Why I Shoot Events

Mid-way through an event I was asked to shoot one evening, a surprise retirement party, it occurred to me that I was really tired. Firing shot after shot—and quickly making the creative and technical decisions for each—can be pretty exhausting. I can only imagine the kind of stress that wedding photographers go through.

The good news is, the feeling didn’t last very long. And that’s because whenever I see how excited people are for me to take their picture—seeing them genuinely having fun creating images together—it really gives me energy to keep going through to the end of the night (see pictures below).

It’s these types of spontaneous, fun, and hilarious moments that make event photography really rewarding and worthwhile. Being able to revisit them in post-production a week later and think to yourself, “Oh yeah, that happened!” also has it’s own merit.

And then there are the perks: later in the evening after speeches were made and thoughtful gifts were presented, an amazingly detailed cake by Vivi’s Cupcakes, Sweets & Treats was cut and served (see photo above). Yum!

In the end, I’m grateful that I had the opportunity to be part of the event and create memories for people that they can all share and remember years from now. After all, that’s why I do it.