A New Way Into the Room
On event photography, visual storytelling, and creating images that help organizations show why their work matters.
A few weeks ago, photography was one of the things I was finally giving myself permission to take seriously.
This week, I delivered a gallery of nearly 100 photographs to Rukundo International from its annual Silent Auction fundraiser at Lone Oak Farm Brewing Company in Maryland.
And I loved doing it.
The assignment was to capture more than what happened that evening. Rukundo International supports children and communities in Uganda through education and community development, and this event brought together the people helping make that work possible.
So I approached the evening as a story.
I photographed the setting before it filled. The auction items waiting for bids. Volunteers putting the final pieces into place. Guests arriving under gray skies and gathering beneath the pavilion as the rain came down.
Then I looked for what happened between the scheduled moments.
A conversation across a table. Someone studying an auction sheet. Friends laughing together. A reaction during the program. The details that made the space feel like this event rather than any event.
As daylight disappeared and the pavilion changed, I changed with it, moving between wide environmental images, closer portraits and details, and eventually bringing in flash as the evening grew darker.
By the end of the night, I had photographed the full arc of the event, from arrival through the final moments of the program.
What I want event photography to do
I’ve spent much of my career thinking about storytelling from the communications side: What does an audience need to understand? What makes someone care? What moments actually communicate what an organization is trying to accomplish?
I’m realizing how naturally that translates to the way I photograph.
I’m not interested only in making beautiful pictures of an event.
I want to create a visual library that an organization can actually use.
The establishing image that gives context. The photograph shows participation. The close interaction that communicates connection. The detail that brings someone into the room. The image that can support next year’s promotion, a donor email, an annual report, or a story about the people behind the work.
That was what I wanted to give Rukundo International.
And when I delivered the finished gallery, I got to see something I’d imagined begin to become real.
“Christina was an absolute pleasure to work with. She was personable, flexible, and a team player, even on a rainy and unpredictable day.”
“Christina was an absolute pleasure to work with! She arrived on time, was personable, flexible, and a true team player (especially impressive considering she volunteered her time on a very rainy and unpredictable event day). Just 48 hours later, she delivered a beautiful collection of finished images that truly captured the spirit of our evening. Her turnaround time was incredible, and we now have wonderful photos that we’ll be able to use to tell our nonprofit’s story for years to come. We are so grateful for her generosity and talent!”
More of this
One of my favorite things about photography is that it gives me a reason to enter someone else’s world for a little while.
I arrived knowing very few people. I left having met another photographer, a videographer, volunteers, and supporters, and knowing much more about an organization helping expand educational opportunities in Uganda.
I also left with another piece of the life I’m building.
I want more evenings like this. More organizations are doing work worth documenting. More communities I’ve never encountered before. More rooms where I can arrive with a camera, pay attention, and help tell the story of what is happening there.
So this is also an invitation.