Times Higher Education Awards commercial photography

Published on Tue Nov 18, 2025 by David J Colbran

Like most businesses, my best clients are those that I've worked with before - that all important repeat business helps your brand prosper and improve your success. I was thinking about this on the train back from Scotland and noted down three distinct ways client loyalty matters.

1. It takes zero marketing effort.

Repeat customers are already familiar with the value, reliability and services you offer. Which in simple terms means you can focus marketing on the next sector or must win client.

2. Repeat clients are built on trust.

And once you win the trust of your customers, they will be more than happy to recommend your brand and business to other colleagues and contacts in other organisations. This is laser focused marketing - and certain people are like personal brand ambassadors - spreading the word.

3. They become bigger spenders.

Once they approve of your service quality, features, creativity, and experience you offer, they will be more comfortable making larger and more regular bookings and commissions.

So, it was brilliant earlier in the year to be booked for the third year running to provide my services at the Times Higher Education Awards and Conference 2025 with two days of event photography at the Edinburgh International Convention Centre in Scotland.

The Times Higher Education (THE) Awards - widely referred to as the 'Oscars of Higher Education' - are the biggest celebration in the Higher Education calendar, attracting hundreds of fantastic entries from individuals, teams and institutions, from all corners of the UK and Ireland. Nearly a thousand people gathered to celebrate UK higher education success stories in Edinburgh, celebrating its 21st year anniversary and the first time the Awards have been held north of the border in Scotland.

So, I was super excited to join the THE team and document such a dynamic event.

Before I get on to a selection of photos I will cover a few aspects of working as a UK conference photographer at this event. Hopefully, sharing a few insights, tips and advice.

Preparation is key to success

Even though I've covered the event before I carefully researched the schedule and identified the must-capture moments. Working with a professional events team like the THE crew, means their brief is spot on. Trust me this is not always the case, but organised professionals always ensure they get an excellent 'return on investment' from their creatives and potential problems are proactively highlighted and avoided with a great brief.

If you are an event planner and doing some research - check my Top 6 Tips On Writing a Killer Brief For Photographers - it is the most popular post on my site with 16K visits since publication.

The excellent Times Higher Education brief was detailed and covered delivery expectations, an extensive list of key shots, and a few special requests. For example, a clear focus of additional coverage required for sponsored presentations and tables during the awards evening.

It included industry standards such as registration desks, exhibition stands, and shots of delegates interacting at various stages throughout the event. It goes without saying the coffee and lunch breaks are great for those useful networking and chatting images. While it was also highlighted the need for images from breakout stream sessions - delegates asking questions, laughing, and working with colleagues in the seminar style workshops. Great scenarios for making interesting and creative photographs.

In addition to studying the brief, I organised hotel accommodation and train up to Edinburgh - which meant I was fresh and ready for a couple of 8am starts. And having a nearby hotel meant I could get most of the photo edits complete in the evenings, so the client had images early the next morning for social media posts.

Conference Action

The conference began on Tuesday with opening remarks from the editor and presentations from keynote speakers. I was at the front securing some quality images of the panel discussions and audience reactions. These were supplied to event organisers before lunch to accompany conference opening media announcements.

A challenge at a lot of conference venues is low lighting. Advances in technology and new cameras, means this isn't really the problem as it used to be, say 10 years ago. I had to be on my toes to cover everything, especially in crowded areas, ensuring I didn't miss any critical moments. This included documenting breakout sessions, workshops, and networking opportunities. I like to balance the candid more journalistic style shots with posed group images when appropriate. Capturing the essence of learning and collaboration activities covered by the Times Higher Education events is key. Close-ups of engaged participants, speakers in action, and interactive discussions are all on my mental list of themes to include.

Of course, I take care to keep myself hydrated and fed during long day conferences and events. It is all too easy to get caught up in the activity and frantic nature of busy gatherings. So it is vital to look after yourself and take breaks, in order to stay creative and focused over multiple days and on long shoots.

The Awards Evening: a celebration of higher education

The day of the awards are one such challenge - an 8am conference start, combined with a late end after the awards ceremony finishes - makes for a very long day! Fortunately, there was a little planned downtime between the conference ending and the evening starting - so a quick recharge of both my batteries and those in the cameras meant I was ready when the black tie and ballgown attired guests arrived.

The brief detailed what was required - room setups, venue, decor and a list of the proceedings with specific timings. It was vital to capture the atmosphere and emotions of the event, from the excitement of arriving at the drinks receptions to the joyful presentations at the evenings conclusion. The winners' reactions, the speeches and the interactions between colleagues on the tables all needed to be covered.

The organisers needed extended coverage during the Awards session. In addition to photos of the award being handed over on stage from the VIP, they also required posed images against a media wall straight after presentation. With 20 awards planned in just one hour, this wasn't something I could feasibly do on my own. Fortunately, I have a network of reliable, trusted colleagues across the UK that I have worked with before and had the wonderful Neil Kidd help me out this year. The winners also were interviewed by the amazing video team at jamshakeshaft.video post presentation and they provided a runner to lead them over quickly. So, with a bit of planning the team worked well together and we got the images and content the marketing team required.

I provided rush images straight away after the awards ceremony concluded. These included the all important group shot of each of the winning 20 categories, as they accepted the trophy on stage from the VIP guest - Ed Byrne the comedian. This meant the organisers could post to social media channels, distribute images to winning institutions, as well as hit press deadlines. So, as I said before it was a late one and we were on site from 8am until 1am! Plus some edits when I got back to the hotel. Also, at this point I must mention an unplanned issue - a 4.30am fire alarm at my hotel and 45-minute evacuation into the cold night on Cowgate, while the fire service investigated! Fortunately, nothing major and I got a few hours of sleep before getting up and finishing the image edits and getting them over to the client before I went to get my train home.

The Times Higher Education awards really showcase the power and quality of the UK higher education sector. Their awards create a superb atmosphere and they maintain high value event productions from year to year. Hats off to their marketing and production teams.

Promo time - if you are planning an event, conference or awards ceremony, please message me for more practical insights into event photography - I have 20 years' experience. I am happy to chat, even if you have someone already sorted for the photography. Of course, I can recommend some excellent colleagues both for the photos and the video work. Thank you for reading this far and on to the images.

Check my conference and event photography portfolio or read another post for 3 reasons why you should hire me as your professional conference photographer for your next high-profile event.

Conference reception photography at a corporate event