Client Spotlight: WestJet wins Best Event Produced for a Corporation by an in House Team or Planner

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We are thrilled to share that our friends at WestJet’s CARE team were honoured with the 2016 Canadian Event Industry Award for Best Event Produced for a Corporation by an in House Team or Planner. The team has won numerous national and international awards for this event over the years. This year’s event, Swing From The Chandelier, was held at Calgary’s Telus Convention Centre on Saturday, December 5, 2015 and it was also finalist in four other categories: Most Outstanding Event Over $200,000, Best Event Decor $30,000 – $80,000 (OneWest Events Inc.), Best Entertainment Production (MYX Group Inc.) and Best Event Photography. We thought that you’d like to take a peak; check out the images below!

Do you have an exciting project coming up? We’d love to hear about it! Click here to connect.

Event Partners: One West Events, MYX Group, FMAV, Telus Convention Centre

Leblond Studio Team:

  • Event Photographers: Stephanie Leblond and Rich Akitt
  • Red Carpet Photo Team: Svetlana Yanova and Tracy Griffiths
  • Onsite Photo Editor: Alisa Boysis
  • Post-Production: Photo Editing: Shelbi Noble
  • Post-Production – Technical: Rich Akitt
  • Post-Production – Creative: Stef Leblond
  • Logistics and Onsite Assistant: Marie-eve McDonaugh

 

Client Spotlight: Site6 wins Best Brand/Product Launch in Canada

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This was such a fun event to capture: the Beamdog’s Adventure Y Launch Party in Edmonton last summer! No wonder that our friends at Site 6 Events won the 2016 Canadian Event Industry Award for Best Brand or Product Launch for this project.

The media launch and unveiling of Siege of Dragonspear for Beamdog, a prominent Edmonton game developer, was held at the Art Gallery of Alberta on July 9th of 2015. Code-named Adventure Y, the game resurrects the 18-year-old video game franchise “Baldur’s Gate” which has a loyal and dedicated world-wide fan base.

Do you have an exciting project coming up? We’d love to hear about it! Click here to connect.

Leblond Studio Team:

  • Photographer: Bruce Clarke
  • Post-Production – Technical: Rich Akitt
  • Post-Production – Creative: Stef Leblond
  • Logistics: Marie-eve McDonaugh

Event Partners:

Client Spotlight: Boom Goes The Drum wins national award for Best Fundraising Event for a High Profile Charity

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Our dear friends at Boom Goes The Drum have reasons to celebrate. They were honoured last week at the Canadian Event Industry Awards gala, where their LOOK2015 event won in the Best Fundraising Event for a High Profile Charity category. LOOK2015 was an artistically fuelled fundraiser which featured media darling Dan Levvy, and New Yorker staff writer, Adam Gopnik.

We were grateful for the opportunity to capture this amazing event, working alongside many of our favourite fellow suppliers and friends at Hotel Arts, FMAV, One West Events, Designing On The Edge, and Givergy.

Do you have an exciting project coming up? We’d love to hear about it! Click here to connect.

Client Spotlight: POP Kollaborative wins national award for Best Corporate Team Building Event

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We are thrilled to share the great news that POP Kollaborative won the 2016 Canadian Event Industry Award for Best Corporate Team Building Event. The awards gala was held last week at the Grand Luxe Event Boutique in Toronto and celebrated the best in the industry. POP won the award for their work producing the Catalyst Leadership Conference last April at WinSport in Calgary.

We were grateful for the opportunity to capture this amazing event, working alongside many of our favourite fellow suppliers and friends at Decor and More, ProShow, FM Systems, Go West Creative, the Idea Hunter, Fuze Entertainment, Ambassador Limousines, SOS Charging Solutions and DJ JonSpade.

Do you have an exciting project coming up? We’d love to hear about it! Click here to connect.

How to brief your event photographer in less than 30 seconds

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It’s ramp up time for event planners these days, with corporate holiday parties about to hit the city. Some info was exchanged during the booking process and you may have given lots, some, or bare bones info to your photographer at this point. Now that event day is around the corner, here’s how to get him or her set up for success very quickly.

Holiday event decor photo by Leblond Studio Inc.

1. Start and end time

By this I mean, what time does the event start and end, AND what time does your photographer start and end. Avoid confusion by mentioning both. Agree as well as on the time of arrival of your photographer. Typically our team arrives 15 minutes before start, unless we have lighting gear to set up in which case we’ll be there up to 1 hour early. This is set up time and so if you’d like to meet with the photo team, mention it so that time can be allocated.

