In July 2024, Martin Creates was assigned an exciting event photography brief to capture the journey of sim racing drivers as they received their call-ups to real-life professional car racing in the Prodigy Racing League, hosted by Williams Racing.
These young racers came from all over the world with their families and it was amazing the photograph the moments that changed their lives. For many of these talented racers, this crucial milestone could be the beginning of something amazing and Martin Creates was thrilled to photograph the moments that defined it. A lot of these drivers could become the future of professional car racing; and it all started with virtual sim racing tournaments.
It is important for Racing Prodigy that this draft was documented with stills and video in a way that told a compelling and somewhat emotional story. This will help their business in finding more sim drivers to grab their spots in the future. The more popular it becomes, the more accessible it could become for many potential racers in the world.
Whilst the drivers will often be the main talking-point, the team principals are also key characters in the story.
The photography will always shine when capturing key moments that are natural and candid. The secret in achieving this is lots of photos without being noticed as a photographer in the room. Of course, this will mean that culling becomes a longer task, but that's better than potentially missing a important moments that can tell a story because those are the photos that carry commercial value in corporate photography.
Things to avoid are sending photos where someone is mid-sentence with their mouth half-open or eyes closed or anything that seems unnatural or throws your attention away from the story that a photographer would like to tell.
Instead, anticipate and capture the moments that make sense. This can include handshakes and smiles.
Don't be afraid to ask for group shots (this link is a guide for taking high quality group photos) if you don't see it happening naturally. It will be important to have records of various group shots depending on the event.
In this case, we had them done in 3 ways;
Group shots organised into each team including team principal.
Group shots of just the drivers per draft picking round.
One big group shot of everyone including team principals.
Let's also not forget to take photos of other important stakeholders that may not be obvious. They also deserve tangible memories for their hard work.
Below is a group photo taken by Martin Creates with the two presenters and live-cast production managers:
And lastly, if you see the crowd is a bit coy, don't be afraid to lift their moods and remind them why they are there and this is a moment to celebrate! Photography is about having fun and documenting it because it's important for the story.
As a professional photographer, at Martin Creates we advocate switching from being a documentary style photographer - that is a fly-on-the-wall as they say - to being vocal and expressive with instructions to achieve the desired results.
If you enjoyed this blog you might want to see more of my corporate photography or video work.
I am a professional freelance photographer and videographer based in London, UK. I started Martin Creates in order to help empower people and brands worldwide. One of the ways I do that is by publishing blogs with free information to help any creatives out there reading this. I welcome you to check out my work on this website as well as my newly launched site martincreatesweddings.com.
If you have any questions, don't hesitate to reach out.
Comentarios