In the above video and proceeding outline, I will discuss how to maximize your event photography coverage.

All of these tips and approaches to event photography come from over 13 years of experience as a professional event photographer in Los Angeles.

Event Photography Tips: How to Properly Cover an Event (Maximum Coverage!)

Here is what will be covered:

What your objective is, overall.
How it changes from event to event.
Lastly, How you can maximize your event photography coverage throug:

Logistical and practical event photography tips
Technical event photography tips
and Philosophical tips and exploration

The first thing to understand is what your objective is DEPENDING on the type of event you’re photographing:

This will OF COURSE vary vastly depending on the job and
It is important to understand Intended use

Corporate and political event photography clients will likely use your images for :

Marketing and promotion
Their Website
Or simply documentation for internal use

But with private event photography, intended use will likely include:

Documentation, of course
Social media posts
Framed prints
And things of that nature

With a firm understanding of intended use, you should of course...

Balance this, with your personal objective as a photographer.

As a professional event photographer in Los Angeles, for me, at every event, I:

love capturing meaningful, emotion filled moments far more than “cool shots”
want my event photography images to be windows to what it was like to be there
want to create visual reminders of how people felt in those moments at the event

But additionally, I have ever changing goals when it comes to how I work and what I want to achieve.

And lastly, I have a career goal as a professional event photographer in Los Angeles, which is:

To raise the bar, and challenge people’s notion of what event photography is, and what an event photographer can be.

So let's move onto a discussion of what maximum event photography coverage is, exactly.

Maximum Coverage vs more photos: Its about creating images, shot with intent, that are about something, that serve your clients needs- not getting more photos!

It is about finding a balance between focussing on VIPs and covering as many moments and participants as possible.

It's about capturing a wide variety of images of varying shot types at an event... In order to tell a well rounded visual story.
I’ve created a video on the shot types at your disposal that I encourage you to check out if you haven't already since This video is about getting as many of those shots as possible, not what those shots are.

But on top of that special focus, it's important to occasionally scan the room when photographing an event and keep a toll on who you’ve already photographed. But remember, while you want to get a shot of as many people as possible in attendance, you want to balance that with shooting with intent and making meaningful images. So don’t over linger on one person as you may end up missing other potential shots.

VIPs at various events often include:

Guest speakers
MCs
The Birthday boy or girl
Family members
And possibly Celebrities (I photograph a lot of these as a Los Angeles event photographer

Logistical and practical tips for maximizing your event photography coverage.

As a professional event photographer, you want to show up to a job ready to shoot. So what this means is:

Prep your gear in advance and have your:
- Your lenses already cleaned
- Your cameras tested
- Your memory cards formatted
- And your file formats checked (necessary for me since I teach and kids shoot jpegs)
Have your camera set up in a way in which you won't have to fumble around in menus.
Find a convenient spot for your equipment that you can easily return to it throughout the night. I personally only shoot with two camera bodies when necessary and swap lenses often throughout an event so it is important that in doing so I miss as few shots as possible.
BREAKS: I personally don't take many, but if not taking a break will affect your performance, TAKE A BREAK. Be wise.
You want to be friendly- this matters - But Learn how to politely exit conversations- especially uncle bob asking about your camera. You do not want to get bogged down in unnecessary conversation.
Stay fit, learn to fast and avoid blood sugar spikes.

My last Logistical tips for maximizing your event photography coverage

On top of that special focus on VIPS, as I have discussed, it's important to occasionally scan the room and keep a toll on who you’ve already photographed. But remember, while you want to get a shot of as many people as possible in attendance, you want to balance that with shooting with intent and making meaningful images. So don’t over linger on one person as you may end up missing other potential shots.

My philosophical tips for maximizing your event photography coverage

Stay present
- Ego is a buffer between perception and reaction- don't be in your head
Clear your mind / meditate in the car before starting the job
- I use this time to clear my mind and set intentions.
Engage with your senses, Listen for the life of the party.

Technical tips for maximizing your event photography coverage

Setup your camera in a way in which you never have to open menus
Pre Select Your Focal Point.
Time Your Shot Ahead of the Peak of Action.
Shoot with both eyes to be able to spot alternative moments while waiting for a shot.

Event photographers,

In this review I talk about one of my favorite lenses, the Canon 135mm f2 L. I have repeatedly recommended that people start with their “bread and butter” lenses, prior to purchasing something like this, and I stand by that. But when you’re ready to have some fun and open up some “creative” opportunities, this is an excellent choice.

Unfortunately, when I purchased this lens, I didn’t really have all of my “bread and butter” lenses / focal lengths covered. But also, I never really had a mentor advising me on what purchases to make. If there was someone on Youtube giving advice like I do, I certainly couldn’t find one.

