Convention Photography, Conference Photography, and Annual Meeting Photography
Morton Visuals has been providing San Diego convention photography for conferences, annual meetings, and large-scale conventions in San Diego since 2009. In that time we’ve covered conventions and conferences in major cities nationwide. Many of our clients have become repeat clients, booking us as their event photographer year after year. This provides them with consistency in style, a photographer who is familiar with their VIPs and key personnel, and the flow of their events. All of which makes our event photography more effective for their social media, promoting of next year’s event, and ongoing marketing.
All images Copyright William Morton.
The reasons are clear. We pride ourselves on professionalism, and our main focus is on corporate photography. That means we’ve studied marketing and how certain photos can benefit a campaign, product, or company. We have all the experience, (redundant, top-of-the-line) equipment, and confidence necessary to call ourselves experts in the field of corporate event photography.
Morton Visuals excels at capturing key moments. We know how to blend into the background, capturing images discreetly, or we can mix in with the festivities and encourage the fun.
Over the last couple of years we’ve seen an increasing demand for professional headshots at conferences in San Diego. We sometimes come in and take care of that service even for organizations that have their own in-house photo and video team.
We’ve covered academic conferences and medical conferences, and we’ve worked with trade organizations and trade shows. Learn more about the differences between conventions, conferences and trade shows from industry-leading event management company Cvent.
San Diego Convention Photography
Conventions tend to be larger events with member attendees who represent different companies or groups. The focus is often on building business and trade. Some conventions may include trade shows or exhibit halls with sponsors showcasing their latest products and services.
Conventions also include a wider array of events, such as off-site events that take advantage of the local attractions. After-hours activities are plentiful. Sponsors often contribute huge sums for the opportunity to be showcased.
Attendance is usually easy to project — and that attendance is often boosted by the marketing images of the previous year’s event. Make sure your San Diego event photography attracts the most participation from sponsors and attendees alike by choosing an established, professional San Diego convention photographer like William Morton and Morton Visuals.
Capturing Speakers on Stage
Most conventions and conferences have featured speakers. Sometimes they are members of the organization. Oftentimes, they are outside speakers delivering a keynote to reinforce company/organization values. Capturing flattering images of these people is critical. This is especially true of those highly paid speakers in whom the event planners have invested a lot of money.
Convention photography highlights these VIPs, and they are extremely helpful in promoting the following events.
Morton Visuals always focuses on these key people, whether they are well-known celebrities or the head of the company. William’s timing has become well-tuned, capturing every smile and intense expression. Shooting San Diego convention photography from every angle – even from backstage – provides a wide range of images for social media as well as promotional use.
Engagement and Interaction in San Diego Convention Photography
Meeting planners seem to have a few primary goals when planning an event. They want educational and inspiring presentations, engagement, interaction, and promotion. All of this translates to value for attendees. Take, for example, this handshake between a former First Lady of the United States and a conference VIP.
Sponsors want the opportunity to promote, usually in the form of an accompanying trade show or exhibit hall. They really love to see their representatives engaging with attendees. This goes for every organization, from academic to MLM companies. Morton Visuals loves to capture that interaction in convention photography.
Meeting planners love to be able to show sponsors that attendees were engaging with them!
Key Benefits of Morton Visuals’ San Diego Convention Photography
★ Experienced — Morton Visuals has been covering events since 2004. In 2009, we made San Diego convention photography and conference photography a core specialty. Morton Visuals brings over 12 years of experience to your event.
★ Nationwide Service — We are happy to travel to your event location, bringing high-quality, high-tech equipment with us. We’ve covered venues all over the country, in many major cities. See a listing below.
★ Multi-year Contracts — Know what to expect! We are able to lock in pricing and contract for multiple years, even as your event moves to different cities. This allows you consistency in pricing, budget, and the quality of event photography that you use to market each successive year.
★ Social Media — Morton Visuals has several options for providing near real-time images for your immediate social media use, keeping not only your attendees “in the moment,” but serving your members who are attending virtually. We can provide select images of highlights throughout the day, or a “daily summary” of highlights at the end of the day. Use these for an opening slideshow the next morning or to keep quality content on your Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram feeds.
★ Printing On-Site — Morton Visuals can print event photos on the spot. These are great keepsakes, and we can include not only the event name on the photo but also a sponsor logo.
