• How do you find a good Event Photographer?

When looking for a good photographer the best way in my view is recommendation - if you have a connection with someone that can give you the photographers details this is excellent.  This means they have worked with that individual or company already and can give valuable feedback as to how they work and the quality of their images.  For example I did a lot of work in the past for WISE they are a company for women engineers, therefore because of their ethics they wanted a female photographer.

So the event organiser asked colleague she worked with and my name came up therefore a good recommendation for her.

• How do you know if they are good?

A good event photographer will know how to take amazing photographs in every possible scenario.  First point of call is to check their work.  This can either be done by seeing a portfolio or their website.  Every photographer has their own style.  Ask yourself do you like their work.  What do you look for in a great photograph?  The images must be sharp.  The colour balance should be excellent.  Often this is the hardest thing to get right, as if the event is held indoors there is always different lighting to contend with, fluorescent, tungsten, stage lighting.  So the images mustn't appear too orange for example.  For example this image was photographed using stage lighting very difficult to get right.

Arrange a meeting, do you like them?  This is important as you will have to work with them. Are they team players, will they listen to you? Will they be professional and well behaved with your clients?  For example I have worked with the royal family a few times and as an event planner you need to employ someone you can trust.  There are several rules you have to follow when photographing the royal family and you want a photographer who is respectful of this.

Get testimonials from past clients this will give you a good over view of them as a person and of their work.  Check if a photographer has a public liability insurance this will confirm that they are serious, also when photographing children they need to have a CRB certificate.

• Pricing Structures

This depends very much on the event.  Do you want just a CD from the day, prints on the day, photographs displayed on a website, there are so many variables.  Here are the main questions to ask.

• How do photographers charge for an event?

For an award ceremony event photographers will charge for their time by the hour, half day or day rate and then extra for a disk or prints.  Some companies need to offer prints on the day at an event for example at a Golf Pro Am tournament.  

A mutual rate will be negotiated as the photographer will have a lot of outlay for the day for example photography paper, inks, mounts, bags etc they may not pay site costs but may give a percentage of the costs of the prints to the organisers.  The event maybe charity driven so some of the proceeds will then go to the charity.  It all depends on the event and making sure all the relevant partners involved get benefits from the day.

• Who controls copyright of the images? 

The rule of who owns the copyright of a photograph is by law whoever took the photograph.  Therefore if you want to own the photo you will have to negotiate with the photographer for the rights.  This is important if you want to publish any images at a later stage. Some photographers will release copyright on a disk some won't.  If they do release the copyright then they will include the price of the disk into the daily rate.  If they don't release copyright then the photographer will sell the images on their website at an extra rate after the event.  If you are given the digital file you can use them however you wish. Upload them to Facebook, turn them into table mats, send them to your family. However, for corporate events and PR/Press events client usage will need to be negotiated in advance there are options to globally buy out the copyright.

If  you have an event coming up shortly please contact Amanda to schedule your complimentary event consultation on 07767 776839 or [email protected]