Thoughts about Event Photography
The philosophical definition of hedonism is the pursuit of pleasure and minimalization of pain. In the club context, it is also associated with the notion of carpe diem, meaning: live the moment.
Indeed, if you ever asked yourself about the point in torturing both body and mind in countless hours of ongoing partying while depriving oneself of sleep, proper nutrition and fluids – well, it is exactly that. Sure there is always next weekend, sure there are tons of other parties to still attend. Yet what matters to a hedonist, especially in Berlin, is the here and now. The past and the future are meaningless, thus the attempt to prolong the present.
In Berlin, this was entirely true right up to the time in which social media began to assume a definitive role in the promotion of parties. The need to reach new crowds and to keep up with a world in which anything interesting doesn’t last for more than a few hours or a few sentences, forced most clubs and promoters to establish a presence on social media.
Clearly, in most cases, a presence isn’t enough. To stay relevant, one has to constantly generate visual content. Yet, how do you do so in a scene in which event photography has always been somewhat of a taboo?
For some, breaking this taboo was quite easy. Clubs and parties that are not known for their after-hour culture and that mainly focus on concert-type of parties (that is, parties that are defined by one or more DJ headliners), realized that there is little point in booking acts with hundreds of thousands of Instagram followers and paying them preposterous fees, if the club or promoter can’t capitalize on this exposure.
In sex-positive events, this taboo has always been especially important, since those do not merely feature the opportunity to lose oneself to music – often far from sobriety – but also a room for sexual experimentation – a sort of activity people normally reserve for their private spaces.
Nevertheless, we see more and more event photography from sex-positive events, in which often guests are in the frame, evidently without giving prior consent. Since sex-positive parties require a dress-code, and since most dress-codes encourage creativity and self-expression, the guests ultimately turn into a great mine for harvesting interesting and engaging content for social media.
I, however, see non-consensual event photography as shortsighted and self-harming. A guest that is aware of the presence of a camera, let alone get occasionally blinded by its flash, is unlikely to fully let loose and dive into the experience that a genuine Berliner club-night can offer. There is obviously also a matter of double standard to consider here: while all guests are either required to leave their phones at the coat check, or have their phone cameras covered by stickers – all in sake of protecting privacy – having a photographer running around and creating content designed for public publishing, is somewhat hypocrite.
Acknowledging the need for content creation in the Instagram and TikTok era, is there a middle ground? Can event photography exist side by side with privacy?
In Section 8 Berlin, we believe there is. If you browse the Instagram pages of our different event concepts, such as Four Play and Paradise Garage, you will find rich, colorful, and often dazzling content that was created during our events, with real guests. This, without having a photographer running around the club or climbing into a heightened DJ booth. Our policy is clear, and uncompromising: at each event of ours, in which photography or videography takes place, it is strictly limited to a small corner of the club, which we turn into a photo booth. The access to this booth is limited: no random guest can simply walk in accidentally and get caught in the frame. Admission to the photo booth is only granted after a short briefing, in which the purpose of the photos taken being clearly explained. Then, the guests must sign a declaration of consent, allowing us to use the photos on our social media channels. Only then, photos are being taken, and guests can obviously retract their consent at any time.
This policy, which we practice for several years now, gives us more than enough great material for social media, and also enables guests who do wish to have a souvenir from their awesome night with us and their dazzling outfits, to have professional photos taken of them. Above all, this policy respects and cherishes the privacy of the party crowd.
Eventually, it is up to each and every guest to decide: live the moment and let it disperse in the club’s fog, or have a moment wrapped to go. We’re fine with whatever, and will never take the right to this decision from our guests.
