Photographing the London SME Business Awards

21 Feb

What an amazing night I had at the London SME Business Awards recently, hosted by the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry at the Park Plaza Riverbank Hotel, London.

It’s a prestigious event so I was delighted to be personally recommended to the organisers for the photography service I provide.

I thought it would make a good subject for a blog to describe what goes on before during and after an event like this, including behind the scenes, from a photographer’s perpective. So here goes!

Behind the scenes view of an audience with people giving a standing ovation, clapping and cheering. The audience is seen from behind and in silhouette. In front of the is a stage with performers. The audience are in focus and the stage is blurred. — Audience applauding at the awards ceremony

As the official photographer at events like this, I have my work cut out to get all the shots needed to cover every aspect. Scene setting, red carpet, sponsors, event details, entertainment, behind the scenes shots, candid moments, presenters, announcements, award winners, celebrations, dancing, cheering, drinks, interviews… The list goes on!

I always aim to get shots in both landscape and portrait format (horizontal and vertical views) so that the images can be used in different media. And you can guarentee that a quick turnaround is needed to be sure that the official images are ready announcements and news udates by the organisers and winners.

Events like this don’t just happen, they take months of work by a dedicated team working away behind the scenes, not just from the organisers but the judges also have their work to do. And these events wouldn’t be possible without support from all of the sponsors.

My work also starts well before the event, discussing and agreeing the scope and media brief with the organisers, what’s on the ‘must have’ list of shots. It also helps to prepare for the shoot, get the right equipment, lighting, cameras and lenses together, and make sure that I have ample memory cards and battery power available, including additional backup options.

With the event being in South London, and having a network meeting scheduled in Bedford earlier the same day, I made sure I had everything checked, packed and ready to go the day before. Just as well with London traffic being what it is!

Arriving early, you get to see venues when they are set and everything is pristine as well as get to know the team you are working with. It’s the perfect time to get shots of the venue, scene setting and detail shots and time to wander around to check lighting, angles. To check through the brief again, talk through any last minute alterations and work out where key people will be at different times. (It’s also an essential ltime to work out where the crew room is, as that’s where we’ll be eating whilst the guests are dining downstairs!)

The atmosphere in the room was electrifying. Over 300 delegates cheering each other on in a glittering showcase of business awards for inspiring entrepreneurs and leaders. And top marks for the surprise entertainment, getting everyone involved, up on their feet and getting the party going.

It was lovely to join the team making this event happen and run like clockwork on the night. Special shout out to the organisers Events and PR, hosts London Chamber of Commerce and Industry, videographers Josh Fitzgerald and Dan Story, entertainers Encore Entertainment Ltd (UK) and compere James Green.

A long, late night for me, I was back home at around 2am. With around 70Gb of data to upload into my editing software, LightRoom, I set my machine to run as a batch over night while I grabbed some shut-eye.

An early morning start (fuelled by coffee!) I was looking forward to working through the images for a light edit before sending them on to the event organiser. My editing workflow has improved dramatically over time. I use all the tools available in LightRoom to select, cull and mark the images before getting started in the edit. With the number of images and timescale involved there is only time for a light edit so being able to get the right angles, compositions, focus, depth of field and exposures in camera is essential.

A complete set of photographs from the awards evening are currently available to view, purchase and download from the SME Business Awards London 2024 gallery.

If you are interested in entering for business awards, look out for my next blog article where I talk through some essential points that will help with your awards application.

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