2. Venue name and address

Some hotels for example may have more than one location (downtown, by the airport, etc) and so avoid costly mistakes by confirming the address.

3. Dress code

Once you are confident that your photo team knows where and when to show up, tell them how to show up. At times, it’s pretty obvious such as a Stampede party or a fundraising gala. While the all black is usually a safe default, it can really make us stick out in some situations. It’s very awkward to show up in black gala wear only to realize that everyone is in yoga pants, in jeans and glitters (not uncommon in Calgary), or leather and chains (ok that would be a fun holiday party!). The goal is for us to blend in with the guests, and at the same time, look like we’re part of your team.

Holiday event food station photo by Leblond Studio Inc.

4. Your top photo priority

We know that you’d love everything photographed and we’ll aim for that, but giving us your top priority will help us make the right decision when many things are happening at once. Do you care most about guests, décor, food or entertainment? It also helps to know if you’re hiring us for your own marketing or award submissions, or if the client is paying the bill.

5. What is the event about and who’s the client?

Is it a celebration for employees, clients, a marketing launch, or something else. Knowing the purpose of the event will help us understand what elements are most important and better tell the story.

Smarty-pants move: If you have a very detailed production schedule, points 1, 2 and 5 are likely listed there already. Share that document which you’ve already tweaked for hours and you’ll just need to confirm dress code and your photo priority! Done!

Now I’m curious…what is your top photo priority? What do you care most about and love seeing photos of? Please leave us a comment below!

Holiday event entertainment photo by Leblond Studio Inc.

Photos in this post are from a corporate holiday event produced by e=mc² events.

 

Buy one, Give one

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Since May 2014, Leblond Studio supports Mealshare by providing food images and other digital assets through event coverage to help them communicate their mission visually. As well, we have made an additional commitment this holiday season:

For every hour onsite by one of our event photographers in November and December, across Canada, we will donate one meal to someone in need through Mealshare.

It’s our own twist on their “Buy One, Give One” model! We hope that you’ll check them out and will find creative ways to incorporate them into your next event. Imagine the positive impact that one large gala could have…and what if an entire industry got behind this?

The Mealshare team at the Calgary drop in centre.

The Mealshare team at the Calgary drop in centre.

 

 

Leblond Studio wins two international awards

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We are so thrilled to announce that we were honoured with two international industry awards at the 2014 Esprit awards gala during the ISES Live conference in Seattle last week. We won the Esprit for Best Event Photography award for our work at the 2013 WestJet Christmas event, and the Esprit for Best Team Effort $75,000-$150,000 along with POP Kollaborative and our fellow suppliers of the event Society. Here are some images from the exciting evening!

 

Working with your photographer: Q&A series Part 1

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On April 15th, 2014, I spoke at the International Special Events Society – Calgary Chapter on “Working with your Photographer: Award Submissions edition”. Such great questions were asked by the attendees that we decided to share the best of the Q&A period with you, in a series of weekly blog posts. Here is this week’s question and answer:

What can I, as the event planner do onsite to help the photographer be ready for photos?

Here are my top 3 tips that you can apply onsite to set yourself and your photographer for success.

stef-1

1. Run a tight ship during set up

Make sure that your entire team of suppliers is on time and that they are not using the photography time (let’s say, one hours before doors) as a buffer to get the room ready. I have enough experience to know that sometimes, delays happen that could not have been foreseen (I remember a venue who lost power for 3 hours during set up), but these are rare instances. If you simply put in your production schedule that décor photos are happening one hour before doors, some vendors may think that this info does not pertain to them. Understandably, everyone is busy and focused on its own tasks. If you really want clean shots of the room ready in all of its glory before guests arrive, it is important to communicate to the rest of the event team that this cue means show time. Here is one subtle shift that will make a world of difference. Instead of:

“PHOTO TEAM: Onsite”, try:
“ALL: Room Ready for photos”.

The first comment speaks to the photo team only, while the second communicates an expectation to everyone. (If you don’t believe me, ask me how often suppliers welcome me onsite by saying “I didn’t know you guys were here today!” although we are on the production schedule…)
During the day, if you notice that the set up is falling behind, remember that it’s a domino effect. Go to your suppliers and ask them how they may be able to make up the time. Keep a tight schedule so that when time comes for décor photos, the room will be ready and you’ll get the images that you need.

