Worldwide Clinical Trials 2022 International Awards Banquet
Worldwide Clinical Trials Corporate Event
Client: Worldwide Clinical Trials
Assignment: Photograph an Awards Banquet for Worldwide Clinical Trials
Location: Grand Hyatt - Tampa
Date: March 2022
Assignment Highlights
Headshots: Two days of photographing executive headshots for over 100 attendees.
Awards Banquet: Photograph an Awards Banquet including speakers, presenters and award recipients.
After Party: Photographing the celebration of a successful year. Capturing the fun and camaraderie of this international organization.
Assignment Challenges
Headshots: I was allowed 3 - 5 minutes to connect, pose, and capture the personalty of each individual. Many of the attendees were from a variety of international cultures, which means I needed to interact accordingly.
Awards: Communication is a key component for everything to run smoothly during an awards presentation. Sometimes there can be upwards of 20 award recipients on the stage at one time to receive a team award. This can be useful information so that you can be prepared to capture the best possible group photo.
After Party: Photographing people in action, in very low light, with strobe lights can be a little challenging.
Our Solution
Headshots: Maintain high energy level (drink lots of coffee). Start with a big smile while conducting a 15 second facial and hair style analysis to determine which side of the face to light. After a minute of small talk, I can pick up on verbal accents and mannerisms. Knowing that some cultures don't smile in their photos is important in order to keep those particular subjects comfortable.
Awards: Communication with the awards presenters allows me to be prepared for what's coming. I learned that there are two group awards of 15-20 award winners. I asked the presenters if I could take an additional 30 seconds to split the group in two, half on the stage and the other half in front of the stage. The presenters agreed.
I then approached the attendees sitting at the table right in front of the stage. I asked them to assist me by moving to the side when the team award winners were announced. The attendees agreed.
After Party: Alcohol changes everything. It's important to relate with your audience with a high energy and playful mindset. Canon's laser assisted auto focus Speed Light makes if much easier to focus in very low light situations.