A trade association’s general assembly is a conference where everything happens once. Votes, handovers of office, the new board’s first group photo. There’s no second date and no repeat of the scene. The photography has to be reliable the first time.
In late September 2025, we documented the 17th General Assembly of EFFA (European Flavour Association) at the MaMaison Le Regina hotel in Warsaw on exactly these terms. A European association for the flavour industry, around 50 participants from across Europe, one day of proceedings.
What happened
The programme was typical of a general assembly, and that’s exactly what made it demanding.
The plenary sessions at round tables were reportage work: speakers at the lectern, slides with the organisation’s logo, reactions from the room. Grapes and tomatoes appeared on the screens, because in this industry flavour is talked about through images. That branding had to be in the frame.
Added to that were procedural moments that last seconds: handing over the floor, handshakes, applause after a vote. And the election of the new board for the 2025-2027 term, which we closed with a formal portrait in front of the hotel and a group photo of the whole assembly.
Between sessions, networking: registration in the lobby, conversations over coffee, catering. In other words, material a membership organisation needs for communicating with members and partners throughout the year.
What I pay attention to at a general assembly
A few things work differently here than at a regular conference.
The list of mandatory shots is longer. The new board, the outgoing board, the handover of office, a group photo of all participants. Each of these shots has its few minutes on the agenda and doesn’t come back.
The conference hall is not a theatre stage. Speakers address the room from different spots, part of the discussion happens from the tables. You have to anticipate who’s about to speak next and be on the right side of the room beforehand.
A group photo of 50 people is planned before a break, not after it. Everyone is still in place, no one has slipped out for a phone call yet.
Result
The client ordered the photos for their own website, including new board portraits after the elections. Trade press published information about the 17th EFFA General Assembly and the election of the board for the 2025-2027 term.
