It was a scorching hot weekend in London. People were out in shorts, and even shorter skirts. The mood was vibrant and people were wanting to have a good time, in whatever shape or form they chose to spend their weekend.  I had a big day planned, as I had been selected to shoot at the Taste of London event in Regents Park. Thousands of people were in attendance as they embarked on a large selection of food and drink - some gold fashioned gluttony was on the cards!

Whilst Street Photography is my true passion within the field, I really enjoy shooting events. You get to meet cool people, work in exciting atmospheres and most of all - have a good day out. Of course it is not all fun and games, at least from a photographer’s point of view, it is tiring and you have to ensure your concentration is at its peak. I always pack my bag the night before, ensuring I have all my appropriate lenses, SD cards, laptop for quick editing and of course - my camera body. As an absolute must I also I pack a bottle of water and energy bar to keep me going through the day. What I didn’t pack on this occasion, which I absolutely should have, was sun cream. 29 degrees sun, I am going to feel the burn in a day or two!

Street Photography V Event Photography.

As a Street Photographer I was see myself as an artist (cringe, I know!). It allows me to be as creative as I like to be and come up with imagery that is in line with my mind’s eye. It can be dirty, grainy, soft, sharp  and nitty gritty. On the other hand, event photography is not quite like that. Sure you can be creative, but you need to meet a brief. You need to ensure your images are clean, that they capture the event through storytelling (you can also tell a story through street), you have to think about branding and all the other things the organisers will want to see through your final set of images. Of course that doesn’t mean you cannot lend from the two. Even when shooting events I still like my images to have a candid feel to them. I really don’t see the purpose of staged “stand and smile” shots, they take out the spontaneous vibe that you get whilst at an event.

Photographic Storytelling.

If I am an event and there is, for example - a musician, I like to usually take 3 shots that individually are strong, however they are even stronger as a whole. I like to show emotion and energy, whilst displaying skill and craft in their work. Below are 3 images I took yesterday of a musician playing on the Bandstand section of the event.

The first image made into the final selection because I was really drawn to the facial expression. I got in nice and tight so I could display the energy coming from the musician, whilst still leaving enough space in the frame to show people in the background, giving the image a little more depth.

The final image of the set is more of a wide angle shot. I got down low, with the objective of elevating the performer. I also wanted to get in the beautiful blue sky so the viewer can get a sense of the day. I like the concentration in the face of musician and overall think this is a solid composition.

Branding

Images with branding may not always be the most exciting, however they are vital to any kind of event, especially where brands are there to attract both consistent and new customers. A photographer's job is get the branding into their imagery and do their best to make it look as attractive as possible. I like to get images of products, logo’s and people. Below is a selection of 3 images that demonstrate that approach.

How an event photographer uses street photography within their images.

I can only speak from my own approach to street photography. I like solid framing, colour and interesting people in my street work. I like to create images that play by, and break, the rules of photography. Within in my final set of images at any event, I always aim to have a group of images that have more a candid, street style to them. I do this because it breaks away from the normal formula of events and can give you more a creative touch and identity, which is great for potential new clients.

The end to a long day.

The Taste of London event as a whole was a great day. I had to take intimate breaks because the weather so warm, so I wanted to ensure fatigue did not kick in. The people in attendance were great fun, they loved being in front of the camera. I did manage to sample a nice amount of food and once I had done, enjoyed a nice ice cold Peroni Negroni. By the time I got home I felt like a toddler who had “had a long day”. I took a quick shower, ate some food and then sat down to edit. I think it’s useful to avoid the urge to get in and edit straight away. Take a couple of hours away from your camera, rest up and then go back with a fresh eye.

Next week I am shooting for Daylight Music, at their Summer Solstice event. It should be a great event and I look forward to sharing some new content with you. Of course, between now and then I will be shooting plenty of street work. Best place to see it is via my Instagram account which you can go to here - Dan’s Instagram

I have also added 3 new prints for sale - You can purchase them here - Go buy a print.

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