Case Study: Onsite edit at the ITB
Onsite video editing for Shurooq (Sharjah Investment and Development Authority)
The Event
This was Shurooq’s 12th consecutive year of participating at ITB Berlin — the world’s largest travel and trade exhibition. Taking place between 6 to 10 March 2019, Shurooq’s booth at ITB Berlin showcased Sharjah’s key achievements in the travel and tourism sectors on leading global platforms, besides unveiling the latest developments on its cultural and eco-tourism profile.
The Video
In addition to event photography and videography of the client’s booth at the 2019 Berlin ITB Fair, the client requested for us to produce a short video that they could post on their Instagram account on the same day to boost awareness and visibility of Shurooq and Sharjah. To produce the Instagram video, we went through all the relevant footage shot throughout the day which captured special event highlights, the ambiance of the location, interviews with important guests, networking and interaction with clients and public visitors, and the general atmosphere of the event. After selecting the relevant frames, condensing certain parts for a time-lapse effect, adding in necessary special effects, a dynamic music track, as well as the client’s branding, we had the completed video ready for the client to share with their Instagram followers.
Client Feedback
In the client’s words: “The video was amazing – nicely done! We will definitely come back to you for our future events.”
Need help producing video content to boost your brand presence on social media? Drop us a line to find out more about our event photography and videography services in Berlin, Hamburg, and Frankfurt.
Shurooq – Sharjah Investment & Development Authority – ITB 2018
This event was part of the ITB 2018 – world’s largest tourism trade fair taking place in Berlin, Germany.
In this event our team was built from, a cameraman, and editor.
Our videographer captured the event’s highlights, made interviews and documented the networking and the booth.
The onsite editing was a challenge to our editor who manages to work against time and edit 3 short clips during each day.
During 2 days we were, creating 6 short clips that were released to social media during the day.
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mpe 2017 – Berlin conference and awards giving summit.
It was a great event, with an amazing lineup of speakers. It was also really good for networking.
Our three photographers captured the conference in high quality photos, with eye to the small moments and branding. This is a complex event that will be spread out over 5 different streams. We need 3 photographers to cover this conference, to document the event well and share the moments through social media.
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We look forward to capturing beautiful moments at your next event!
Photo Editing: A Vital Part of Professional Event Photography
Event Photographer’s Photo Editing Work Flow
Writers make several rounds of edits to their work before delivering the final product. Professional photographers are no different. Editing and post-production are vital to ensure the client receives the highest quality images.
The Icing on the Cake
At SeeSaw Event Photo Agency, we see editing and post-production as the icing on the cake. You wouldn’t want a cake without icing, would you? I’m a big advocate of sharing, so I’m sharing the secret of my icing with you.
A Process of Selection and Elimination
During an average 3-day conference, I tend to end up with between 2,500 to 3,500 photos. Not all these will be suitable or good enough for promoting the event. Some of the shots might be blurry, out of focus, with poor composition — it’s a process of selection and elimination.
Edit While Photographing
I start the editing process when I’m taking the photos. I’ll decide on-the-spot which photos will be most useful in helping the client promote their event. Rather than shooting like a lunatic, I’ll stop and think about the best angle, composition, and human reaction. If the situation requires me to work fast, I’ll adjust my approach.
Finding the Best Photo Opportunities
Good photos should have the following elements:
- The main subject (e.g. the keynote speaker, a group of people networking, audience participation)
- Pleasing aesthetics and good composition (e.g. symmetry, texture, depth)
- Good lighting
- Company branding visuals
You might not always get all these elements, but try to get as many of them as possible. These are essential components to ensure the client has quality photos for promotional use.
Selection and Elimination Using Stars
I use a simple star system to filter out the good photos from the bad.
Phase 1: 1 Star
The process starts with me going through all the photos and relying on my immediate instincts. I’ll look for the four elements highlighted above. If a photo feels right and I like it (even just a little), I’ll give it 1 star. You won’t believe how many photos you’ll cut this way. From 3000 photos, I end up with 1200. That’s over 50% of the photos filtered out.
Phase 2: 2 Stars
Repeating the process, I go through the 1200 photos and give 2 stars to the ones I like. That brings the filtered photos down to 500.
Phase 3: Final Selection
This is where I get rid of duplicate shots and those that don’t tell the full story of the event. This brings the final number down to 350 to 400 photos. If necessary, you can repeat the process until you have the number of photos you want. Based on personal experience, you should have about 150 to 250 usable photos for each day of a big event.
Go Through Your Checklist
Make sure you’ve photographed all the key figures (e.g. speakers, presenters). For trade fairs, make sure you document each stand or booth. Clients should brief the photographer on their specific requirements. Otherwise, the photographer should ask if they have any doubts.
Post-Production
Using Adobe Lightroom, this is when I add the final touches. I make minor adjustments such as exposure and color correction, contrast, details enhancements, noise reduction, and cropping. For poor lighting conditions, always make visual adjustments for the best results.
I see post-production as an essential part of photography service. Like I said earlier, you wouldn’t want a cake without the icing, would you? Likewise, why should you settle for photos that aren’t edited and post-produced?
Yehuda Swed (founder of SeeSaw Event Photo Agency) is a Berlin-based event photographer and storyteller
Looking for a professional event photographer in Berlin, Hamburg or Frankfurt? Drop us a line for more details or to chat about your requirements.
We look forward to capturing beautiful moments at your next event!
KiC Innoenergy conference Berlin 2015
For this KiC Innoenergy event that took place in Berlin, we used a team of 2 cameraman to document the atmosphere and the interviews, 2 more cameraman to document the parallel sessions, and one digital operator to control all the data from 4 different videographers.
Looking for a professional event photographer in Berlin, Hamburg or Frankfurt?
Drop us a line for more details or to chat about your requirements.
We look forward to capturing beautiful moments at your next event!