★ Professional Conference Headshots — Morton Visuals has most recently been adding professional headshots at conferences. This is great as a value-added benefit for guests, staff, or VIPs! And if sponsored, can provide advertising exposure for your sponsor.
★ Group Portraits — Often these larger events are one of the only times the full Board of Directors are all together. We can create a beautiful group portrait of the executives, the staff, or any notable group at your event.
★ Quality Images — All final images delivered are adjusted for optimal exposure, color, and cropping. We weed out the blinks, any unflattering “caught you in mid-sentence” images, etc. We know the kind of images necessary for successful marketing, and we provide them. Some of these images will have different orientations, extra space to allow text placement, a variety of angles, and more. Our thoughts are always on providing the most marketable images.
★ Efficient Delivery — Although our total turnaround time will vary based on the total days/hours we photograph, we always meet our deadlines. Final images are delivered on a large-capacity USB thumb drive or hard drive, depending on the total number of full-resolution images. We can also deliver more quickly via online services such as Dropbox. We will always strive to accommodate your preferences.
★ Cost Effective — We understand that we typically fall under a marketing budget, and we do everything we can to work within that budget. We don’t expect (nor want) to be the cheapest event photographer you can find. To set Morton Visuals apart, we make sure that we deliver images that can be used in a variety of ways.
Our San Diego event photography aims not only to recap your major event, but also to market your company or organization throughout the year.
Conferences, conventions, and annual meetings provide great opportunities to capture current team photos for websites, quality images to advertise the event for the following year, social media content, and more. The possibilities are truly endless—all from one event! It’s why so many companies book us for San Diego convention photography year after year.
San Diego Event Venues We’ve Worked
See a listing of some of the many event venues and cities in which we have provided San Diego convention photography or conference photography over the last few years. Some highlights include:
- San Diego Convention Center ✪
- Hotel Del Coronado
- San Diego Hilton Bayfront ✪
- Marriot Marquis San Diego Marina
- Manchester Grand Hyatt ✪
- US Grant Hotel, San Diego
✪ indicates that we’ve worked this location multiple times
Outside San Diego, we’ve covered convention centers in Anaheim, Los Angeles, Palm Springs, Sacramento, Dallas and Las Vegas. Not to mention numerous conference hotels!
We are seasoned travelers who have worked many types of events in many different settings. We may even have experience and connections at the very venue in which you plan to hold your event.
Event Photography References
Review some testimonials and recommendations for Morton Visuals from our past San Diego event photography clients. Here are just a few of our favorite quotes:
- “He was very easy to work with, was on time for all sessions and delivered the photos when promised.”
- “…reliable, professional and very consistent in a variety of photographic situations. “
- “Most important is his integrity – he does what he says he is going to do.”
- “He has a unique ability to capture just the right moment.”
See a full page of references and testimonials for Morton Visuals.
San Diego Conference Photography
Conferences typically focus on education and the exchange of information. These are popular with academic, medical, and trade organizations. They usually have more presentation-oriented activities and are a bit smaller than conventions. Some activities can include keynote speakers, breakout sessions, networking, and large general sessions designed to inform and educate.
Budgets are often smaller for conferences, as you may not have as many sponsors investing for the opportunity to market their wares. That’s okay — we likely have an event photography package to suit your needs.
Conference photography is extremely important when trying to get sponsors and potential attendees interested. Show them how much fun, learning, and networking your event provides.
Helpful Tips for Event Photography
We regularly post helpful articles in our blog to support your event’s success. Here are a few you may appreciate:
- The Importance of Event Lighting – We can help you optimize your attendees’ visual experience.
- What Does It Take To Capture Event Photography – We use the latest equipment, with redundancy.
- (Making the) Best Use of Your Event Photographer – we provide more value by going the extra mile.
- Conference Headshots – An increasingly popular added benefit at your event.
We also recommend working with the Visitors and Convention Bureaus in your destination city. They often have a listing of experienced professionals that can help you in all aspects of your event. We love the teams at Visit San Diego and the San Diego Tourism Authority.
Do you have an event coming up that could benefit from corporate event photography? Do you have a Request for Proposal (RFP) for event photography? Contact us to see how we can help you!