Whether you鈥檙e hiring a professional photographer or putting your own event photography skill to the test, it may be worth investing in professional-level photography gear. After all, compelling imagery is key to motivating attendees to buy tickets to your event. And the quality of your photos affects how people perceive your brand.
Here鈥檚 the event photography equipment you should keep in your kit:
Get advice from seven professional photographers and learn how to use photos to promote your event in The Ultimate Guide to Event Photography.
1. Cameras
The most obvious piece of event photography equipment is the camera. Our photographers recommend the Sony RX100 or the Nikon D500 鈥� and the GoPro.
鈥淕oPros are amazing cameras in low light, and you can install them anywhere,鈥� says Misha Vladimirskiy, a partner at Filterless.co who has photographed events like Coachella and specializes in nightlife and music photography. 鈥淓specially for promoters or nightlife events, I recommend mounting them all over the club, mounting them on a turntable, or using them for livestreaming.鈥�
2. Lenses
It鈥檚 more important to invest in a good lens than a good camera body. Bodies become outdated every two years, whereas a good lens can last a decade. Even the least expensive DSLR digital cameras these days are high quality, and should be able to handle your needs. But a good lens will likely be the most expensive 鈥� and longest-lasting 鈥� piece of event photography equipment in your toolkit.
3. Off-camera flash
Flash can be a necessary evil in photography. Instead of using your camera鈥檚 flash, consider investing in a hotshoe flash, which mounts to the camera and makes photos look way more professional than built-in flash.
If you鈥檙e ready to make a bigger investment, 鈥渁 really nice piece of gear to have is an off-camera cable for your flash, so you can hold your camera in one hand, and your flash in the other,鈥� says David Silverman, owner of David Silverman Photography. 鈥淭hat way it鈥檚 impossible to get red eye.鈥� It鈥檚 also a good idea to invest in some sort of diffuser to spread the light out over your subject.
4. A wireless camera tether
If you want to get the photos you鈥檙e taking out into the world as soon as possible,it鈥檚 worth looking into a wireless camera tether. By plugging one of these into your camera and downloading their app, you can load the photos the photographer is taking onto your phone in real time. That way, you can post high-quality images on social media without the wait. is the tether Silverman used to get his NFL photos out into the world in real time.
5. Editing software
is the standard for editing photos on computers, but if you鈥檙e on the go and need to get pictures ready to post, our photographers recommend the free mobile apps and .
6. Backups of everything 鈥� especially batteries and memory cards
When it comes to event photography equipment, 鈥渄on鈥檛 buy one, buy two,鈥� Silverman says. 鈥淎nything can happen 鈥� somebody will spill a glass of wine on the camera, you name it 鈥� so have a spare.鈥�
Christie Connell, the owner of Azure Photo Studio, echoes Silverman鈥檚 advice. 鈥淎t minimum, you need a backup of each piece of equipment,鈥� Connell says. 鈥淎t least two camera bodies, two lenses, two flashes 鈥斅燼nd don鈥檛 forget backup camera cards and batteries.鈥�
Once you鈥檝e stocked up on event photography equipment, it鈥檚 time to learn the technique. Get more event photography tips from seven professional photographers in The Ultimate Guide to Event Photography.
