Event Q & A
November 14, 2005
By Judy Allen, author of the professional best-selling Event
Planning series.
The question:
If we invited the media to our event do we still need to go through the expense of hiring a professional photographer or can staff take any additional shots?
Judy's Response:
Having your own professional photographer at your event is advisable for many reasons.
Media photographers will be coming to your event with their own agenda. It is important to remember that each media photographer who attends will be taking photographs and covering story angles that will appeal to their particular audience. Media photographers working your event will be following the guidelines and directions laid out by their newspaper, magazine, or television network. Unless terms and conditions have been negotiated in advance - put in writing and signed off on by all parties - your organization may not have access to a photographer's work for personal purposes, or have final approval of which photographs will be used or how they may be used.
It is never a guarantee that media photographers will show up at your event no matter how good their intentions are, or how many times you call to make sure that a representative will be coming to cover your function. Even if they are coming officially, on their company's time, a late-breaking story or a down-to-the-wire deadline could pull both reporters and photographers away at any point (e.g. on their way to cover your event or during your event). Plus, yours may just be one event that they are scheduled to cover during a specific time period. They may only have limited time to spend at your event before moving on to the next, or end up being detained longer than they expected at an earlier newsworthy story, which will cut down on the time they have available to cover yours.
Hiring your own professional photographer should be viewed as a valuable marketing tool and not looked upon as an unnecessary or optional expense. There are many advantages to having someone working with you under your supervision who can produce newspaper, magazine, and television quality photographs.
First, they can be scheduled to arrive during final setup to capture the setting and specific event elements such as food presentation, tabletop displays, etc. before your guests arrive. These photographs, depicting the quality of event you produce and the attention to detail that goes into your events, can then be used as part of a portfolio that is shown to potential sponsors for your next event or sent out as part of your press kit.
Second, you can provide your photographer with a list of exact groupings of people that you want posing together for various reasons. For example, you many want a picture of your head sponsor with your committee chair and one-on-one with any celebrity hosts that may be attending. These can then be framed and sent out as part of your official thank-you. It is imperative that such photos be of a quality (composition and style) that the recipients will be proud to display in their company office. It is good promotion for them to be able to showcase charitable organizations they and their company are involved with, and it is added PR for your organization. It could even attract the attention of a new sponsor.
These photographs must be reflective of your organization; it can't be left to chance that an amateur photographer will be able to capture the subject exactly as you need it, with the proper lighting and eye for detail. Taking a picture of the head sponsor with the head of your organization may not be the priority of media photographers. Their attention may be focused on capturing photographs of any attending celebrities or prominent people that they deem newsworthy to their readers. It is also important when providing your own photographer with a list of photographs that you want taken to assign a member of your organization to work with them for the duration of your event. This person should be familiar with key names and faces (always verify the correct spelling of names and titles).
Third, with your own photographer you know that they will be there until the end of the event, capturing all the special moments - both planned and unplanned.
Finally, if you do end up without any newspaper, magazine, or television coverage you will still have quality photographs available that could be submitted to the media, along with details of your event, in the hope that they will pick up your story.
When hiring your own photographer to cover an event, it is very important to discuss with them the rights of the photographs being taken, in addition to their fees and services they are providing. You need to establish who will retain the negatives, whether or not copies can be made, and if so, do they have to be made through the photographer or can you have them reproduced elsewhere. Do you need to get their permission before their photographs can be run in any newspapers, magazines or be televised, or will you own the rights? And how should their photo credit appear in print?
It is important to have all contracted photographer terms and conditions put in writing and signed off on. In addition to fees, rights, the number of photographers that will be present, how they need to be dressed (e.g. if your fundraising event is black tie how do you want your photographer and their assistants to dress), special provisions such as having back-up cameras or batteries, and whether or not you will be providing a photo list all needs to be outlined. With regards to pricing, there may be areas of concession that could be worked out in exchange for PR for the photographer, such as a mention or an ad in your event program if your guests are a match for their services in future.
Remember, if your event is a lengthy one you should provide food and beverages for your hired photographer and their assistants - you don't want them leaving your event in search of food. A separate backstage room could be set up for them if they are not to partake in the food and beverage provided for your guests. For invited media photographers, please take into account last month's Q & A, and give careful thought as to how you are looking after their food and beverage needs. They are in a different category than a professional whom you have hired to oversee your event.
***********
To submit a question for a future column, or to comment on
a previous one,
please contact help@charityvillage.com. No
identifying information will appear in
this column.
For paid professional event planning consulting - event design, site
selection critique, venue and supplier contract review,
budget analysis,
strategic planning, event logistical and timing
requirements, and on-site
orchestration - contact Judy directly at Judy
Allen Productions.
Disclaimer: Advice and
recommendations are based on limited information provided and should be used as
a guideline only. Neither the author nor CharityVillage.com make any
warranty, express or implied, or assume any legal liability for
accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information provided in
whole or in part within this article.
