A function that you’ve spent months preparing for can be enjoyed for years when you hire a Long Beach event photographer to record the experience.
Whether you’re the point-person for a fundraiser with an attendance of 4,000, or a married couple seating 200 for an anniversary dinner, you’re responsible for too many details already: Invitations. Catering. Venue. Cost. Transportation. Script. Crowd control. Choosing a seasoned event photographer enables you to let go of the responsibility for pictures of the occasion.
It’s almost impossible to create a completely comprehensive list of decisions involved in planning an event. And the same way it’s different for everyone’s function, your event photography varies according to the size and scope of the meeting or wedding, etc.
The benefit of booking a party photographer in Long Beach
It’s hard to overstate the importance a family places on a grandmother’s 80th birthday or a golden anniversary celebration. And in the same way that wedding guests hope for a couple’s long life of happiness, the wedding photos outlive everyone in attendance.
The oldest known wedding photo in the UK is from 1856 and pictures a maid, Hannah Pratley, marrying George Taylor, a farmer, at a traditional ceremony in Cheltenham. The work of that photographer 150 years ago is still making an impression today.
But the photo of the 24-year-old couple isn’t the oldest on record. Most people look to the daguerreotype of 1932 as the earliest image, but it was actually a partner of Louis Daguerre, French inventor Joseph Nicephore Niepce, who created the first permanent photograph in 1826.
With history as your guide, it’s safe to conclude that your decision to hire a Long Beach event photographer today could make an impact – capturing that moment in time – 200 years from now.
And speaking of history, sometimes parties and celebrations photography feature the venue itself. Long Beach event photographers have for years seen the Queen Mary as a dramatic backdrop for professional footage.
Though most celebrations center on an individual, couple or group, such as a family reunion, some events call for bands and musicians photography or even red carpet or PR photography, depending on the nature of the function.
How conventions and events photography differs from standard business shots
You may have hired a professional to take headshots of your staff for the website or had a studio session for your picture in the Rotary Club of Long Beach directory. But if you have a major business event, you need someone with experience in conventions and tradeshows photography.
When it comes to planning conferences these days, business owners and event planners are searching for alternatives from the tired modus operandi of the early 2000s. There’s a greater call for comfortable lounge areas and facilities with space that promotes networking and brainstorming. You find more updated features at venues like The Grand Long Beach.
And because many commercial spaces today are better targeted and, thus, more affordable to rent, it leaves you room in your budget for priorities such as corporate events photography.
The Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center has floor-to-ceiling glass and beach city views in its Atrium and Plaza areas. You can have an event with up to 9,000 attendees at the “Top of the Lot,” which has a 360-degree view.
When budgeting an event of this magnitude you need to allow for a Long Beach event photographer with experience in these types of settings. Conferences and meetings photography is different than your standard point-and-shoot job. It’s not headshots, it’s not always predictable. Professional settings involve tame activities such as meetings and seminars, but there can be issues with lighting and last minute changes in plans, plus off-site excursions.
Sporting Event Photography
For big fans of Southern California athletics competitions, Long Beach is home to notable events such as the JetBlue Long Beach Marathon and the Toyota Grand Prix. You don’t have to be a professional athlete to spearhead a big celebration with fellow spectators. You stand a better chance of remembering the great time you had if you hire a Long Beach event photographer to get it on film.
Also in the Long Beach Shoreline there are accommodations for visitors in the tens of thousands. The Marine Bureau rents out locations such as the popular Shoreline Park, Rainbow Lagoon or Marina Green. You can hold events at Marina Park, where there’s a sandy beach with volleyball poles and playground equipment.
Marine Stadium was built for the 1932 Olympic rowing competition and they held the rowing trials there in 1968. It’s popular for water skiing, and if you hold a company picnic or a family reunion there, it’s got amenities for active sports from rowing to boat racing. A Long Beach sports photographer can get around to the multiple events, which can provide you with shots you can send out to everyone following the event.
If you spend a lot of time at the Los Alamitos Race Track and want to “make an event of it,” you can play host at The Vessels Club. Or perhaps you entertain clients when they come to town by sharing your season tickets to the Rams or the Angels. A sporting event photographer can cover the bases (pardon the pun) at your after-game party or even get shots of the action for you.
Cal State Long Beach has a number of rental space accommodations, which members of the community can use for recital receptions, conferences, and many functions from the arts to sports.
Blair Field is a partnership – belonging to the university and the community. And there’s the 4,000-seat Walter Pyramid, which had a standing-room-only crowd of more than 5,000 at its first basketball game when it opened in 1994. The mathematically-true pyramid has a perimeter of 345 feet on each side and stands 18 stories high. Not only do CSULB basketball and volleyball teams call it home, but it’s also an educational conference center. For events of this kind, the professional you hire probably needs the technology for aerial photography.
Though your own sporting event isn’t big enough for the Long Beach Arena, it’s still important to you, your team, the players, or whoever is involved. A professional sports photographer can do more than take team photos. It takes skill to capture action shots and in some cases, it can be useful for play analysis.
In whatever capacity, if you’re in the throes of planning something locally, you need professionals at your disposal. A Long Beach event photographer should be familiar with the area and have the flexibility to capture the most appropriate and useful shots for your particular function.
