If the group has a sense of humour, you could try to arrange them in a tight group and then take a shot directly from above. You can then track the lessening of the hair year after year ;-)

In my experience, convention photography is pretty tough as all the shots tend to look the same.

I am not a pro by any means, but here are some ideas I've tried in situations like this.

• Candids (long lens, tight framing, e.g. two people in conversation)
• Strong lights (if the speaker crosses the projector beam so that part of the projection is mapped on him/her, that can be interesting)
• Detail shots (e.g. pen, pad, and a glass on table).
• Shots from just before or after some occasion (typically without people) can show some anticipation or poignancy (maybe a dinner service before the arrival of pe

ople or the used plates).

Unusual points of view and perspectives can be nice. If you can, shoot from high above or from very low, using a wide angle lens. Sometimes just shooting from the speaker's podium, showing the crowd from the speakers' point of view is effective.

Depending on your equipment and lighting, you could also try some long-exposure shots for motion blur.

If you are shooting crowds, using a large aperture to create a shallow depth of field and picking out just one or a few people and leaving the rest blurry can also be effective.

Hope this gives you some ideas.

Cheers,
T.