This is my third year covering their annual party, and it was another thoroughly enjoyable evening!

The location was the Grand Hotel in Torquay. They had hired out both event rooms. The largest room, which held around 200 people for their dinner, speeches, and prizes. They also had the room with the stage, and their own private bar.

Let’s take a look at some photos…

I usually arrive an hour before the guests. This gives me time to photograph the rooms, the tables, the decor, and anything else they might like.

Because I was working alone, for this venue, I tend to hover in and around the foyer. Some of the guests are staying there and come down by stairs, or lift. Others arrive through the main entrance. I try to get a formal photo of every guest as they arrive, so I need to use the eyes in the back, and sides of my head for all of this part of the evening.

The larger room for the meals is a real challenge for photographers. The room is dark, but every wall has an assortment of colours, which play havoc with the white balance. I always use my own lighting at events. Normally, I have to be careful where I bounce the light. In this room it doesn’t make any difference, because there is nowhere I can bounce the light without picking up all the different colours on the walls. Even the ceiling is pink.

In this room I have two strobes on either length of the room, pointing straight into the room. I then have a speedlight on my camera, controlling the two strobes, and feathering the light to limit the amount of colour cast I have in the photos. I could point the speedlight directly at people to eliminate the issue entirely, but they would all get sick of me very quickly if I did that.

After the meals and speeches, everyone moved to the dance room. They had hired a casino, DJ, band and photo booth for this event. All were really popular!

My time finished as the band started playing their first couple of songs. I got home, backed up the photos and then went to sleep. They had all the photos delivered within a couple of days. I can usually edit and deliver the photos this quickly. Am I strange for enjoying the editing process almost as much as the actual event? 🙂

Do you need an event photographer for your event? Please get in touch!