Part 2 :

As I’ve already said: “events are those venues where many diverse businesses come together to network, chat, learn and to be informed of possibilities in business. Events could be seen quite differently, as spectacle  or concerts, though“.

To be clear, this is an event as defined here on this site. Please don’t confuse what I’m refering to with other styles of event……

I’d like to tell you about CRE, or the Christian Resources Exhibition. This is an event, (it’s that word again!), which occurs around three times per year, and is massive. The last one I worked was at the Sandown racecourse. It lasted 4 days, and ran from about 9:30 am, right through to evening shows, talks and workshops ending late in the evening.

Sandown.

Techniques and requirements:

I shoot events like this with two cameras, usually an EOS 7D with a 200mm lens and an EOS 40D with an EFS 15-85.

It’s quite impossible to do this job with one camera. The crowds are powerfully directive in their flow, the exhibitors keen to be photographed in a packed shedule of dozens of “happenings.” The idea of changing lenses is a joke; there’s no time, nor space!! Since CRE Sandown covers 3 floors and nearly 1000 stands, plus bands, seminars, workshops, demonstrations and presentations, the photographer is faced with a massive task. Shoot the stands, make sure the stands look busy, (mind you, they are!), shoot interactions not poses, include establishing information, suggest a story, use the light as best you can, by utilising flash if you must, be fast….Very fast. Grab those fleeting moments and move on.

Know your camera, know your flash, and; with hundreds of spotlights, standlights and mixed ambient lights, be ready to use intuition to get it right!!!

Look for a good spot each time: The BBC took my images because I was fast, (uploaded within 30 minutes of a spotlight event direct to the editors), and because I did NOT shoot with the pack. When the “I’ve-got-£6000-of -gear-round-my -neck”,  photographer tells you your in the wrong place, don’t listen! Use you own style and perspective, (within reason).

Be prepared to walk for 6 or more hours a day, get no lunch, and only drink water from a dispenser. Be prepared for blisters and aching legs, be prepared for outrageous requests, questions and problems.

Expect 1000′s of images, and wear and tear on your gear. This is not a pleasure outing! However, having said that, I LOVE IT.