Which is better for DIY trade show photography: dedicated cameras or smartphones? And what can I do to make sure that I secure the best images for our social-media feeds?

To capture the best photos, you need the proper equipment, not to mention a little know-how specific to the trade show world. But the definition of "proper equipment" depends on your expertise, objectives, and budget. To help you decide what's best for you, here are some pros and cons of dedicated cameras versus smartphones, along with tips to help you snap the best shots.

Dedicated Camera Benefits
You can purchase a suitable traditional camera and accessories for less than $1,000. This probably won't break the bank, but you may or may not need this added expense. Here are three key advantages dedicated cameras offer over smartphones.
Better Low-Light Performance – Trade show halls are notoriously dark, so being able to shoot at higher ISO settings (i.e., settings that increase your camera's sensitivity to light) is often necessary for your images to have the proper exposures. Although some smartphones let you adjust the ISO, their smaller sensors often still result in grainy photos.
Interchangeable Lenses – While recent advancements in attachable smartphone lenses offer some potential benefits, most smartphones come with fixed lenses. Therefore, they are best used for photographing subjects at medium distances. Often, though, you want to shoot both wide-angle and close-up images of your booth elements. Given the range of distance variables, smartphones can rarely accommodate all your needs. Plus, if you're trying to capture in-booth speakers or live product demos, it's difficult to get close enough to subjects without sticking a smartphone in their faces. A dedicated camera with a telephoto lens will let you capture a scene from a distance.
Remote or Adjustable Flash – Bouncing a flash off a ceiling or using a remote flash to light a scene are common techniques for evening out the awkward indoor lighting typically found in exhibits. Here again, a dedicated camera's many external flash options make it much more versatile than a smartphone's built-in flash.

Smartphone Advantages
While dedicated cameras have their pros, smartphones are still a practical and viable option. Here are two ways they nose out traditional cameras. Convenience – There's an old saying: The best camera is the one you have with you. We all have smartphones, and the fact that we use them so frequently means we're typically more familiar with their camera settings than we are with the dedicated cameras that usually sit unused on a shelf for much of the year.
Continual and Rapid Innovation – Given consumers' hunger for new technology, smartphone manufacturers strive to offer the latest and greatest advancements. Recently, tremendous gains have been made in these devices' focus controls, optical zooms, and intelligent exposures, which means traditional camera manufacturers may need to step up their game to remain relevant and competitive.

Photography Tips
Regardless of what type of camera you select, it's useless in and of itself. You need some general photography knowledge to help you get the best shots. Here are a few quick tips for shooting at trade shows.
➤ Don't pose your subjects. In most cases, candid portraits look much more interesting and authentic than posed pics of grinning attendees.
➤ Be aware of your background. Especially when photographing booth visitors, consider background signage and other exhibit elements, which can easily look as though they are coming out of your subjects' heads if you're not careful. Also, to obtain the most aesthetically pleasing pics, look for and remove unsightly elements (e.g., overflowing trash cans, water bottles, candy wrappers, rolling bags, literature scattered across countertops, etc.).
➤ Adjust exposure compensation (ISO) downward when shooting display screens. Monitors are typically brighter than the surrounding environment, so you may need to use a flash to even out the scene's lighting.
➤ Take plenty of shots when photographing groups of people. Someone is almost always blinking, looking away, or making a goofy expression. The more you shoot, the more likely you are to get that one pic where everyone's facial expression is perfect.
➤ Shoot a range of shots. Don't shoot 10 pics from the same location and using the same settings. Instead, add some diversity with close-up, macro, low-angle, and overhead shots, which will add interest to your photography and result in a greater number of useful images.
➤ Frame your subject with the camera. If your subject is taller than it is wide, shoot it with the camera in the vertical position. If the subject is wider than it is tall, shoot horizontally to make the most use of the frame.
➤ If possible, take group portraits outdoors. Uneven indoor lighting can make posed photos of large groups very difficult to shoot. Bring the group outside, perhaps onto a set of stairs, to get a nice, tiered photo.
➤ Experiment with white-balance settings, as artificial indoor lighting can create photos that are slightly off hue. Or better yet, if you shoot with a digital SLR camera in RAW mode, there will be more adjustments you can make prior to editing any given photo.
➤ Go big. Ensure you're taking images at the largest and highest resolution your camera will allow. You can always decrease the size during editing. However, you can rarely increase image size without losing quality.