The AV Decisions That Impact Your Event Photography and Video
You can have a great photographer and video team at your event, but what they capture still depends heavily on what is happening in the room.
Lighting, stage design, screens, speaker placement, and even the location of the AV booth can affect the final photos and video. That is why photography and video should not be treated as completely separate from your AV plan.
If you want event content that looks as good afterward as the experience felt in person, here are a few AV decisions worth considering.
Lighting makes a major difference in event photography and video.
Event lighting is designed first and foremost for the people in the room, but cameras see light differently than our eyes do. A stage that looks perfectly fine to attendees may photograph too dark. Speakers may have shadows across their faces, or a dramatic lighting look might make it difficult for a camera to capture natural skin tones.
Tell your AV team early if professional photography or video is a priority. They can then design a lighting scheme that will create the desired atmosphere while also giving photographers and videographers enough usable light to capture the people onstage.
Think about what appears behind your speakers.
Your stage backdrop becomes the background for hundreds, or potentially thousands, of photos. So consider where screens, LED walls, scenic elements, podiums, banners, and branding will appear in relation to your speakers. A beautifully designed stage can create a consistent branded backdrop for keynote photos, award presentations, executive remarks, and social content.
Your AV and photography teams should also consider camera angles. Something that looks centered from the audience may look very different when photographed from the side of the ballroom.
Screen brightness matters.
Presentation screens and LED walls can create challenges for cameras when their brightness is dramatically different from the lighting onstage. The result might be a perfectly exposed speaker with an unreadable screen behind them, or a clear presentation screen with a speaker who appears too dark.
Your production team can balance screen brightness and stage lighting to help both elements work together. This is especially important when you want photos showing a presenter alongside branded slides or other important content.
Give cameras somewhere to go.
Camera placement is another decision that should happen before show day. A video team may need space for a camera at the back of the room, a side angle, or a position near the stage. Photographers also need room to move without blocking guests or becoming a distraction to attendees.
Your floor plan should account for those needs. If every aisle is packed with chairs and every open space is already occupied by equipment, getting the right shot becomes much harder.
Planning camera positions alongside AV, seating, staging, and décor helps everyone work together seamlessly.
Coordinate special moments.
Awards, executive entrances, keynote walk-ons, performances, and big announcements often happen quickly. Your photographer and video team need to know they are coming.
This is where the run of show becomes especially valuable.
It's crucial that the AV crew, photographer, videographer, and other production partners understand the same cues, so everyone can prepare for important moments. When that happens, lighting can change, walk-up music can start, cameras can get into position, and the photographer can be ready before someone steps onstage.
Plan for the content you want afterward.
Event photography and video should be part of the production conversation early on. Think about the assets you want to capture and work backwards. Do you need polished executive photos? Speaker clips for social media? A highlight reel? Sponsor content? Footage from audience Q&A? Share those priorities with your production partners as soon as you can voice them.
With information like this, Moonrise AV can execute event production that supports both the live experience and what comes afterward. Plan for the camera from the beginning, and you will leave your event with content you can continue using long after the event ends.
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