Blog - Hockley Photography

Event Photography Scheduling – Avoid the Last Minute!

January 17, 2017 by Aaron Leave a Comment

As we’re in mid-January, I’m starting to chat with folks about the usual spring rush of events in the coming months. Savvy event planners will figure out event photography scheduling sooner rather than later, knowing that calendars start to fill. I always feel bad when I have to turn someone down on an event inquiry because I’m not available on that date.

Whether we’re talking a conference, trade show, nonprofit fundraiser, company party, or other event, there’s always quite a bit happening in the spring months, so if you have something coming up, drop me a note and let’s get you on my calendar.

Sure, having attendee photos from their iPhones is a great addition to your event, and if you let attendees be your photographers you’ll get some good photos. But if “some good photos” isn’t good enough, and you want to ensure you have all the photos that you want of your speakers, your crowd, and your program, bring in a professional event photographer. One with expertise in photography, experience with events, experience delivering images, and with things like backup gear and insurance and all those things that don’t matter… until they really matter in a big way.

Let’s get your event booked today. You’ll have one more item off your checklist, and you’ll have the confidence that you end up with images from an experienced pro.

Filed Under: Events, Services Tagged With: event photography

Portland and Beaverton Event Photography – Comcast Cares 2016

January 4, 2017 by Aaron Leave a Comment

As I catch up on my photography blogging, I wanted to share some images of some Portland event photography from 2016 for a repeat client. I again photographed Comcast Cares Day, a corporate day of service where thousands of Comcast employees take part in various community service events in their areas.

This year allowed me to make location photography in Portland and Beaverton as employees performed a variety of tasks around a school in a low-income neighborhood, created quilts for those in need, and planted numerous trees in a greenspace near a creek.

As I make the corporate event photographs, I’m working with a bit of guidance from my client as to the highlights they want captured in the images, as well as the messaging they want to convey. After I’m briefed, I take a more photojournalistic approach as I explore the job sites, preferring to make candid images as folks work instead of posed, static photographs.

With an event of this magnitude (they perform work at a lot of sites in the area – I generally am assigned to cover three of them) they have volunteer employees take photos as well throughout the day. But they also hire pro photographers, such as myself, to handle the flagship sites and to ensure that they get the most important images.

Sure, cameras have gotten better and you can probably have someone volunteer to take photos, and they’ll get some good shots. But if you want all the shots, and you want the most important shots, reliably, you’ll hire a pro photographer who will have the knowledge, experience, and equipment to deliver the results.

Filed Under: Events, Photos Tagged With: beaverton, event photography, Events, portland

2017 President for the Oregon Professional Photographers Association

December 13, 2016 by Aaron Leave a Comment

Last Thursday was the annual banquet for the Oregon Professional Photographers Association, and I was honored to accept the gavel as the incoming President for 2017.

OPPA Presidents Aaron Hockley (2017) and Bryan Welsh (2016)

pictured with Bryan Welsh, 2016 OPPA President. Image by Andie Petkus Photo

I’ve been involved with OPPA (and a predecessor organization) for several years and have found it to be a very supportive group that helps its members produce better images and become better businesspeople. I look forward to the coming year, leading our board of directors as we serve our existing members and spread the word about OPPA to the greater photography community in the area. I feel like we have great momentum with an increasingly-active membership, and we’re positioned well to help photographers create and sell the value of professional photography as our industry continues to evolve.

We have a (well-earned, I think) reputation as one of the premier affiliates of the Professional Photographers of America, and I have a fantastic board of directors who are working to make 2017 OPPA’s best year yet. If you’re curious about who we are or want to know more about what we do, check out the website or drop me an email.

And to answer the most common FAQ: Yes, I (still) live in Washington, but like many things in the Portland metro area, OPPA welcomes members from neighboring areas whose goals and interests align with that of our group. We have quite a few members in Southwest Washington.

Filed Under: Events Tagged With: oppa, ppa

A Congratulations to Little Bird

November 17, 2016 by Aaron Leave a Comment

It’s always fun for me when a client or former photography subject has a big success.

I’ve known Marshall Kirkpatrick for probably close to ten years now as part of the Portland tech community, and I had the pleasure of photographing him on stage at the 2012 Demo Day for the Portland Incubator Experiment.

He was pitching Little Bird, a company he founded along with two cofounders. Today they announced they’d been acquired by Sprinklr which will help them grow their platform for influencer discovery in the enterprise space. In looking at my photo archives, turns out I captured the three of them sitting next to each other at another event in a candid audience shot.

Congratulations to Marshall, Mikalina, and Tyler.

Filed Under: Events, Photos Tagged With: Little Bird, Marshall Kirkpatrick, pie, Spriklr

Native American Pow Wow Photography

October 10, 2016 by Aaron Leave a Comment

In conjunction with the NIEA conference I photographed in Portland, there was a Native American Pow Wow held where both local and visiting native people were able to dance, sing, drum, and tell stories together in a pow wow setting. I wasn’t 100% sure what to expect for my first pow wow photography venture, but I wasn’t disappointed.

I’ve been to a few pow wows in the past; this was my first experience doing pow wow photography and it was interesting to move around and capture different angles as the dancers moved into and around the venue.

The focus of the pow wow, and the focus of my photographs was on the dancers, and specifically on the colorful regalia worn by the native dancers. The dancers spanned several generations; from young children to elders all seemed to be having a good time. I’m thankful that my client invited me to photograph this event and I hope to do more of this sort of work again.

Filed Under: Events, Photos Tagged With: event photography, Events, NIEA, oregon, oregon convention center, portland, pow wow

National Indian Education Association: Portland Event Photography

July 6, 2016 by Aaron 1 Comment

Last fall I was hired for some event photography at the Oregon Convention Center for the National Indian Education Association’s annual conference and trade show. The organization consists of members providing various educational services to Native youth, and this event provides a forum for classes, discussions, keynote speakers, and a trade show where folks can learn about the current state of Native education.

