Documentary-Inspired Event Photography at the Palm Springs Book Fest
Earlier this spring, Solhaus Media had the opportunity to lead media coverage for the inaugural Palm Springs Book Festival, a three-day literary festival presented by OUTspoken at the Palm Springs Festival Theaters.
For me personally, this project carried a little extra meaning.
OUTspoken was founded by my friend Jason Blitman, whose wedding I photographed back in 2017 when we were both still living in the New York tri-state area. In one of those strange full-circle moments life occasionally hands you, I actually met Jason a few years earlier when he officiated the first same-sex wedding I had ever photographed, which also happened to be the first wedding he had ever officiated.
Founder of OUTspoken and host of the Gays Reading podcast, Jason Blitman, introduces participants to the inaugural Palm Springs Book Festival.
Fast forward nearly a decade, and now Jason, his husband Franklin, my partner & Solhaus Media Producer Rob (who second shot their wedding with me), and I all somehow ended up living in California together.
Somewhere in the middle of the pandemic, the four of us got breakfast in San Diego and Jason joked, “Have y’all heard of books? They’re the greatest thing since sliced bread.”
That conversation weirdly stuck with me.
Because while I used to absolutely devour fiction growing up, somewhere over the years I drifted almost entirely into memoirs and nonfiction. And somehow, documenting a literary festival centered around storytelling, imagination, and community unexpectedly nudged me back toward fiction again.
Which honestly felt fitting for a festival built around the power of stories in the first place.
Community-Centered Event Storytelling for Nonprofits & Cultural Organizations
OUTspoken’s mission centers around amplifying diverse voices and creating inclusive storytelling spaces through book festivals, workshops, and community programming.
Over the course of the weekend, the Palm Springs Book Fest brought together authors, moderators, readers, local organizations, families, and community members for conversations around identity, creativity, culture, belonging, and storytelling itself.
What made the event especially memorable was how much it evolved throughout the weekend.
While the first two days centered around author conversations and literary panels, the final community day transformed the festival into something even broader: families attending story times, local vendors and organizations connecting with attendees, and readers of all ages gathering around books and conversation.
Local vendors and community members participated in the inaugural Palm Springs Book Festival, including local booksellers, Drag Queen Bella Da Ball. Families joined in on the fun with storytime outside.
There was something really beautiful about watching a literary event evolve into a true community gathering space in real time.
We also loved seeing the Palm Springs Festival Theaters, a movie theater repurposed as a space for connection and conversation beyond the screen itself. There’s something incredibly hopeful about watching theaters take on new life as cultural and community hubs.
The inaugural Palm Springs Book Festival was held at Festival Theaters, a movie theater which was partially repurposed for the weekend to host the event.
For us, this is what nonprofit event photography and videography is really about. Not simply documenting attendance, but preserving the atmosphere, emotion, and human connection that make community-centered events resonate long after they end.
Our Approach to Documentary-Inspired Event Photography & Videography
From a photography and event storytelling perspective, the festival was deceptively challenging to document.
Visually, much of the event centered around moderators and authors seated in conversation at the front of a large theater. The audience seating was concentrated toward the upper half of the theater, leaving many empty seats visible behind speakers, while stage lighting primarily illuminated presenters rather than audience members.
It would have been very easy to approach coverage in a repetitive or purely documentary way.
Instead, our goal was to create a gallery that felt immersive, emotionally varied, and genuinely useful to the organization long after the festival ended.
That meant intentionally approaching each session with variety and storytelling in mind:
capturing both moderators and authors as primary subjects
creating a mix of wide environmental imagery and intimate close-ups
balancing horizontal and vertical compositions for future marketing use
documenting audience reactions and emotional moments
creating imagery that communicated both the scale of the event and the intimacy of the conversations happening within it
Solhaus Media makes it a point to photograph a wide variety of orientations, compositions, framing, focal points, and facial expressions at events so that the media library has a wide variety of imagery for all future marketing needs. Clockwise from left: 1) Author Justinian Huang shares a smile while talking about his book “Lucky Seed”. 2) Moderator Byron Lane speaks with author Jonathan Capehart. 3) Author Chris Whitaker speaks about his book “All The Colors Of The Dark” while Moderator Jordan Moblo looks on.
Rather than simply “covering” sessions, we approached each conversation as an opportunity to create a layered visual narrative.
That included constantly repositioning throughout the theater, looking for stronger compositions, waiting for authentic expressions and reactions, and making sure the final gallery reflected not just what the event looked like, but what it felt like to experience it in person.
Beyond The Event Organizers & Hosts
Something else we were thinking about throughout the weekend was how the gallery would ultimately serve not just the festival organizers, but the moderators and authors themselves.
A lot of event photographers mentally approach coverage as “I got the shot of the panel” and move on. But for events like this, each speaker and moderator is also trusting that the event experience, including the imagery coming out of it, will reflect them well.
That’s part of why it felt important to intentionally create a wide variety of compositions, angles, orientations, and expressions throughout each conversation. We wanted every moderator and featured author to walk away with imagery that felt thoughtful, polished, and representative of their presence and personality on stage.
