Fun in the photobooth…

When I was recently asked to do a photobooth for this lovely couple, I immediately got excited because I had not been asked to do one before but always wanted to!  Photobooths have been gaining popularity over the years and come in many shapes and sizes.  There are those that are actual booths that you sit in, kind of like at the mall – you get a strip of photos right there and then.  But there are also the types of photobooths where the photographer brings his/her own backdrop and sets up a remote camera on a tripod that the guests can trigger themselves.  This is the type that I put together for Dave and Jeanette’s wedding.

Doing my research, I spoke with a few other photographers about how they go about doing it themselves.  Ryan Jensen is particularly experienced in this area and helped me out a great deal.  I used a great backdrop by dropitmodern, a Pocket Wizard trigger system, and Calumet Travelites.

Since this was my first time doing it, I was pretty stressed about it leading up to the job.  As a professional photographer, I take my work very very seriously and understand that what I do is a privilege and a huge responsibility.  Being prepared is the most essential thing.  Several days before the shoot I set all my equipment up at home and tested it thoroughly.  I also brought with me a corded trigger as a backup, additional lights, and an additional camera.  I surveyed the venue ahead of time to make sure there would be adequate room for this setup, and spoke with the catering manager 2 weeks before the event.  Even though the bride and groom already cleared it, I felt it was important to check it out myself.  The setup itself takes a fair amount of space; the width of the backdrop I used is 9 ft, and you also have to allow for space between the backdrop and the camera too…  My assistant (Carl) and I had only 20 minutes to set the entire system up because the party prior to ours ran over and we couldn’t get into the space any sooner.  The whole thing was done by the skin of our teeth!  We were taping things down as guests were starting to come in, and had to be ready to shoot the bridal party entrances too!  I’m really happy to report that it all went off without a hitch and the photobooth was a big hit!!!  I now feel confident offering this additional service to future clients and that’s a great thing.  Sometimes you have to do things just once to feel comfortable enough to to it again.  Afterall, anytime you do it for the first time you’re going to be nervous and rightfully so!

I slept so well that night!!!!

My personal favorite of the night!