Back at Schüco for Grand Designs Live
After three years photographing this roadshow for Media 10, there are quite a few familiar faces when I arrive at Schüco in Milton Keynes. It’s always good to return, catch up and photograph another day of people getting stuck into their building plans.
The Grand Designs Live roadshow gives visitors planning projects involving windows and doors an opportunity to hear presentations and talk directly with experts and suppliers. With its full-size displays and impressive glazed spaces, the showroom gives those conversations a fitting setting.
Time to talk through a project
There’s plenty to consider when choosing windows and doors. Alongside how they look, there’s the question of how they’ll work within the building and the way people use it. Schüco’s window and door systems are central to the setting here, with products on display around the event.
The presentations bring everyone together, while the individual discussions give visitors time to get into their own projects. Photographing both parts helps show what the day involves, from a speaker explaining a point to someone listening carefully across a table.
Conversations around the showroom
Some of my favourite photographs from this event are the smaller exchanges: an animated explanation, a thoughtful expression or a smile between people meeting for the first time.
Those moments sit well alongside the wider photographs. You get a sense of the event as a whole, then a closer look at the people taking part.
I also enjoyed using the showroom’s glazing within the compositions. Shooting through a partition brings reflections and layers into the photograph, while keeping the conversation at its centre.
Familiar faces and a welcoming atmosphere
Good catering, friendly people and an interesting space make this an enjoyable assignment. The refreshment area is another part of that atmosphere, with people gathering between the presentations and appointments.
Returning each year means I’m getting to know the event as well as the people. I enjoy that continuity, particularly when there are still new conversations and expressions to photograph each time.
You can see more of my exhibition and trade show photography, covering organisers, exhibitors and the people attending.
Please get in touch if you’re planning a roadshow, exhibition or showroom event and need a photographer.
