Photograph your FIT Show stand

By Adrian Toon, director of a2n

This year’s FIT Show will be bigger and better than previous shows and a real opportunity to promote your company’s products and services should you be exhibiting. The cost of a stand, its design, construction and manning is significant, so it is important to recognise this by recording its build and use.

The first thing to mention before you take any photos is that of the lighting: the halls are normally lit by tungsten lights which are quite ‘warm’ on colour and whatever camera you are using you need to check that the ‘white balance’ adjustment is made. This is normally automatic on most cameras, but if you are going to do some post processing it can easily be pulled back into balance after being taken.

So, what pictures should you take and with what?

First the camera, if possible a wide-angle lens would be a benefit, either on a compact or SLR camera. A 18mm focal length or less would be ideal as it generally offers a 90º field of view which is ideal to capture two sides of a stand with ease.

Remember that there is often very little space to get back far enough to take a picture. So if you don’t have a wide angle lens on your own camera, now is the time to find out who in your organisation has.

Remember to keep the camera back vertical keeping all vertical elements of the stand vertical in the image as it looks so much better on the final image.

Remember that these pictures can be used on the web, in brochures and framed office use, so plan the images that need to be taken. These would be the obvious full stand pictures, before anyone is on the stand, your team on the stand and the stand being worked effectively with your team and visitors.

Then there are the close-ups: as most cameras have a zoom facility, get close in on the action, the discussions, the meetings and any events you have planned on the stand such as a reception.

Finally, remember the candid shot – such as the MD sweeping the stand in the morning before anyone else turns up – makes a great shot for future negotiations.