Nottingham is well-known as a conference center and offers a wonderful choice of venues if you’re looking to stage events of any kind. It’s ideal geographically as it’s easy to reach from anywhere in the country and commands a large hinterland that’s home to many businesses and companies.
As a PR photographer I travel to Nottingham to cover conferences of many kinds. I have over 30 years’ experience as a professional photographer and have considerable experience in photographing all types of gatherings.
Having your conference covered by a professional photographer should never be an afterthought. Some conference managers believe that having photos of the event is simply to preserve memories of what they hope was a productive day. But it’s far more than that, and with the right approach event photography can significantly boost your business.
Firstly, the event needs to keep on attracting people, even after it’s long over. Why? Because if it does so, you are generating new leads and new boosts for your business. The event should live on. It should certainly serve your company’s PR purposes. And last but not least, the publicity that you generate will serve as a magnet for your next conference. Too often event photography is seen as a way of capturing the past, when really it’s about creating the future.
It may seem that having a professional conference photographer to come and cover your event will be a very costly business, but this could not be further from the truth. For a reasonable outlay, I will be able to cover your event and provide you with a versatile set of photographs that you will be able to use in the media that you have opted for.
I believe very much in having a bespoke approach to photography; no two conferences are ever alike and each is unique. That calls for a tailor-made approach. In order to bring you the satisfaction you are looking for, a briefing is a crucial part of the process.
When you brief me, I will get a better understanding of what it is that you are looking for, and where your photographs are going to appear. It makes a world of difference if they are for your company website, for social media, or for print media – or a combination. I need to know about your target audiences – who will be looking at those photographs, and what you would like them to experience when they see the pictures. And, as mentioned earlier, we are also considering the future. The photographs may not be a direct ‘call to action’ but they should have an effect on those who view them and bring them closer to your company and business.
Conferences are all about the spoken word, and photography cannot hope to capture this, but what it can do is to highlight the dynamism, the excitement and the dream behind the event. After I have received and understood the brief, I will know what kind of shots you would like. I will have a list of the keynote speakers, when they will appear and will make sure that I am ready to capture them on film.
I will also be available for capturing the other highlights of the conference – the ambience and the way that the audience socializes. The resulting photographs will often be a mix of the formal and the informal. Everything depends on what you wish to highlight. If you’re not sure, then I will be able to give you pointers and tips, as well as being able to guide you in a general direction. Having worked so long in PR photography, I will be able to give you many good suggestions as to what’s needed.
Once the event is over, my work for you continues. I will have an enormous quantity of photographs to triage. I will select the best and work on these, enhancing them until they are perfect for their purposes.
I pride myself on reaching my deadlines, and just as important, I am ready to act on your feedback. My aim here is for you to be satisfied with the work and once published, for your target audience to react in the ways that you desire.
Some conferences are one-off events, while others will be staged regularly. I am happy working with both kinds. And no matter how small, or big your event is, I will be able to cover it and bring you satisfaction.
I invite you to have an informal chat with me, Paul Currie, if you are going to stage an event and are interested in having a conference photographer Nottingham there to capture it. I am happy to travel anywhere in the region and beyond. I would be happy to hear your ideas and discuss with me how I can boost your business when photographing your conference.