Natural Event Photography at Australia House, The Strand

One of the exciting things about event photography is that you never know what you’ll be capturing next! Recently, I was commissioned by the Australian High Commission to photograph an evening drinks reception and panel discussion, with Jason Donovan. 

Having photographed events for the British Council, I’d been recommended for my unobtrusive style and my ability to capture natural, relaxed shots of people having a great time. The informal event took place in London, at Australia House on The Strand, giving people the opportunity to network, chat, and enjoy a glass of wine during an interesting panel discussion.

Events at Australia House

Australia House was officially opened by King George V in August of 1918. It’s a Grade II listed building and the main hall was used in the film “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone”, as Gringott’s Bank. The interior is covered with intricately carved Australian marble, which creates a beautiful backdrop for event photography (and banks for wizards, apparently!). 

The first part of the evening involved photographing the drinks reception, discreetly and naturally to capture the guests as they chatted and relaxed. This was followed by the panel discussion between the host and Jason Donovan, who spoke about his career over the last 20-30 years. In this part of the evening, I wanted to make sure I photographed not only the speakers, but the wider scene with the audience really engaged in the discussion.

Natural Event Photography – What that means to me…

For this intimate and exclusive, informal event I made sure I could blend in, putting the guests at ease. By using the light available at Australia House, I chose to shoot without flash, allowing me to be more discreet so the guests weren’t camera aware or distracted from their conversations.

This particularly client was keen for the photography to be as natural and unobtrusive as possible. Natural event photography relies on my ability to document events without changing the dynamic of the room, and being able to shoot without flash is really important in achieving this. I get much better results using the light available at the venue for this sort of relaxed environment. 

In contrast, most of my award ceremony photography uses flash, so I’m really flexible in how I use light to achieve the desired look and feel of the final images.

What I look for when photographing a private evening function 

As an event photographer I’m always on the look out for actions and reactions in individual conversations, as well as the detailed shots of the venue and catering to set the scene. The tighter shots of the host and guest speaker are also important, they tell the story of the evening when balanced alongside the informal shots of conversations and reactions. My aim is always to photograph the event from multiple perspectives, capturing the atmosphere of the evening and how it felt to be there. 

I have to say, Jason Donovan was a really engaging and entertaining guest speaker. He was fun to listen to and was able to keep the audience involved throughout the panel discussion. When I’m documenting this sort of event it’s vital that I listen to the conversation whilst also photographing reactions and interaction with the audience.

There was an interesting mixture of serious discussion and more light-hearted chat, and after the event Jason Donovan was keen to listen and answer questions from the guests. Getting wide shots, showing different groups of people mingling and chatting helps me to give an impression of the overall feel of the event. Again, making the use of the light available at Australia House meant I could ditch the flash, and keep that relaxed and natural feel to the photographs, which was essential for this client.

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