From an event photography perspective, this was an assignment to capture the event in all forms: folks attending formal sessions, the keynote speakers, the trade show, and even a Native American powwow (I’ll share some of those photos separately).

I’ve photographed quite a few Portland events now at the convention center, and while the Oregon Convention Center photography space is always the same, the activities and participants of the event can lead to varying photos. I enjoy working with the event planners or marketing agencies to ensure that the event photography I make captures the spirit of the event and will work well for my client in the future as they share the photos with participants and use the images to promote future similar events.

If you need some Portland event photography for your corporate, nonprofit, or other event, drop me a note and let’s chat!

Filed Under: Business

Event Photography: What Happens After Your Event?

May 9, 2016 by Aaron Leave a Comment

While the most important thing when you hire me for event photography in Portland or Vancouver is that I capture great images of your event, I also value providing a smooth overall experience for my clients – before, during, and after the event.

Whether it’s a conference, trade show, company party, meeting, or other event that I’ve photographed, here’s what happens after the photography so that you end up with a smooth post-event experience. There are two basic scenarios (and of course, I can always customize things for you):

Rapid Image Delivery for Social Media

Increasingly, event producers want event photographs as soon as possible… often during the event or that evening. I can do this and it’s quite within my normal range of services. If you need photos during your event, depending on timing I can either hand images off directly to your media or marketing team, or my assistant can take care of preparing and sharing images on your behalf. I’m set up for mobile photo editing and delivery as needed.

In other cases folks want images relatively quickly, say, before things kick off the next monrning. In this case I’ll do a review of images in the evening, prepare a selection based on how many you need, and get those headed your way electronically overnight.

Standard Image Delivery for Most Events

Beyond the immediate needs, for most events we look at a standard image delivery option that will provide your event photos such that they are ready for your future marketing needs, newsletters, or other post-event activities.

I will typically provide your high-resolution image files, edited, via an electronic download from my website within 7–14 days (timeframe will depend on how many finished images are involved, along with what’s been agreed upon in our contract).

While I find that most of my clients prefer electronic image delivery, if you require images on a CD or DVD that can be arranged and that disc will ship in the same timeframe.

If you’d like to distribute prints after your event, I can make that easy by having them professionally printed and shipped directly to you from my lab. This isn’t common for most events, but I’ve done it a few times. Most recently, a client wanted several dozen prints of the group photo of their organization’s new board leadership. As I was already editing and preparing this image as part of their event package, it was simple for me to have my lab print and ship these images.

Of course, anything can be customized as we prepare for your event, but having a general idea of how I usually work and deliver files after the event can help ensure that we are all on the same page. As your event wraps up, you’ll be ready to enjoy some downtime, and you’ll know that a bunch of great images will be headed your way shortly.

Ready to chat about your upcoming event? Contact me and let’s make it happen.

Filed Under: Services Tagged With: event photography

Your Company Photos Can Have Personality

March 14, 2016 by Aaron Leave a Comment

Sure, we’ve all seen static, traditional business portraits or company photos. Heck, I’ve made a bunch of them when that’s the look the client wants.

But your business headshot, or your company group photo, doesn’t have to be dull or traditional. We can take an outdoor portrait in Portland and give it some personality based on the pose and attitude of the subject:

Sure, we could do a picture of your team standing against a blank wall. If you’re a traditional bank, that’s probably appropriate. But if your organization is one where we can display a bit more personality, we could make a Portland company photo up on your rooftop and let folks have some fun.

Get in touch if it’s time for a fresh image for your company.

Filed Under: Photos, Portfolio, Services Tagged With: business portrait, company photos, corporate photography, headshots

Event Organizers and Conference Photography: You’re Doing Awesome

March 2, 2016 by Aaron Leave a Comment

I love photographing conferences, trade shows, and other business events. While doing conference photography It’s always great to work with an event organizer who understands the value of having solid images of the event.

Conference and trade show photography can serve a variety of purposes. Marketing future events is a primary scenario, but I’m increasingly finding photography clients who want me to work the social media angle during events. I will partner with the event organizers to provide conference photography during the event that can be shared rapidly on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other social media.

Let’s work together.

This image is from WordCamp San Francisco 2014; the speaker is Mickey Kay.

Filed Under: Events, Services Tagged With: Events, wordcamp san francisco

Home from Atlanta and Imaging USA

January 19, 2016 by Aaron Leave a Comment

Like 11,000 of my photographer colleagues, I was in Atlanta last week for Imaging USA, the annual conference of the Professional Photographers of America.

Imaging USA is a huge event, featuring a huge tradeshow, three days of educational classes, and a variety of social and networking opportunities for all varieties of professional photographers. I was able to meet quite a few interesting photographers, chat with some of my favorite photography vendors, and learn from experts in posing, editing, and lighting.

This year I had a bit of a dual personality at Imaging USA; in addition to being there to learn personally for my photography business, I was also there representing the Oregon Professional Photographers Association. As the 2016 Vice President, I had the opportunity to attend PPA affiliate leadership meetings where I could swap notes with other state and local leaders from around the country. It was a good opportunity to hear what’s working elsewhere, what challenges some are having, and to build relationships to help strengthen the industry for serious photographers.

But it wasn’t all business: there was plenty of fun to be had as well. I led a small group to check out one of Atlanta’s craft breweries, ran into some old friends at the opening party, and got to hang out with a good crowd from Oregon for a group photo and lunch:

Filed Under: Business, Events Tagged With: Atlanta, Events, Imaging USA, oppa, ppa

Rapid Image Delivery for Social Media

Standard Image Delivery for Most Events

Social

Affiliations