Exhibitions – Maxim Photo

Exhibition Photography at Imbibe Live!

Imbibe run a very successful magazine for the drinks industry, but they also run a vibrant event every year at Olympia in London.

We were asked to provide blanket coverage of the event but also paying close attention to industry professional they had asked to conduct keynote presentations. Some headshots were also shot as part of the assignment for use in social media and industry publications. Images were delivered within 24 hours of the show ending, this is not typical of Exhibition Photography bookings we receive, this was due to publication deadlines. To speed up the image delivery process we carried out on-the-fly edits during breaks so as Imbibe had a stock of media optimised images ready to roll as soon as the doors closed.

To give you some perspective, this is Britain’s largest on-trade drinks event hosts around 12,000 professionals from the drinks industry, they offer insights, tips, samples (plenty of those) as well as workshops and key seminars on the latest products, technologies, techniques and sales channels. As one of Europe’s biggest events of its kind they’re keen to have full coverage to ensure maximum press coverage, also they need a well stocked image library for forthcoming media campaigns. The key message was that of capturing the buzz of the show, the vibrancy and colour and, of course, the personalities. It should be said, although it’s probably obvious, all show organisers have the requirement for images that capture the buzz of the event, but often they have a key message which underpins it all. For example, this event is heavily aimed at a market which is incredibly dynamic, very fashion-led but one that carries a social responsibility. With the media quick to pick up on messages of binge drinking and excess the show had to take care it was pitched at the right level.

It was an enjoyable experience as not many events are quite so vibrant and fast paced.

Exhibition Photography – Excel, London

I was commissioned to cover the very first London based event specialising in a wide range of security, facilities and safety measures. It is the biggest show of its kind in Europe. Attracting 1600 exhibitors, 45,000 visitors and completely taking over the whole of Excel. Therefore it is quite a staggering show, I therefore brought in two additional photographers to ensure blanket coverage over the three day duration of the event. With a detailed brief for each day we gave comprehensive coverage to this popular event. Providing on the fly editing for frequent uploads to social media, in order to keep momentum and public interest in the event. As well as producing a full edit of all images shot at the end of each day, this enables the event organisers to move quickly with post-show marketing activity to all their media partners as well as the wider media.

We received some fantastic feedback on the service we provided and have been booked again to cover the next show later this year.

Of course, not all events are on this scale, but the same service is needed in order to fully leverage the time, management and expense that has gone into organising your event. Getting your message out there through the use of compelling show imagery tells a more powerful story than words alone. The service we offer is UK wide so please feel free to get in touch and talk through your plans, we’d be happy to help.