The proof of a good event is in the pictures. With every attendee now armed with a smartphone, creative and eye-catching event photography is more important than ever. Chosen by BizBash photo editor Taylor McIntyre, the photos here are standout examples of photographers going beyond the standard guest photos to present events from new and interesting perspectives.
Acrobatic dancers descended from the roof and down the facade of the Hublot Fifth Avenue flagship boutique in New York at an opening event in April. Rise & Set produced the event.
A photo activation from Lollapalooza returning sponsor Toyota turned music fans into rock climbers thanks to some low-fi special effects. The music festival took place in Chicago in July.
Fiber-optic panels hung from the roof of City of Hope’s Spirit of Life award gala tent created the look of a starlit sky. The Los Angeles benefit took place in November; Namevents handled the event’s production.
The art collective Do Lab's colorful stage provided shade over fans at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, California, and included strategically placed misters and flower-adorned water guns to keep guests cool in the desert heat. The festival took place in April.
A Hollywood Grammy-Land dessert station offered numerous confections at the Recording Academy’s “Grammy Celebration,” the official after-party for the Grammy awards in Los Angeles in February. Patina Catering served sweets like blue chocolate popcorn, Pop Rocks shooters, and liquid chocolate s’mores, as well as cotton candy trees that invited guests can grab confections right from the branches.
Miami fashionista Jenny Lopez posed for a photo at Camilla's party at Faena during Miami Swim Week in July. The space was decorated with Camilla-designed embellished pillows and prop surfboards, making it ready for social media posts.
At a rebranding event for Trend Group in Miami, Shiraz Events produced a multi-sensory event where guest were transported to a space showcasing all Trend's mosaic installations. Shiraz created an an art gallery exhibiting mosaic slabs, and incorporated custom-made decor elements throughout the space. The event played with color and shape through video texture wall mapping and through live performers.
To kick off a yearlong 75th anniversary campaign, M&M's celebrated the milestone with a media and consumer event in New York in March that offered guests an inside look at the residences of the brand's six “Spokescandies." As the green-colored M&M, Ms. Green, is billed as having star quality and a fabulous, flirty demeanor, the green room included eye-popping wallpaper, framed pictures of the character's fake magazine covers, and a green vanity with green makeup.
The Lowline held its inaugural Under Ground Garden Party on June 7 at the Lowline Lab, a research and development facility in New York's Lower East Side that uses solar technology to grow plants. Produced by Empire Entertainment, the seated dinner featured an unusual, interactive menu that began with a salad that guests assembled themselves from a bowl of lettuce greens and a tray of whole vegetables, which guests cut up and then dressed themselves. Chefs aprons and gardening gloves were provided for each table.
During New York Fashion Week, Thom Browne's February 15 show at Skylight Modern featured 41 models, 372 guests, and a set meant to evoke Washington Square circa the Great Depression. Produced by Villa Eugenie, the city square was outlined in scrim drawings of what appeared to be 19th-century residences. The images bordered a dirt walkway around the perimeter of a small park.
At the inaugural Panorama Music Festival in New York this summer, sponsor HP showcased an attendee-powered color wall inside the Lab. Using the brand's technology, the wall would change colors in time for a selfie taken with a laptop. The activation was produced by Infinity Marketing Team.
Fans of USA Network's Mr. Robot experienced a virtual-reality prequel written and directed by the show's creator, Sam Esmail, at Comic-Con International in San Diego in July. The 12-minute scripted piece, created with Chris Milk’s virtual-reality production company Here Be Dragons in partnership with Universal Cable Productions, provided viewers with one of the first extended narrative pieces of television content in the VR medium.
Dressed like a fantastical peacock, a strolling performer doubled as a "living table" at the Allie Awards in Atlanta in March. Events of a Lifetime donated the table.
The Lolë White Tour, a series of yoga events in cities around the world organized by the women’s activewear and lifestyle brand, made a stop at Toronto’s Exhibition Place for an outdoor yoga session at sunset on July 28. A group of 3,000 yogis, dressed in white as a symbol of peace, gathered for the tour’s first evening session.
At the Washington benefit Sips & Suppers in January, three of the Newseum's glass elevators were outfitted with bars and mixologists featuring specialty cocktails.
