Exhibition Stand Photography at Trade Shows and Conferences

Published on Tue Apr 16, 2024 by David J Colbran

I have been photographing exhibition stands for many years and just realised I have never really posted about it before. Perhaps a few images in the end of year review, or as part of a bigger conference job. But I've been commissioned recently by a few stand designers and thought I would write some thoughts and highlight some favourite images from the archive.

Exhibition stands come in all shapes and sizes, but for businesses they are the conversation starter and often at busy trade shows they need to catch people's eye in seconds.

The amount of thought, detail and design that go into some stands is quite amazing. They are constructed quickly, only there for a couple of days and then boom, they disappear in a rapid take down. Quite fascinating - I always think of them as mini business villages, nomad style moving around the country, selling their wares.

Most have fancy lighting, display boards and products out on show. Some will have games, digital quizzes and I've even worked at one that had a Game of Thrones theme. With a team of 12 actors in costumes from the show running team building activities - crazy fun ! All to increase engagement and footfall to the booth, plus ramping up interest in the brand. These details have clearly been specified by the client and imagined by the designers and therefore everyone needs some creative images of them out in the wild, in the action, at a trade show or exhibition.

My aim is to provide high-quality images that give you a big return on investment for future marketing activity and be the deciding factor in securing new customers, clients and visitors to your business. I can help exhibition stand designers showcase their work and skills with the best possible photos. And for organisations, I provide a brilliant record of your brand's presence at an important business event.

Trust me and my attention to detail. I will ensure, included in the delivery, are images with correct light balances on tricky to shoot details, such as lightboxes, digital displays, monitors, interactive games and other illuminated features. I will in post-processing check each image for the best results before supplying and obviously be happy to tweak anything in an image that you need correcting post-delivery.

Of course, you will need to decide whether you need images of just the stand itself, empty, pre-show, or packed busy with lots of engaged delegates and visitors. In reality most will want both situations. Perhaps there is going to be an event at a specific time at the stand, or a public relations opportunity? You will need a photographer who has experience in the world of PR and is a confident people person. Getting that all important VIP visitor captured visiting the stand or more simply getting a crisp team shot for internal marketing purposes are all well within my skills base.

OK, on to the dull stuff. I have a load of PPE kit but if there is a requirement for specialist gear you need to provide - trust me there are some weird and wonderful shows out there ! Of course I have full Public & Products Liability insurance and Professional Indemnity insurance at 10M per claim - so we are both covered if I knock something over with a tripod, or someone trips on my bag etc and I am a member of the NUJ if you need someone with a press pass and a network of journalists.

Previous coverage includes ACC Exhibition Centre Liverpool, The NEC Brmingham, Manchester Central, The Business Design Centre in London and the Yarnfield Conference Centre in Staffordshire. I am based in Liverpool but at the end of the M62, so Manchester is a cinch and light on travel expenses. Else we talk train fares and overnight stays if necessary.

If you've arrived here randomly and are new to me and my work, of course I cover lots of other similar work - business events, conferences, evening galas and award ceremonies. And always more than happy to schedule in a Teams / Zoom call to discuss projects and requirements.

Author: David J Colbran