Two cameras, two lenses, and a tripod, and we're all set for another conference shoot. To be specific, a Canon 5D Mkiii and 6D, the 70-200 f2.8L, and the 28-70 f2.8L. This gives me the range of focal lengths that I need, and with two camera bodies I don't waste time changing lenses. Given the generally low levels of artificial light in conference venues, the f2.8 lenses are essential to allow usable shutter speeds, but even so I'm often going up to ISO 3200 (but not higher if I can possibly avoid it). 

The conference is the annual AIM day at the Blavatnik School of Government in Oxford (a beautiful building!) which brings together academics and industry in order to foster collaboration and to discuss the latest advances and challenges. 

Here is a selection of pictures from the day, and I will explain the reasons for taking them and how they fit into the client brief.

First, we have what I call "scene-setting", pictures that explain the context and purpose of the conference.

The picture above shows a banner with the conference logo, some descriptive text, and two sessions in progress in the background. This very nicely links the overview with the actual event.

Two of the speakers in front of the welcome screen makes a nice introductory picture. One of the photographic challenges is the great disparity between the brightness of the screen and the lighting on the speakers, and the highlight/shadow adjustments in Lightroom are a great help here. I will photograph all the speakers in this sort of way, trying to include a slide that summarises their topic.

Here's the sort of overview that I always like to include, showing the speakers, the venue and the delegates in a single image. Here one has to be careful not to be too distracting, and to work quickly and efficiently.

It's always good to include photos of the delegates looking interested and engaging with the speaker.

Coffee and lunch breaks are good times to illustrate the conference theme of dialogue between academia and industry (but which is which?!)

Being as unobtrusive as possible, I try to capture the spirit of the breakout sessions on specialised topics. By the way, all delegates know they are going to be photographed and have the opportunity to opt out. Communication is important to avoid misunderstandings.

Finally, we come to what I call the "colour shots" - background images that can be used by the client as fillers to add a bit of peripheral interest:

The picture above is an abstract based on the architecture at the Blavatnik.

And of course, no conference is complete without a nice lunch!

To sum up, here are the three key attributes for the conference photographer:

1 Complete mastery of the technical aspects of photography (which applies to all fields of professional photography, of course)

2 Full understanding of the client brief

3 Communication with the conference organiser to ensure that there are no "surprises" on either side

This photography is in collaboration with Voices From Oxford, and the video of the conference can be seen here.