2. Do a quick walk-through

Plan to do a quick walk- through with your photo team 15 minutes before they are planned to start shooting. This can be done by you or by a team member who knows the event inside and out. Point out elements that will be key to capture for your award submission. Identify where the entertainment’s high points will happen. For example, if an entertainer will be making a theatrical entrance into the ballroom, you want to show your photographer. Even if you sent us your show flow and site map ahead of time, they usually won’t tell us which way entertainers are entering and how they are moving through the space, which is really important info to ensure that we will be at the right place at the right time, capturing the moment with maximum impact. Often, I do a walk-through with the entertainment director, as they know the general program as well as the most up to date details of the performances.

3. Introduce the lighting designer to your photographer

Most often, the moment that we start to photograph the décor is when the entire tech team, including the LD, goes on their scheduled dinner break. Make sure that you have the LD speak with the photographer before they go on break. It may be a good idea to set up that break at another time if you’re able to. But at least, make sure that the photographer has what they need to do the photos. Most often, I will ask for the lighting scenario that will welcome the guests as they walk in. If the stage is blacked out as guests enter the room, I may ask for something additional, like a stage wash, which will give the photo more depth and interest. Ideally your LD would stay in the room for the décor photos, but at least have them talk with each other before the LD goes to break before doors.

Stephanie Leblond

You’ve invested in a photographer and you deserve amazing images. Try these tips at your next event and let me know how it goes!

Now I know that you have questions of your own, on how to get the most of your photographer, so send them my way and I’ll answer them in a future post. Ask away…I’m here to help!

5 Selfie Faux-Pas

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The CSE National Expo was so great this year! Aside from our photo team covering the event (see album here), attendees constantly had their smart phones out trying to take it all in. And when there is a camera in everyone’s pocket, there is a strong temptation to “selfie”! Love them or hate them, they seem to be the latest trend.

Being the social media coordinator, I thought that I’d share some tips on this newest photo genre…

  1. WHAT’S THAT BEHIND YOU? Be mindful of your background. I have to start off by saying kudos to those of you who took advantage of the logo, me and Stef definitely did haha! But this simple tip is so easily ignored. When you’re attending a gorgeous event, you are surrounded by creative lighting, wow pieces and incredible entry treatments, so why not use them? Get a selfie on that custom leopard print couch or pose with the man made of mirrors. It will make for some interesting hashtags as well as a more exciting photo. If you choose not to incorporate background elements, then get closer and fill the frame with your face(s)!
  2. DITCH THE DUCK FACE  (Don’t know what a Duck Face is? Click Here)- I will admit, I have recently looked back on images and found myself guilty of this faux pas. But to my future self, and to everyone else out there: smile, laugh, wink or stare. But under no circumstance, do a duck face. It’s not flattering and it has unanimously been labeled lame. There have been many events we’ve covered where we point a camera at a beautiful group of girls and instantly they have their lips puckered out and eyes wide. There is a subtle way to show off that gorgeous shade of lipstick without looking like an aquatic animal (and while we’re on the topic of posing as a group…no need to lean in or bend down to fit in the picture. Your photographer will take a step back if needed and you can just stand tall and strong).
  3. ARE YOU SNAP HAPPY? Make sure to pace yourself. This goes for all photos, whether on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook. That’s awesome you had a fun evening, but no one needs (or probably wants) a play by play. If you feel so inclined to share this much then maybe wait until you have a few different shots and throw together a quick collage (make friends with InstaCollage) of your favorite moments. But probably best to leave it at that.
  4. NO DRINKING AND POSTING. You’ve all heard “Don’t drink and drive”, well the same goes for selfies. I get it…you’re celebrating or you can’t believe that you’re finally a guest at an event…that’s great! Take a quick team photo to document the moment. Try to do this BEFORE ordering your second round of tequila shots. You may not only be looking a little less than your usual lovely self, but chances are you’ll end up with a dark, blurry, unflattering image. When in doubt, take the photo but maybe wait until the next morning to decide if it’s post worthy.
  5. SMURFS NEED NOT APPLY. The point of a selfie is usually not to show where you are, or what you’re doing, but to show you. It’s a self-portrait. Don’t stand in front of a window (back to it) because you’ll become a dark, faceless silhouette. Instead, face the window and try again. If you’re at an event, look for natural or tungsten light, which your phone camera can render much easier. Avoid standing close to LED lighting: the last thing you want is to look like a smurf (unless you plan on putting #smurf #selfie).

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