At an esports trade show, a booth competes with an arena where thousands of people are watching a match. Visitors come for the matches and the autographs, and only then make their way to the hall with the hardware. Trade show photography at an event like this has to cover both, because the exhibitor pays to be present in both places.
From 9 to 11 February 2024 I photographed IEM Katowice 2024 for the agency running Intel’s booth. Three days in the Expo hall and in the Spodek arena, from the moment the doors opened to the final. The client received over 1,000 photos.
Expo hall: queues, autographs and booths
The first hour of the show looks much the same every year. A queue for the gaming stations, contests on the exhibitors’ stages, players signing jerseys and merch. Shots from those minutes later open every daily recap.
Players signing merch are a golden moment for an exhibitor. The logo is in the frame, and people are looking at the player, not at the banner.
The Spodek arena: the light changes every few minutes
Working in the Spodek is completely different from working in the hall. The stage set glows blue, then red a moment later, and the pyrotechnics give you two seconds for a shot. Wide shots from the stands show the scale. Tight frames from the stairs and the tunnel show the players’ walk to the stage.
Activity zones and the details visitors come for
Most of the material for exhibitors comes from zones where visitors are doing something. They test laptops and consoles, sit down at racing simulators, watch a CPU overclocking show with liquid nitrogen. A thermometer reading minus 122 degrees says more about that show than any description.
Between the stations I also photographed details: a backlit logo on a case, controllers on a stand, a dragon on a modded PC case. Shots like these end up on the brand’s social media, because they work without a caption and look good in a square crop.
Cosplayers are a story of their own at the show. They are happy to pose, so all you need is a good background and a moment of attention. They look best against the booths and the escalators, where it is clear this is a trade show and not a studio.
Matches: fans with banners and pyrotechnics
In the stands I was looking for reactions: banners, hands in the air, an outburst of joy after a play. With fans I watch one thing. The portfolio keeps only frames where the person looks good and the badges and ID details are unreadable.
Sunday: the last day in the hall and the final
On the third day the hall has a different rhythm. Visitors already know where everything is, and they stay longer at the modding shows and gaming zones. It is a good moment for shots of movement in the foyer and of the signage that shows the layout of the whole show.
In the evening, the final in the Spodek: stairs with the names of past champions, the tunnel, the teams walking out on stage, fire, confetti and the trophy in the winners’ hands. This part lasts a dozen or so minutes, yet in a trade show recap it often takes up the most space.
What an exhibitor gets from this kind of trade show photography
Three days produce material for several uses at once: social media coverage during the show, a recap for partners and photos to sell the booth space for the next edition. A year later, at IEM Katowice 2025, I was photographing for a specific brand. You can read about it in the post from IEM Katowice 2025.
Are you exhibiting at a trade show and need photos of your booth and of everything happening around it? See my trade show photography services or send me the date, venue and approximate hours.
