Here is an example of event photography at the Marina Del Rey Marriott, including a trade show in the first floor ballrooms (like the Sierra Ballroom and Promenade Ballroom) and a dinner reception in the top floor (rooftop) Bayview Ballroom. This was a two day event promoting tourism for France via the French Embassy.
Day 1: Starting the Event with Registration and Breakout Sessions
The Breakout Sessions introduced the buyers (mostly travel agents) to the trade show, including a prize for a trip for two to the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region (7 day stay including boutique flight).
Cocktail Hour and Dinner in the Sierra Ballroom
After the meet and greet introductions, we did a step and repeat outside for most the guests entering the cocktail hour. This is one example of dozens:
From there I covered the cocktail hour, including (not shown) candids of individual conversations in action.
The event dinner took place in the Sierra Ballroom in the Marina Del Rey Marriott on the first floor. Dinner event photography includes coverage of the speaker, wide shots of the room and setup, and reaction photos of the guests. We also take the time to go table to table for group photos.
And we covered every table with group photos, like this one:
Day 2: Trade Show in the Pacific Ballroom
We started the next day in the Pacific Ballroom on the first floor (it is right next to the Sierra Ballroom), with the buyers and exhibitors having one-on-one sessions with each other. The exhibitors are all representatives of different regions, cities, and businesses in all of France (especially the smaller regions that aren’t as well known as Paris).
Dinner Reception in the Bayview Ballroom
After an afternoon on the first floor, we proceeded to the rooftop for the dinner reception and award show. The Bayview Ballroom is an amazing and unique location, with an almost unequaled view of Marina Del Rey and the surrounded area and beaches. This is the view of the marina at night (long exposure for the awesome light trails), and the view from the other side is amazing during the sunset.
Here is the Bayview Ballroom setup with two large projections on the north-east corner of the room (pointing toward the helipad).
There were great performances throughout the night, including a few French classics.
There was also a step and repeat outside the ballroom for guests entering the dinner. They hired soccer performers to entertain guests during the step and repeat along with during the dinner reception.
Award Show for French Tourism
After the dinner was an award show for outstanding tourism-related exhibitors.
After the show there were plenty more group event photos to be had, with many different groups, couples, and candids of socializing.
