Event Photography - The Digital Workflow

The latest digital photography equipment makes the process of photographing an event a lot easier that in the pre-digital era. So what exactly is the modern day workflow for shooting an event.

If it's an indoor event such as a school prom or black-tie dinner then the studio will first be setup. Once the backdrop and lighting is setup and tested then it's time to take the pictures. You'll need a subject obviously and when they're posed in a relaxed and smiley manner then it's time to click the shutter.

Now the digital magic starts. Once the image is in the camera it needs to be transferred to a central computer system. Effectively the camera becomes part of the computer network either through an physical Ethernet cable or, more conveniently, over a wifi connection. The image is transferred to the central computer and it can then be displayed on a computer monitor where the guests can view the images almost instantaneously. Specialist event photography software is usually used for displaying these images. This software is specifically written to enable the images to be viewed and selected quickly. The software is usually operated by an assistant or sales person but separate viewing stations can be used that work with a touch screen and let the guests browse and select their images themselves as well.

The event photography software is also able to overlay graphics or text onto the photographic image to produce a wide range of finished images if required. Magazine cover styled images are popular as well as graphics relating to sports. Corporate logos can be incorporated into an image to brand a photo for corporate events.

Another popular function of the software is the ability to shoot green-screen. This is the same technology as used in the film industry where the photo is taken against a green or blue background and then an image is inserted into the background, you could walk on the moon or be on a beach without leaving the building.

After the photos have been viewed and an image has been selected by the guest it can be purchased. Again this is where the magic of digital comes into its own. A digital image could be put onto a USB stick or burned to a CD. If an old fashioned print is required it can be output to the digital printers. The latest Dye-Sublimation printers offer lab quality photographs, indeed most of today's high street photo kiosks use Dye-Sublimation technology for print output. An event photographer may use two or three printers that allow different sized prints to be produced, right there at the event and printing can take less than a minute. Slip in mounts complete the process to produce a quality printed product.

Other products such as mugs or mouse mats can be created given the correct equipment although this equipment is bulky and not usually taken on-site, these are more of an after event sale item. This leads us onto the next step that's been made possible by digital photography, that of putting the photos onto the internet where they can then be viewed and purchased after the event. Special gallery software to display the images on a website and allow the images to be purchased is the last step in the digital workflow for event photographers. Unfortunately, if a print is ordered, we have to rely on the good old analogue postal system to deliver the final product. Unless the guest chooses to purchase a digital version of the image that is.