Cannes Lions 2025 - Photographing for Marriott Bonvoy

This June, I had the pleasure of heading out to the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity with the brilliant crew from Stepping Stone Media to photograph Marriott Bonvoy’s sponsorship activation at the festival.

As an event photographer who thrives on fast turnarounds, high expectations, and a bit of glamour, this was absolutely my kind of gig. Cannes Lions is one of those big moments in the global advertising calendar, and being there not just to soak it up, but to work, was pretty special.

Three Days of Culture, Conversation and Champagne

Marriott Bonvoy hosted three days of cultural talks inside a beautifully curated space at the JW Marriott on the Croisette (naturally).

• Day One kicked off with a conversation around food culture, hosted by Massimo Bottura and Antoni Porowski.

• Day Two brought out Formula 1 driver George Russell, who spoke about performance, discipline and the future of sport.

• Day Three closed with a live music performance by WizTheMC and Miles Caton to wrap things up with a bang.

Each day brought its own flavour, and my job as a Cannes Lions photographer was to capture that essence in stills, without disrupting the flow or energy of the event.

The Approach - Conference Photography with a Luxury Feel

While all three events were in the same room, there was no such thing as “rinse and repeat.” My goal was to make sure each day’s images had their own story, while staying visually cohesive for the brand.

I arrived early on Day One to knock out the Food & Beverage, sponsorship signage, and event detail photography, things that wouldn’t change much across the three days. That freed me up to fully focus on the speakers and audience reactions as the week progressed.

Kit-wise, I had two cameras on the go:

• A 35mm f/1.4 for ambient, natural light shots, perfect for the moodier moments inside the space.

• A 24-70mm f/2.8 with my Godox AD100 off-camera flash setup, for those clean, high-key portraits and that sharp “Hollywood afterparty” look Marriott loves.

I also parked my 70-200mm f/2.8 by one of the Stepping Stone video cameras to grab tight shots from the same angle, useful for continuity and quick swaps when a moment presented itself.

Real-Time Editing Under the Riviera Sun

The trickiest part? Delivering a live edit of 30 hero images right after each event wrapped. While the actual photography wasn’t technically tough, juggling real-time client demands while keeping an eye on the bigger narrative was where the challenge lay.

I prepped a set of Lightroom presets in advance to get colour and contrast dialled in, making it quicker to turn around selects on-site and still maintain a polished, brand-ready look.

A Bit About Visibility

As a London-based commercial photographer often working across Europe, travel photography like this isn’t just a joy, it’s also smart optics. While covering Marriott Bonvoy, I ran into teams and clients I’d worked with before, all of whom were hosting events or activations of their own throughout the week.

Being seen at Cannes as a working event and conference photographer is one of those things that pays off in ways you can’t always predict, but definitely appreciate later.

James Robinson is a London photographer specialising in commercial, event, and portrait photography for global brands. From corporate conferences to luxury travel events, he brings energy, craft, and a strong understanding of storytelling through stills.