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Essential Equipment for Conference and Event Photography

Bringing your camera to a photoshoot is pretty obvious, but do you have a backup on hand? There’s nothing worse than showing up to an event feeling ready to go only to discover that there’s something wrong with your primary camera body. We won’t get into the nitty-gritty of which cameras we recommend between a DSLR or a mirrorless body (that would be its own blog post), but if you can afford it, bring a backup. It is also important that your camera has dual memory card slots in case one card fails.

2. Camera Bag and Straps

If there’s one certainty of event photography, it’s that you’re going to be on your feet and moving around. To stay comfortable and keep up with all the equipment you need to get the job done, you’ll want more than a camera strung around your neck on a strap. Invest in a high-quality camera bag that holds your bodies, lenses, batteries, and all the other accessories you’ll be using.

3. Lenses

There’s no one-size-fits-all lens for an event photographer: you might be indoors in a well-lit conference center, in a ballroom with colorful party lights, or outside in broad daylight. Depending on the setting of the event you’re shooting, you may be best suited with a wide-angle lens, a zoom lens, prime lens, or a combination of those options on hand. Make sure to know what you’re heading into and be prepared for whatever your client requests!

4. On-Camera Flash

Speaking of being prepared for your environment, lighting is extremely important for nailing event and conference photography. We recommend having at least one source of on-camera flash in all but the brightest environments. It’s not a bad idea to have even more ways to generate or reflect light, such as flash diffusers, off-camera lighting, and bounce cards.

5. Batteries

Unlike an in-studio session, you’re likely going to be shooting and moving around quite a bit, and that means no time to wait around for your electronics to charge. Always bring more backup batteries than you think you’ll need, and make sure they’re fully charged before you leave.

6. Memory Cards

In the same way you don’t want your batteries running out of juice, you don’t want your memory cards filling up to capacity! SDHC, SDXC, UHS, CFExpress cards, and the like have all become more affordable, so there’s very little reason to not have hundreds of gigabytes worth of space on hand so you can capture as many moments from the conference as possible.

7. Non-Essential Gear That’s Good to Have

There’s of course plenty of gear that you might need depending on what event photography you’re tackling. Here are just a few you should consider:

  • Tripod: A tripod is a good idea if you need a fixed angle on a location (e.g., a conference stage or a headshot booth).
  • Headshot Booth: Speaking of tripods, consider working with the conference planners to set up a headshot booth. This is a great value-add to your services as an event photographer, giving attendees a chance to get a professional (or fun!) headshot while attending the event. We’ve started setting up headshot booths at conferences we shoot and people love them!
  • Laptop and Tether Cable: If you know the conference itinerary has some downtime between when you’re shooting, it’s not a bad idea to have your workstation with you so you can start uploading, culling, and editing your photos. 

Preparation Is Key for Event Photography

If you’re a seasoned professional in the event photography industry, our list will probably sound familiar to you, but hopefully, it’s sparked an idea or two of how you can show up even better prepared to do the job. 

If you’re a newer professional photographer, make sure to check out our Conference Photography Tips for even more ideas on how to have a great shoot and get invited back for even more gigs.