How to Prepare Your Conference Speakers for Professional Photos

Your keynote speakers are the face of your conference. The images of them on stage, interacting with attendees, and delivering their message will be used in marketing materials for months — sometimes years. Here’s how to set them up for success in front of the camera.

Share the Photography Plan in Advance

Let speakers know there will be a professional photographer in the room. It sounds simple, but speakers who know they’re being photographed are more likely to bring their energy, dress intentionally, and stay aware of their body language on stage. Include a brief note in your speaker communications: “Our photographer will capture your session and deliver high-resolution images you’re welcome to use for your own marketing.”

Wardrobe Guidance

Offer gentle suggestions: solid colors photograph better than busy patterns. Dark or jewel-toned clothing works well on most stages. Avoid all-white (it blows out under stage lighting) and avoid thin stripes or small checkerboard patterns (they create a distracting visual effect called moiré).

For the headshot lounge, remind attendees to dress for the image they want — whatever they’d wear to a professional meeting, not what they’d wear to a casual networking happy hour.

Stage Setup Matters

Work with your AV team and photographer to optimize the stage setup for photography: ensure the podium has a clean front without cluttered signage blocking the speaker’s body, place branded banners or screens where they’ll appear in the background of speaker photos (this is valuable for both the conference brand and sponsors), avoid backlighting that silhouettes the speaker (a common problem with LED walls), and leave space between the podium and any side screens so the photographer can get clean shots.

The Post-Session Handshake

Some of the most valuable speaker images happen in the 60 seconds after the presentation ends: the handshake with the moderator, the audience applause, the first audience member approaching with a question. Brief your photographer to stay focused during these transitions — and remind speakers to stay on stage for a moment after they finish.

Offer Headshots as a Speaker Perk

If you’re running a headshot station at your conference, invite speakers to sit for a session. Professional speakers are always in need of updated headshots, and this is a low-effort perk that goes a long way toward making speakers feel valued. We’ll prioritize VIPs and speakers in our headshot queue so they don’t have to wait.

The Photographer-Speaker Relationship

At From the Hip Photo, we understand that speakers are performing. We stay unobtrusive during presentations, avoid distracting flash during intimate moments, and position ourselves to capture the speaker’s best angles without interrupting the audience experience. It’s a balance between documentation and discretion — and conference experience is what makes it work. See how we’ve captured conference speakers across dozens of events.