A store opening brings several stories together at once: a new room, a brand, products, hosts and the first guests. A report should therefore not only prove that people were there. It has to convey what was opened and how the new place feels.
For the opening of the VOGL store, the room, the details, the brand and the event belonged together. Productions like these combine interior, product and event photography inside a few hours.
Start before the guests do
The most important room shots are best made before the doors open. That is when the entrance, the fittings, the display areas and the products are fully prepared and not yet covered by coats, bags and glasses.
The basic set includes:
- exterior view, entrance and signage,
- the overview and the distinctive interior details,
- products and display areas,
- branding and partner logos,
- hosts and team,
- guests arriving and being welcomed,
- speeches, the opening moment and the reactions,
- conversations and atmosphere.
Press, social media and the longer term
First pictures are often needed while the opening is still running. A short list of priorities should be agreed in advance for that. Those highlights are a different thing from the full selection, which is edited and handed over after the event.
On top of that I plan vertical frames for social networks, wide frames for the website and the press, and neutral views of the new store. The material then stays usable long after the opening night.
The opening moment cannot be repeated
Cutting the ribbon, handing over the key, the speech or the first official sale have to be marked clearly in the schedule. A contact person who can be reached passes on short-notice changes and helps to identify important guests.
For more than twelve years I have photographed and filmed events, rooms and brands. That combination is particularly useful at a store opening, because the architecture and the reportage can be made in one visual language.
Examples are in the project VOGL Store Opening and under event photography.
