An award is one of the few pieces of trade fair news that editors and customers pick up gladly. The moment on stage lasts seconds. This guide shows how to prepare so the handover, the press photo and your announcement are ready the same day.
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Award ceremonies at trade fairs come in two forms. In the first, the organiser, an industry association or a trade magazine presents awards, for example for innovation or design, on a central stage. You are a nominee or winner and a guest at someone else's event. In the second, you present awards yourself, for example to your best distributors or partners, on your own stand.
The planning differs. At someone else's ceremony you control almost nothing: stage, light, running order and camera positions are set by the host. On your own stand you control everything, but you also have to plan everything. Both cases share one thing: the decisive moment is short, cannot be repeated and is worth a lot. That is why it should not depend on a phone camera.
Your own photographer will rarely stand on the stage. From the audience, a long lens captures the handover and, just as valuable, the reaction of your team in their seats when the name is announced.
A handover on your own stand (booth), such as a partner award or distributor of the year, is a small show and should be treated like one:
Keep speeches short. Every winner appreciates their moment, but the audience on a stand is standing and loses patience quickly. For timing on stage in general, see Talks on the trade fair stage.
Stages at trade fairs are often lit for the audience in the room, not for the camera. Typical problems are harsh spotlights on faces with dark surroundings, or LED walls that glare behind the speaker. An experienced photographer exposes for the faces and accepts a darker background. On your own stand, even front light on the handover spot solves most problems. Why screens cause trouble is explained in Photographing screens and LED walls.
For video, ask the host whether the crew may take a sound feed from the mixing desk. Laudations and thank-you words are often hard to understand without it. The announcement of your name, the applause and the walk to the stage make a strong 30-second clip even without long speeches.
Trade media and your own channels need different pictures. For editors, choose a clear, calm image: the winners with trophy or certificate, faces visible, in high resolution, with a caption naming everyone from left to right. For LinkedIn, the emotional moment of the announcement or a team photo with the trophy on the stand works better.
If the award comes with a seal or logo, ask the awarding body how you may use it in marketing. If you use pictures by the organiser's photographer, the credit they require belongs in the caption. For your own photos, Pixer grants unlimited usage rights, so you can pass them to editors directly. Which pictures editors actually print is covered in Press release for the show.
Award news stays fresh for about a day. The first selected photos usually arrive the same day, so your announcement can go out on the evening of the ceremony. Full delivery follows within 24 hours after the event ends, including a 30-second clip if video is booked.
If the ceremony falls on a show day we cover, we build it into the schedule. Tell us the time on stage and the location, even if it is in another hall. Two hours are usually enough for a ceremony; if you also want your stand covered, four hours or a full show day work better.
Receiving an award at someone else's ceremony, or presenting one on your own stand.
Official photographer, usage rights, camera positions: clarify them with the organiser before the show.
On your own stand, tape marks keep every handover in the same frame.
One for the win, one for the shortlist, so the news goes out either way.
Speeches are often hard to understand without a feed from the mixing desk.
A calm, clear winners' image for editors, the emotional moment for social media.
Often yes, but from the audience, not on stage. Ask the organiser or the press office in advance where photographers may stand and whether accreditation is needed.
Ask for the terms. Some organisers provide winners' photos, sometimes with a required credit line or for editorial use only. Your own photos avoid these restrictions.
Plan a few minutes per award including the photos, plus the group picture at the end. Short speeches keep the audience on the stand.
A calm, sharp picture of the winners with trophy or certificate, faces visible, in high resolution, with a caption naming everyone from left to right.
The first selected photos usually arrive the same day, full delivery within 24 hours after the event ends. That is fast enough for an announcement on the evening of the ceremony.
A 30-second clip with announcement, applause and handover makes a strong LinkedIn post. Long speeches are rarely watched in full, so keep them for internal use.
Nominated, or presenting awards yourself? Send us the show, the time of the ceremony and your plans, and we will prepare coverage of stage, handover and press photo with you.
We reply within 24 hours. During a show week, WhatsApp is fastest.
