Two days at bcc Berlin Congress Center
Frontiers Health was one of the densest conference programmes I have photographed. Across two days at bcc Berlin Congress Center, we covered around eleven hours each day, with seven breakout sessions running at the same time alongside the rest of the programme. There was quite a lot to keep track of.
For this healthcare conference photography assignment, I worked with a second photographer. We wanted to cover the whole event: speakers and panels, the venue and branding, performances, and the conversations happening between sessions. The aim was a comprehensive set of photographs, with attention to the little details as well.
Seven breakout sessions, two photographers
Some rooms changed speakers every ten minutes, so we had to stay alert. A short talk does not leave much time to arrive, find an angle and photograph the speaker before the next person takes over.
My second photographer covered the breakout sessions on another floor, while I covered the sessions on mine. Dividing the floors helped us work through the parallel programme. We were aiming to photograph every speaker present during the conference, which meant paying close attention to what was happening in each room.
Speakers, panels and the moments around them
The programme moved between presentations, panel discussions and performances, and the whole event felt lively and energetic. The photographs needed to reflect that variety.
I wanted the coverage to include both the people speaking and the people listening: a gesture during a presentation, a question from the audience, or a reaction during a panel. Over two long days, those smaller moments become part of the record of the conference too.
Networking in the natural light
One thing I particularly liked about bcc was the huge windows. Parts of the networking area had a lot of natural light, which helped with the vibrant photographs of people talking between sessions.
The breaks were part of the coverage, just as much as the talks. We photographed conversations, informal meetings and the atmosphere around the conference, so the final selection also showed how people spent their time away from the stage.
The venue, branding and changing light
I also enjoyed the modernist architecture of the venue. The glass, the curves and the open areas make it a pleasant place to spend two days, and they gave us plenty to include in the photographs of the space itself.
The lighting was quite different from room to room, though. Moving between sessions meant working with those changes, and afterwards we adjusted the photographs in post-production to bring the different rooms into a consistent final gallery. Alongside that, we paid attention to the event branding and venue details, because they were part of the conference we had been asked to document.
Performances and a different pace
The performances brought another change of pace to the programme. After photographing discussions and presentations, it was enjoyable to work with the movement and expressions of the musicians too. They added to the energy of the event, and I wanted that to come through in the selection.
Live delivery and the complete gallery within 48 hours
We also provided live delivery during the conference, followed by the complete edited photographs within our regular 48-hour delivery time. With a programme this busy, the delivery had to fit around the photography.
I have explained the process in more detail in my post about how I deliver conference photographs while the event is still happening. It is a useful option when the organisers need images during the event as well as a full gallery afterwards.
Healthcare conference photography gallery
Here are some more photographs from the two days: the sessions, audience, networking, performances and details that made up the event. Obviously the full gallery consists of over 700 images but I simply picked about 50 of them to not make this case study too large.
I work as a conference photographer in Berlin, covering programmes with parallel sessions, panel discussions and networking. You can also see my corporate event photography for other kinds of business events. If you are planning a conference, feel free to get in touch with the programme and the coverage you have in mind.
