things easier when it comes to event photography is to create a photo shot list.

People are always looking for easy confirmation that an event was a success. This is why it is so important to have a variety of high quality photos for use in blog posts, annual reports, sponsorship sell sheets, social media shares, and on your website, for example.

1. Welcome/registration desk

Start the day off right by capturing a few shots of the registration, or sign in, desk. At this point in the day people are generally excited about the event ahead and looking forward to making new networking connections. This is also a good idea because the registration desk will quite often get busy with people, which will make your event look full.

2. Event signage

If you can get a photo of attendees or speakers with the events signage in the background, then you will have an all-encompassing promo shot. No additional explanation required.

3. Shots of every speaker while presenting

In the nonprofit sector, event speakers often provide their time pro-bono. Thank them by providing them with images of their talk that they can then use as they see fit. The more exposure your nonprofit gets, the better.

Tip: before sharing images around make sure you discuss with your photographer, as they legally own the rights to whatever pictures are taken unless otherwise stated

4. Shot of the organizer with the speakers

It is always a good idea to grab a photo of the event organizer, program lead or VIPs with all of the speakers. Some of the speakers may prefer these formal shots to the candid ones of their presentation. Having all of the important players in one photo can also be used for social media publicity for the event.

5. Candid shots of attendees

If you’re looking for an inviting, happy vibe to entice more people to come to the next event, then candid shots are the way to go. Try to make sure that everyone in the selected photos are engaged and enjoying themselves.

Sometimes these photos can be hard to come by because of the nature of a seated event. If that is case then the best time to capture engaged candid photos is during a networking or refreshment break, when the attendees are mingling.

6. Formal shots of attendees

If you are looking for more of a business vibe, then take a few formal group portraits. By getting 2-3 people together in a group photo you can be sure that you have captured all of the key players at your event.

7. Anything unique about your event

Anyone is capable of putting together a lecture series, but not everyone is capable of creating an event that will be talked about for a while. If you are doing something different with the way you structure your event then why not show it off?

If you have an all-you-can eat ice cream bar, or a board games networking station then photograph them! Put them into your follow-up blog post. Make your event memorable in order to draw new and returning attendees to your next one.

Now that you’ve learned what photos to take at your next nonprofit marketing event, consider the best ways in which to capture those photos. If you already have a shot list at your organization, please use the comments to let us know what you would add to this list.