Dallas Event Photographers: Chasing the Moment

Photojournalism is a term that is thrown out there quite a lot when it comes to photography, but I often wonder if people fully understand what all that entails. My Dallas event photographers style is based on this, but I wanted to explain the term a bit more in depth. Often the term candids comes in to play, as a client will want shots of people not looking. I think that is a great look to have, but when shooting with a photojournalistic style it can go so far beyond that.

There is a big difference between shooting candids and capturing the essence of an event in a photojournalistic style, and much of it has to do with educational background and experience. It’s one thing to shoot pictures when people aren’t looking at the camera, and it is quite another thing altogether to wait for the moment. When I gear into Dallas corporate event photographers mode, my mind is scanning the room for moments. I want to find the emotion, get the perfect lighting and keep a very watchful eye on composition.

I spent the first several years of my career in photojournalism, and was blessed to be able to learn from so many talented photographers and editors on the subject of seeking moments. One is example is something I learned from an amazing photographer in New York that I studied under at the Eddie Adams Workshop. One of his points that stuck with me was that you keep an eye on the entire frame at all times.

This is such an interesting thought, as you normally focus on your main subject while you are shooting, and other details can get left behind. Now I have been able to train my eye to scan all four corners of viewfinder while shooting, so that extraneous or distracting items get placed out of the frame to make sure the moment is maximized.

When all of these elements, emotion, structure, lighting etc., line up, you have what is known as the ‘decisive moment.’ This is a term coined by photography legend Henri Cartier-Bresson, and is what I strive for in all of the events I shoot. Everything from a birthday party to a large-scale corporate event gets this particular approach from me. It is challenging to do, but I have always enjoyed putting the puzzle together, and it really helps keep me sharp and focused while out working. I honestly couldn’t do it any other way.

I wanted to show a few examples from a corporate event shoot I had a little while back. The client wanted to capture moments from when their president and executive team visited stores in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. Some events can have more staging, which gives little or no time to go after spontaneous happenings, but not at this shoot. There were a handful of portraits, but I was given freedom for the most part to document the stay as I saw fit. At the end of the day it all hinges on what the client needs and wants, but I certainly enjoy getting to chase down moments when I can.

I spent the majority of my time roaming around, and searching out the creative angles that would all demonstrate interaction between the president and store employees. This is the point where it turns into a hunt, and I move into position and wait for the elements to come together. Sounds exciting doesn’t it? It certainly is to me, as I truly enjoy the thrill of watching moments come together. It gets me back to my roots, which I can never get enough of.