FEBRUARY 2026 · HYATT REGENCY LAKE WASHINGTON, RENTON
A State Farm awards gala on the water in Renton
The David Steinman Insurance Agency booked the Hyatt Regency Lake Washington at Seattle's Southport for its State Farm Hall of Fame gala, around 200 guests, and Evaro Studios photographed the whole evening, 4:30 in the afternoon through 9:00 at night.
If you are looking for a Hyatt Regency Lake Washington event photographer, or a corporate gala photographer anywhere between Seattle and Renton, this is what the night looked like and how it was covered.
The agency has booked the same hotel again for February 27, 2027.
THE RUN OF SHOW
How to photograph a 200 guest awards gala
A gala is three events inside one evening, and each one wants a different kind of coverage. Arrivals, then dinner and the awards, then the room loosening up.
4:30 to 6:00 was arrivals. Portraits of guests as they came in, before anyone had been on their feet for three hours. People look their best in the first ninety minutes and they know it, so that is when you ask.
6:00 to 8:00 was candid coverage through dinner and the Hall of Fame awards. Awards are the part nobody can reshoot. Every name called happens once, so the camera stays on the stage and on the table of the person being called, not on the dessert.
8:00 to 9:00 was after. Handshakes, group shots people ask for themselves, the photographs that only exist because you were still there.
The booth ran alongside, not instead
A drop-off selfie booth ran from 4:30 while the photography covered the room. It is a real Canon camera with proper lighting, not a phone on a stand, and guests share straight to their own phone by QR code, text or email. Guests leave with their own pictures the same night and the full gallery still arrives complete.
THE DELIVERY
What the agency got back
364 edited photographs in a private online gallery, with the awards sequence delivered complete rather than sampled. An awards list is the one part of a corporate gala that gets checked afterwards, name by name, so every recipient has to be in there.
That is the quiet reason a gala costs more to cover than it looks. The candid work is the easy half. The hard half is making sure nothing that happened on that stage is missing.
Everything was back with the agency inside two weeks, which for a 364 image event gallery is the turnaround to ask any photographer about before you book them.
PLAN YOURS
Booking a gala photographer in Renton or Seattle
Event coverage starts at $500 per hour with a two hour minimum. A half day up to four hours is $2,000 and a full day up to eight hours is $4,000. A private online gallery is delivered in 3 to 5 business days. Photo booth, second shooter and film are add-ons, quoted with the date.
Documentary coverage, no staging, no interruption to your run of show. There is more corporate work on the events portfolio, and the quickest way to start is to send the date and venue.
Where this was shot
Hyatt Regency Lake Washington at Seattle’s Southport, 1053 Lake Washington Blvd N, Renton, WA 98056. It sits on the water at the north end of Renton, about twenty minutes from downtown Seattle and fifteen from Bellevue, with parking in the Southport garage next door.
While you are there
Gene Coulon Memorial Beach Park is connected to the hotel by a 1.5 mile lakefront trail, and it is the best spot nearby for portraits before or after an event.
Visit Renton lists what else is open around Southport for guests coming in from out of town.
Renton Parks and Recreation handles permits if any part of your event moves outdoors.
MVP Photo Booth Seattle supplied the booth hardware for this gala.
Questions event planners ask
How many hours of coverage does a gala need?
From the first guest arriving to the last award, usually four to five. This one ran 4:30 to 9:00. Book the arrivals hour if you book nothing else, because it is the only stretch of the night when everyone is dressed, standing and not yet tired.
Do you photograph the awards and the speeches in full?
Yes, and completely rather than as a sample. Every recipient who goes on stage is in the delivered gallery. That is the part of a corporate gala that gets checked name by name afterwards.
Can you bring a photo booth as well as a photographer?
Yes. The booth runs on its own while the photography covers the room, so guests leave with pictures the same night and the full gallery still arrives later. It is quoted separately from coverage.
How soon do we get the photographs?
A private online gallery in 3 to 5 business days. This gala was 364 edited images and the agency had everything inside two weeks.
Planning a gala, a conference or an awards night in Renton, Bellevue or Seattle? Check your date with Evaro Studios.
