A press event has one purpose: the next day, the media need something to illustrate a piece about the new product. The material can’t be made up after the fact. Everything the brand and journalists will need has to be produced within a few hours.
In January 2024, I photographed a press event for the launch of the Tecno Spark 20 smartphone series at Klub SEN in Warsaw. A club with a view of the Vistula and the National Stadium, with neon signs, greenery and sound equipment serving as the set. On site: guests, media and a presentation of the new phone series.
What happened
The presentation against a large brand backdrop is the backbone of the event’s coverage. I photographed the speakers from several angles: wide, to show the scale of the event and the set, and in portrait framing whenever the key information about the product was announced.
The second thread was the product itself. Phones were set up around the whole club: on stands, next to plants, on stone counters. Details like that do the work in the brand’s social media, so I looked for shots where the product plays off the interior set, rather than just lying on a table.
The third thread was people. Conversations at the bar, guests testing the phones, the audience during the presentation. This way, the organiser gets proof that the event was alive, not just that it took place.
What I pay attention to at a press event
Branding has to be in the frame, but not in every shot. I take some shots with the logo in the background, and some purely of the interior and the product. That way the brand can choose material for both the event coverage and product communications.
I photograph the product as if it were a studio shoot, even though this is reportage. A detail shot of the phone next to a vase of carnations requires the same care as a shot from the stage. The difference is that at an event, no one will pause the programme for me.
I also watch for moments when guests reach for the product themselves. A photo of someone photographing the phone with their own phone says more about the launch than many a shot from the stage.
Result
The material went to the brand and the agency handling it, for use in communications around the series launch.
Organising a press event or a product launch? Send me the date, venue and approximate times.