I purchased my 135mm on what was a somewhat uncharacteristic whim. I saw it at a trade show in which no tax was being applied, and I decided to just go for it. I more or less spent about $1000- a lot less than most professional level L lenses by Canon, I suppose in part due to it being a prime lens and its age (its relatively old, having come out in 1996).

Why Do I Use This Lens for Event Photography?

In order to talk about when I use this lens, I think it is important to first talk about what sets this lens apart from other lenses.

First off, this lens does something no other lens in Canon’s lineup can do at 135mm (namely, the 70-200 in all its variants), and that is that it can shoot at f2. I have found that the one stop difference between f2 and f2.8 makes a significant impact in what I am able to achieve as a photographer, both practically and artistically.

Being able to open my aperture up to f2, can mean an additional 30 minutes or so of shooting with available light as the sun goes down. It can mean the difference between relying on strobes or not in a dimly lit event, or it can mean the difference between having acceptable noise in my image due to not having to raise my ISO an additional stop.

Going beyond the practical aspects of using this lens, there is just something unique about the shallow depth of field created by the combination of a 135mm focal length and an f2 aperture. I am the first person to say shallow depth of field is overrated, not the end all be all to photography, and actually not the best artistic choice when it comes to personal work like street photography; but when it comes to professional work, shooting with such a shallow depth of field not only achieves specific goals, but has an air of quality and professionalism to the results. Also, in the end of the day, having something visually unique about your work can make you stand out. It could mean the difference between getting hired or not.

When it comes to the quality of this lens, well, its considered a bit of a legend. When it was released, there wasn’t really a comparable Nikon version. It was known to be one of Canon’s sharpest, if not sharpest, lenses and was even reasonably priced- relative to many of their other L lenses.

My subjective take on it? This lens has character and not just due to its fast aperture and focal length combination. It’s sharp as hell when you nail focus and It renders color better than maybe any other EF lens I own.

Events I Use This Lens at

Now that I have covered what’s so great and unique about this lens, lets talk about some specific use cases when photographing events in Los Angeles.

As mentioned before, this is a great lens to use in low light. One thing I specifically enjoy doing is shooting with it wide open at a high ISO in order to get enough ambient light to seamlessly balance it with my strobe, which I’m really just using to improve the quality of light on my subject.

I often bring this lens along, even when I have my 70-200mm f2.8 is, because once I get all my safe bread and butter shots of things like a speaker on a stage, I can experiment with more creative stuff. Also, if size and weight is a concern, I will rock this lens on one body while I have something like a 24-70 on another.

I love shooting portraits with this lens and definitely favor it’s size, weight, aperture range, and focal length to my 70-200mm lens.

One of my favorite uses of this lens is shooting available light during blue hour- the period right after golden hour when the sun has set. Blue and magenta tones seemingly dance together, splendidly, which is further enhanced by the Canon 135mm f2 L lens’ unique character and very shallow depth of field. The result has something of an ethereal feel to it.

I love shooting in tight crowds with this lens. I find I can maneuver through them, while actively shooting much easier than I could with a large, heavy lens. It is also great for when you have to shoot over people’s shoulders or through things because it’s so much less obtrusive.

Lastly, I want to mention that I really just love shooting with this lens because I love shooting with prime lenses and not just for the obvious reasons. Yes, prime lenses are sharp and can generally shoot at wider apertures. But I just love the way it forces me to be more engaged with my craft. Having to physically move your body rather than just zoom in or out, is far more engaging and forces you to be more present, and ultimately potentially more creative. You might not agree with me. And believe me, I see the other side of the argument, but in the end of the day I liken shooting in manual and shooting with a prime lens to driving a stick shift car: a modern automatic will go 0-60 a lot faster, but that does not mean it’s as enjoyable.

What I Don’t Like About This Lens

Seriously, almost nothing. My one and only complaint is that it’s not the lighting fast focuser the 70-200 f2.8 IS, is. But that’s not to say it isn’t fast.

Conclusion

I have been using this lens to photograph events in Los Angeles for nearly 10 years. I probably should not have purchased it before buying at least one other essential lens, but hey I have no regrets. Some of my favorite work has been shot with it and it’s seriously a joy to use. Do you need this lens? No, probably not. But if you want to open up your creative possibilities, while having your work stand out, this fits the bill.

This has been a review of the Canon 135mm f2 L lens from the point of view of a working event photographer. If you would like a bit more technical information, I suggest checking Ken Rockwell’s review.

Maximize Your Event Photography Coverage