Beyond simply documenting the event itself, strong speaker imagery also helps organizations build credibility and excitement for future years. When authors, moderators, and future collaborators can clearly see the level of care and storytelling that goes into the event experience, it strengthens the long-term perception and growth of the festival as a whole.
Having a versatile gallery of images guarantees a usable photo for a wide variety of needs such as pitch decks, sponsor decks, social media content, and websites. Clockwise from left: 1) Moderator Grace Garner and author Shoba Rao speak about Shoba’s book “Indian Country”. 2) Author Victoria Redel speaks about her book “I Am You” while moderator Maggie Downs looks on. 3) The audience cracks a smile during a panel discussion at the Palm Springs Book Festival.
This kind of intentional, documentary-inspired event coverage is central to how we approach Los Angeles event photography and videography for nonprofit conferences, literary festivals, summits, and community events throughout Southern California.
You can also see a similar storytelling approach in our coverage of {INTERNAL LINK: the Every Day Action Gala] and [INTERNAL LINK: RiseLive Talks].
The In-Between Moments That Matter in Event Photography
Some of my favorite moments from the weekend happened outside of the author conversations themselves.
In between panels and signings, there were constant smaller moments unfolding throughout the festival: people reconnecting in hallways, long hugs between friends, attendees walking out of the pop-up bookstore with stacks of newly discovered books in their arms, families lingering after story time, and spontaneous conversations happening between strangers who suddenly realized they loved the same author or story. Even the details of someone’s outfit can contribute to the story of what transpired over the weekend.
Moments caught in between panel discussions help shape the full story of an event. Clockwise from top: 1) Jason Blitman hugs author Rachel Howzell Hall. 2) A woman wears a fun tote bag very on-brand for the weekend. 3) Authors Victoria Redel, Grand Ginder, Shobha Rao, Bruce Holsinger, and Justinian Huang with their books outside the Festival Theater. 4) Authors and attendees connect and chat during a happy hour event.
And honestly, that’s often where the heart of an event actually lives.
Of course the keynote conversations and featured speakers matter, but there’s almost always another layer happening simultaneously in the in-between moments — the quieter interactions, the community-building, the moments people don’t necessarily plan for but end up remembering anyway.
From a storytelling perspective, those moments matter just as much to us as the “main event” itself.
Why Strategic Event Photography Matters for Nonprofits, Conferences & Community Events
One thing we think about often at Solhaus Media is how events continue living long after the room itself empties.
For organizations like OUTspoken, imagery isn’t simply about documenting attendance or checking a marketing box. Strong event photography and videography helps preserve atmosphere, communicate mission, attract future attendees and sponsors, and extend the life of the event far beyond the weekend itself.
OUTspoken & Palm Springs Book Fest Founder Jason Blitman is interviewed by a local NBC News affiliate, showcasing just how much visibility it will take to power a future event.
That’s especially true for inaugural events, where the visual identity and emotional memory of the experience are still being shaped in real time.
This project also unexpectedly reignited something personal for me as a reader.
Left: Author of Mixed Feelings Sara Amini takes a photo with a fan. Right: Authors Lily Brooks-Dalton and Jonathan Capehart sign books for fans.
After years of primarily reading memoirs and nonfiction, the festival nudged me back toward fiction again, a reminder of the emotional power stories still hold, especially during difficult or uncertain times.
And honestly, that felt fitting.
Because at its core, the Palm Springs Book Fest wasn’t just about books. It was about people gathering around stories together.
And that’s exactly the kind of environment we love documenting at Solhaus Media.
Looking for a Los Angeles Event Photography & Videography Team?
Solhaus Media specializes in documentary-inspired event photography and videography for nonprofits, conferences, cultural events, summits, and mission-driven organizations throughout Los Angeles and Southern California.
Our approach combines strategic storytelling with emotionally grounded imagery designed to help organizations extend the life and impact of their events long after they end.
Whether we’re documenting nonprofit galas, literary festivals, community gatherings, conferences, or speaker events, our goal is always the same: creating visual storytelling that feels human, intentional, and emotionally connected.
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MEET BERNADETTE
Hi! I'm Bernadette Marciniak, founder of Solhaus Media, specializing in strategic photo and video production for purpose-driven organizations, brands, authors, speakers, business owners, and non-profits.
With roots in journalism and marketing, I help mission-focused leaders turn their work into powerful, story-driven media that builds trust, inspires donors, and drives impact. From event coverage to brand storytelling, I bring both a journalist's eye for narrative and a strategist's understanding of how content actually gets used.
When I'm not behind the camera, I'm a cat mom of two who loves good pizza, red wine, and way too many true crime documentaries.
Based in Los Angeles, the SF Bay Area, New York, and New Jersey. Working nationwide.
Solhaus Media documented the inaugural Palm Springs Book Fest, capturing the conversations, atmosphere, and community behind one of Southern California’s newest literary festivals through documentary-inspired event photography and storytelling.