Pushing the Boundaries

A couple of weeks ago, I got a call asking if I could help out and photograph the Business Beats Cancer Evening Gala. Their photographer had dropped out and they needed a replacement at short notice.

Straight away, I knew this was on a completely different scale to anything I’d done before - 600 people enjoying a sit down gala dinner with entertainment!

It also meant pushing myself in a new direction. Because it was an evening event, I’d need to rely on a hotshoe flash rather than the fixed flashes I’ve been more used to up to now. Add to that the subject would be everything, because at events you are not just capturing the people, but the venue, the brand, the entertainment, the organisers, the behind the scenes - the list goes on!

Naturally, as part of trying to grow my experience and keep challenging myself, I said yes.

And then, almost immediately, I panicked!

So I did what most of us do when we’re stepping into something new, I immediately got hold of a new decent decent flash (the NEEWER Z2PRO by the way and what a brilliant flash that was - after hundreds of flash images I still had over half a battery left!) watched plenty of YouTube videos, read blogs, and tried to prepare as well as I could.

When the day arrived, there wasn’t really anything left to do except turn up and go for it.

My main focus throughout the evening was on the people and on trying to tell the story of the event as it unfolded. That was the part I kept coming back to. Not just photographing what was happening, but capturing the atmosphere, the energy in the room, and the moments that mattered.

There were definitely challenges.

I had to keep getting the shot right first time - I couldn't keep people hanging around after all. And then there was the reception.

There was a huge Cancer Research UK sign:

Which was the PERFECT backdrop to photograph people against, wasn't it?

I thought so at the time, but when I came to start taking images I realised that the ceiling lights and background TVs were a distraction so had to work around them.

I was committed though - now I had to herd people in front of the signage as they arrived to try and photograph as many of the attendees as possible. Cue me catching peoples eyes and acting like one of the Apprentice contestants at a market challenge, shouting out to be heard and persuading people to come have their photo taken, talk about being outside of my comfort zone!

The guest speakers were on a large, brightly lit stage, which made it surprisingly difficult to photograph them in a flattering way. The venue itself was big but dark, with around 500 people seated at large circular tables, so there was a constant balance between finding meaningful images and trying to avoid too many shots of people eating or drinking, whilst also trying to balance the different lighting and not blinding people with a flash!

As the night went on I was trying lots of different angles and compositions, but also felt myself becoming a lot more relaxed. I began to become rational and not just take images for the sake of taking images. I thought about what I already had and whether they were telling the story I wanted at that time. I tried some different experimental techniques:

By the time I left at midnight, I was starving and shattered, but happy with what I had achieved.

Then came the editing.

I spent most of the weekend working through around 1,500 images. The first cull brought that down to about 700, and after editing I ended up with 300 images to share with the client.

If I’m honest, I was probably far more critical of myself than I needed to be. I kept replaying missed opportunities in my head and thinking about what I could have done better.

But the client was over the moon and absolutely loved the images.

That was a good reminder for me.

Sometimes the biggest lesson is simply to say yes, trust yourself, and then take time afterwards to evaluate what went well and what you want to improve next time.

This experience pushed me, taught me a lot, and gave me confidence.

Now, if anything, I’m even more excited for the next large event because I know I’ll be able to put those learnings into practice and come away with even stronger images.