Corporate Christmas party photography in Pyrmont: Decode’s end of year party for over 160 guests at Dolton House

Name: La Lente Photographer
Address: Epping, NSW, 2121, AU
Telephone: 0414 442 440
Price range: $

Over 160 guests, belly dancers with a live drummer, speeches in a dark room and a photo booth full of antlers. This is how a big work Christmas party gets

By Paul D’Ambra · November 2017

Home - Business - Corporate Christmas party photography in Pyrmont: Decode’s end of year party for over 160 guests at Dolton House

Belly dancers with gold wings perform between dinner tables, with large lit-up DECODE letters on the stage behind.

A man in a suit gives a speech at a clear lectern in front of large lit-up DECODE letters.

A man in a pink shirt hands a red card to a man in a bow tie on stage as colleagues watch.

A belly dancer in orange spins golden wings on the dance floor in front of the stage.

An older man laughs at a dinner table as guests beside him look at their phones.

Guests in Christmas hats, antlers and novelty glasses smile in front of a red photo booth backdrop.

A taste of the night. More photos are in the full gallery further down the page. Click any photo to see it large.

The Decode Group held their annual Christmas party at Dolton House on Jones Bay Wharf in Pyrmont, and I was there to photograph it. With over 160 guests, speeches, belly dancers and a photo booth, it was a big night. This is how I approach corporate Christmas party photography in Sydney, and what you can expect if you book a photographer for your own end of year work party.

The brief

Decode's brief was clear. They wanted photos of:

The venue.
The speeches and presentations.
The entertainment.
Lots of fun shots of people enjoying themselves.

That last item is the one that matters most at a Christmas party. The speeches happen once. The people are there all night, and they are the photos everyone wants to see the next morning.

Photographing a work Christmas party at night

Dolton House is a big room, and on the night it was dark. The light came from the stage, the large lit-up DECODE letters, a projector screen and candles on the dinner tables. That looks great to guests, but it takes care with a camera. The photos needed to keep the warm, low-lit feel of the night, rather than looking like a flat office function.

The belly dancers were the hardest part, and the most fun. They moved between the dinner tables and across the dance floor with gold and silver wings, with a live drummer behind them. Performers like that don't stop for photos, so you watch the routine, find a clear line through the tables and wait for the wings to open.

A belly dancer spreads silver wings in front of the DECODE letters and a projector screen.

A belly dancer with a pink flower in her hair dances with a smiling guest.

For the speeches and presentations, I moved around the room to get the speaker at the lectern with the DECODE letters behind, and the people on stage when something was handed over. Then I went back to the tables and the photo booth, where the Christmas hats, reindeer antlers and novelty glasses came out.

Candid people photos, not posed line-ups

Candid photos are what I aim for at events. I look for the laugh at the table, the fist bump, the colleague leaning in for a joke. There is room for a few posed groups too, but most of the good ones happen when nobody is looking at the camera.

A man wearing novelty glasses laughs as colleagues lean in around him.

Two men bump fists and laugh among guests in front of the projector screen.

A man in novelty glasses and a party headband poses with two guests.

Where Decode used the photos

Decode used their photos for internal marketing, on their website and on LinkedIn. That is typical for an end of year party. Staff like seeing themselves celebrated, and a good set of party photos tells future employees and clients what the company is like to work with.

I've photographed several events for Decode. This is their feedback on the work I've done for them:

“An absolute amazing photographer! His work his amazing, friendly and very professional. Highly recommended!”
Thao Nguyen, Decode Group (Google review)

A shot list for your corporate Christmas party

If you are booking an end of year work party photographer, this is the shot list I'd start with. Send it to your photographer before the night, with a running sheet, so nothing important is missed.