A taste of the ground-breaking. More photos are in the full gallery further down. Click any photo to see it large.
Decode asked me to photograph the ground-breaking ceremony for a new development they were building in Sydney. It was a corporate event held on the construction site itself, at the bottom of a deep sandstone excavation with apartment blocks looking down on it. Decode wanted the photos for public relations, their website, case studies, internal emails and emails to clients, and they used them for all of these. If you're planning a ground-breaking, a sod-turning or a property development launch, here's how the day ran and what I'd photograph at yours.
The brief: a ground-breaking that had to work for PR and the website
The brief covered people gathering on site, the management team, the speeches and the official ceremony, and plenty of candid photos of guests talking and laughing.
Photos from a ground-breaking have more than one job. A PR photo needs one clear moment. A case study needs the story of the day, from an empty pit to the first shovel of soil. An email to clients needs friendly faces.
Construction site event photography, from speeches to golden shovels
Everyone on site wore hard hats and hi-vis. Decode and its project partner had their branding on vests, hard hats, flags and a media wall, so the logos show up naturally in the key photos without taking over.
The speeches came first, on a microphone in front of the flags and the guests. There are photos of each speaker, and of the guests listening.
The lion dance and the offerings
The ceremony included a lion dance with drummers, and the eye-dotting of the lion. A lion dance moves quickly and it doesn't repeat, so you get one go at each moment.
There was also an offering table with fruit, candles, incense and a roast pig, and a burning offering on the ground.
Turning the soil
Then the main event. Guests lined up with golden shovels tied with red ribbons and turned the first soil together. After that came a handshake over the shovels, a signing, and a group photo in front of the branded media wall.
Where the photos were used
Decode used the photos for public relations, on their website, in case studies, in internal emails to staff and in emails to clients. I've photographed other events for Decode too, including their Christmas party at Dolton House and their end of year awards night.
A shot list for a ground-breaking or sod-turning ceremony
If you're organising a ground-breaking, this is the shot list I'd start with.
- The site before anything starts: wide photos that show the scale of the excavation and what's around it.
- Guests gathering on site in their hard hats and hi-vis.
- Your branding: flags, banners, the media wall and logos on vests.
- Each speaker, plus the guests listening.
- Any cultural ceremony, such as a lion dance, a blessing or a smoking ceremony, from start to finish.
- The ceremonial shovels before they're used.
- The first turn of the soil, with every key person's face visible.
- Handshakes, signings and moments between partners.
- A formal group photo in front of the branding.
- Candid photos of guests talking and laughing.
Shooting safely on a construction site
A building site is a workplace first and an event venue second.
- PPE: wear what the site requires, usually a hard hat, hi-vis and steel-capped boots, and do the site induction if there is one.
- Stay out of the way: ask the site manager where you can stand, and keep clear of machinery, trucks and workers.
- Hard sun and shadows: a deep site gets bright sun in one part and dark shadow in another, and hard hats shade people's eyes. Watch the faces, use fill flash, or move a group so the light suits them.
- Fast cultural performances: ask the organiser where the lion dance will go, keep a safe distance from the dancers and drummers, and be ready before it starts.
Property development launch photographer in Sydney
My event photography packages are $297, $497 and $797, and an extra hour is $157. See event photography in Sydney for what each package includes. Whether it's a ground-breaking, a topping-out or a project launch, I'll help you build the shot list around where the photos will be used.
Shoot details
Client
Decode
Industry
Construction and property development
Where
On a construction site in Sydney
Photographed
Speeches, a lion dance, offerings, the ground-breaking with golden shovels, a signing and a group photo
Used for
Public relations, website, case studies, internal emails and emails to clients
The full gallery
More photos from Decode's ground-breaking ceremony. Click any photo to see it large.
Planning a ground-breaking or project launch?
I can photograph your speeches, ceremony and guests on site anywhere in Sydney, with a shot list built around your PR, website and client emails. Event packages start at $297.
