Tips for Event Photography

Event photography tips from photographer Jokko

Are you getting started with event photography? Then first read these nine event photography tips from Jokko. This Flemish event photographer photographs at the biggest festivals, concerts and corporate events. Jokko is the house photographer for Rock Werchter, Gladiolen, Pukkelpop, Best Kept Secret and Studio Brussel, among others. He also goes on tour with bands and has photographed summer festivals in Italy, England, France, Spain and the Netherlands.

The event photographer is happy to share his knowledge and gives nine tips so that you too can get started with event photography.

Who is Jokko?

Jokko worked for 3 years as a graphic designer at an architecture firm. One day he saw a call for a concert photographer on a review website and he volunteered. He got to work and enjoyed being able to combine his passions: music and photography. This went so well that he threw himself completely into his work as a freelance photographer. His first major client was Studio Brussel. The festival photos that followed opened more doors. The photos Jokko takes are colourful and to the point. For uptempo songs, the photos are fast and where there is calm, you see it too. Jokko works extremely fast and often puts his photos online during the concert.

9 tips for event photography

Tip 1: Know what can happen

"As an event photographer, you have no control over the event. That's harder than a photo shoot where you can make adjustments yourself. Try to assess the event as well as possible. Keep your ears open. Try to be present at the run-through, rehearsal or during the briefing. Immerse yourself in the event. Think about which situations can arise, so that you can anticipate them. An example? The singer of the band jumps into the audience halfway through the concert and there you are: you had seen on YouTube that they had done this before. You go in all directions during such a concert. It's nice to have a foundation."

Tip 2: Challenge yourself

"Let's be honest: many events look the same. Take corporate events. Guests arrive and have a drink. Someone gives a long speech and then more drinks are had. You capture this in images and you get photos of people talking, nice details, the speaker, overviews... When you're done with this, it's fun to challenge yourself and look for original photos that make a difference. Go wild and be creative. It's great to capture the reflection on the ceiling or to photograph the event from a different angle: outside, through a window. You can also zoom in on funny shoes and striking details."

Tip 3: Look behind you

"Turn around. This applies to every event, from corporate events to festivals. A photo of a band is nice, but you don't quite feel the festival with it. What do you feel when you look at singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran, alone on stage? What do you feel when you see 60,000 people going wild? It's so great to experiment with the viewing angle."

Tip 4: Be invisible

"You don't want to disturb the spontaneity of a moment. Do you see a nice interaction between people? Don't put your lens right in front of it. You don't want a posed photo. Try to photograph people at a distance as inconspicuously as possible. People are most spontaneous when they don't notice. Be an undercover photographer."

Tip 5: Give the viewer a live experience

"Sometimes you need to actually be present. You need to clearly live the event, so that you know that someone who views your photos feels like they were there. You give the viewer a live experience. When someone at a festival is crowd surfing, you have two choices. You take photos from a distance or you go into the audience and try to get as close as possible. With this tip I mean the latter: make sure you're really there, that you're right on top of it, that you join in!"

Tip 6: Not perfect is perfect

"It's not bad when a photo isn't perfectly exposed or framed. Let's be honest, Lightroom is a fantastic program with which we can straighten everything out. At a festival, unexpected things often happen and you don't have time to set your camera perfectly. Don't think at unexpected moments, just go for it. Imagine you're at a festival and in front of you you see five people making a tower. Then you just have to click and not think, otherwise the moment has passed."

Tip 7: Vary your images

"It seems obvious but it's advisable to work with different lenses and depth of field. Your photo series remains interesting through the variety of images. A close-up of a singer is nice, but not that special. Look at how exciting the image becomes when you make it blurry and show a detail in the background in sharp focus."

Tip 8: Be creative with flash

"An event can look completely different when you put your flash in a different place using Wireless Flash. Move your camera when using long shutter speed and create fun light effects. You can deliberately bring the flash into the frame and hold it yourself or just illuminate a different place than expected. These kinds of photos are surprising and original."

Tip 9: Play with double exposure and shutter speed

"Play with double exposure and experiment with your shutter speed. With double exposure you take two photos and your camera merges them. You can even merge three or more photos this way. It's certainly not easy, but it's worth trying. You can also experiment with your shutter speed. Why not underexpose when the background is light? That gives you exciting black contours."

What's in the bag?

Jokko photographs with Nikon. The following equipment is suitable for event photography: