Our latest and best innovation for the YouBooth photo booth is our Social Media Portal.  We’ve created a way that seamlessly allows everyone to email their YouBooth photos to anyone else, and to upload them to Facebook and Twitter.  People LOVE this feature!  The Social Media Portal makes sharing photos really easy and it extends the brand awareness for any corporate event.

The Social Media Portal requires a Wifi connection and our equipment.  The portals attach to almost any table or counter – the more portals you have, the better!  Easy image sharing guarantees your event will be remembered.

Another technical addition for the YouBooth is projecting the images onto large screens in the room.  People love to see their photos blown up on the wall – for most of them this is as close as they’ll come to being in the movies!

We’ve incorporated some fun No Tech ideas into our YouBooth events as well.  Props, of course, are always a hit.  We used holiday-themed props again this year and they were more popular than ever.

We’ve also included dry erase boards and large markers, allowing people to create their own fun signs.  The quick signs encourage creativity and yield some truly funny (and memorable) photos.  It’s fun to use a question-answer format, with a question printed on the photo above the shot, and the answer written on the board.

And remember, the photo booth backdrop can make a world of difference.  Some corporate clients use a standard step-and-repeat banner, but others (like Nintendo) take it a step further and use fantastic product artwork.  Of course, flowers always have great affect, softening the overall effect and adding shots of color. 

The overall morale in 2011 was higher than it has been for the past three years.  There was hopefulness in the air.  Here at 5^th Avenue Digital, we saw:

•    Companies having summer outings and holiday parties for the first time in years.

•      Advertisers spending marketing dollars on events with consumer interaction and (thankfully) photo capture, for   mementos or social media benefit.

•     The return of corporate incentive trips and large company celebrations.

•      Companies putting money back into their image and deciding to update their employee’s headshots.

•      Business surging once again for the venues and planners we work with.

It seems like everyone is starting to see the economic woes dissipate. The many jobs we were lucky enough to be part of this past year indicate we are on our way, after two years of corporate celebrations being relegated to the back burner.

I’ve worked hard to assemble a team of super-talented photographers, who have captured not only incredible corporate images this year but have also taken our 5^th Avenue Social division to new heights.  We have partnered with a dynamic group of planners and venues and are very excited to share our new portfolios that feature images from their clients’ events.  I am already anticipating the new images we’ll be seeing in the coming months.

One of my proudest accomplishments in 2011 is the newest model of the YouBooth photo booth.  The collaborations with our clients have allowed us to introduce the newest technology crazes to their events.  The YouBooth has a new exterior design, plus the most exciting new feature: a social media application that allows guests to upload their photos directly to Twitter, Facebook or email.

This year the YouBooth was proudly used at pop-up store events, holiday parties, mitzvahs, weddings – any occasion where fun was required.  What we love the most is finding creative solutions that maximize each client’s use of the booth.  I owe a special shout-out to my producer, Rylan Crooks, for always finding ways to execute our clients’ unending ideas of how they envision using the YouBooth.

Building a strong business in this economic time is certainly a challenge.  We have watched many of our partners in event planning scale down the past few years, and it’s so comforting to watch them scale back up.  We are very grateful for their trust in us and we treasure these partnerships.

I am also very grateful to my 5^th Avenue Digital team: the amazing group inside the office, Beth, Rylan and Tim, and the photographers, videographers and designers that make our clients their number one priority.  Teamwork and partnerships have been the overall theme in 2011.  Knowing that you have the right people in the ship makes being the captain a joy.  I am grateful every day that I get to work with the team I have, and I would not have been able to double our business this year if it hadn’t been for them.  There have been some rough waters in terms of owning a photography business over the past three years, but it looks like smoother sailing ahead.

Thank you all who have contributed to an amazing 2011.  We will be sharing some of our favorite photographic moments in galleries over the next few weeks.  Here are a few more of my favorites.

At this year’s Biz Bash Expo, we partnered with ISES to ramp up membership recruitment at their booth.  Every year at the Expo, ISES hosts a booth where they offer information and on-the-spot membership sign-up.  Typically, people have taken the information and deferred the membership application.  This year, ISES wanted to encourage memberships at the Expo by offering a free headshot to those who signed up, complete with professional make-up.

The membership drive was a huge success!   ISES garnered 15 new memberships at the Biz Bash Expo, a record for the New York Chapter and perhaps, they think, for the entire organization.  Seems on-the-spot headshots were the perfect incentive.

The draw was two-fold: first, everyone walking by could see our make-up artist extraordinaire, Filis Foreman at work and our photographer, Stavros, doing the headshots.  This created some curiosity and buzz.  Secondly, for those contemplating a membership to ISES, the offer of a free professional headshot was enticement enough to seal the deal.

It’s gratifying to know that the headshot photographer and make-up artist we provided made such a difference to the ISES membership drive.  Filis was phenomenal, making everyone look better than they ever thought they could.  Stavros delivered outstanding headshots, working in minimal space and on the fly.  All-around, it was a successful venture for everyone.

ISES has said they want to repeat the promotion next year, so if you’re interested in ISES and want a new headshot, look for us at the 2012 Biz Bash Expo!

The YouBooth photobooth was a huge hit at The Knot gala, the first event I attended in my marathon week of networking events.  We brought in our YouBooth “photobooth” to give everyone there a chance to see it in action.  Carley and her dynamo team at The Knot were lovely to work with and many industry friends stopped by to check out the photobooth.

To give the picture-taking a focus, we decided to pose the question, “What’s Hot in Weddings?” and provided an erasable white board on which everyone could write their answer.  This infused the YouBooth photobooth function with some creativity and gleaned many interesting answers.

Bottom line: everyone found the YouBooth entertaining, and best of all, they had an opportunity to upload their photos directly to Facebook, Twitter or email.  This was the first time we’d offered the image sharing feature for a large group, and it was a huge hit. I was beyond thrilled to hear Xochitl from Always A Bridesmaid declare it was the best photobooth she’s seen.

The next night we made our yearly appearance at the BizBash pre-tradeshow party, and brought along YouBooth photobooth.  The social media mavens were in full blast and the crew enjoyed our new social media feature.  We included props for this event, which reminded me yet again of what a difference adding a few fun props makes.  Everyone seems to smile more when you add props!

The following day was the BizBash Expo, where we did double duty.  Our YouBooth was in the social media lounge, and at the ISES booth we offered headshots with professional make-up, beautifully provided by Filis Foreman Make-Up view images here.  Everyone who signed up with ISES at the Expo received the make-up session and a professional headshot.  The promotion was a huge success for ISES, yielding 15 new memberships in one day – a record number that’s sure to be envied by other ISES chapters.  We’re happy to have been a part of that.

I treasure the relationships I’ve developed in our industry, and these events give me wonderful opportunities to reinforce them.  It was so gratifying to show the newest developments of the YouBooth photobooth to the world and to hear all the valuable feedback from my friends and colleagues.  Working these events takes some finesse – and stamina! – but the payoff is invaluable.

Michael and Stavros were great to work with.  Both gentlemen went above and beyond my expectations for the evening.  You’ve got a great team there!

Cheers…!

Glenn Reimer/Fourth Wall Events

I look forward to working with you in the future!

Zenitra Perry

Sales Developement

HBO

Again, awesome job and looking forward to working together on future projects.

David Cosentino

Sun and Moon Marketing Communications

The sponsors turned to 5^th Avenue Digital to shoot event photos of the audiences enjoying this wonderful summer evening activity. There have been about four screenings a week at four locations around the city: Tompkins Square Park, Coney Island, Socrates Sculpture Park in Queens and McCarren Park in Brooklyn. We’ve had a photographer at each event, shooting the crowd.

Here’s the coolest part: how we were able to help epix with their event marketing efforts.  At the event, our photographers provide attendees with a web address. Within 24 hours after each Epix Movie Free-For-All showing, our team has uploaded all the images and posted them on the designated website. There, people find their photo, print it, save it, or even share it by email with family and friends. Event marketing at its best.

The Epix Movie Free-For-All photos show New Yorkers at their summer best, enjoying the outdoors and each other. People love them! Visits to the EPix site have exceeded expectations, with thousands of people viewing, sharing and printing their photos. Check it out these great shots for yourself:  http://freeforall.epixhd.com/photos

5^th Avenue Digital is thrilled to be a part of this quintessential event marketing opportunity and great summer activity. We can’t wait to see what is planned for next summer!

If you have an event coming up and are interested in providing your attendees with the kind of event marketing service that we provided for Epix Movie Free-For-All, please feel free to contact us.  This is what event marketing is all about.

What’s a Photobooth?

It’s a self-contained, attractive unit that allows you to take your own photos. They print right in front of you in just seconds. It’s the easiest, most memorable party favor around!

How Does a Photobooth Work?

All the magic is in the unit. All you have to do is book the photobooth and smile. Unlike other photobooths, YouBooth photo booth, is free-standing. No squeezing into a tiny booth  Plus, we bring the YouBooth, photobooth to your event, set it up, stay with it to assist, and take it away at the end. You get unlimited, full-size 4×6″ prints (not little strips) – and lots of compliments.

Why has the Photobooth gained popularity again?

Digital photography lends itself to many instant photography options. This together with the fact that the DIY generation loves anything that can be done themselves, makes the new round of photobooth perfect for the new generation of users.

What are the photobooth options?

The best part of the YouBooth Photobooth is the ability to customize the experience for your brand or social event.  Photos can be printed with a custom border, a logo or the guest of honor’s name and the event date.  The backdrop can be customized in numerous ways: with streamers, fabric, a printed background, or a beautiful element in the room, such a painting or decorative wall.  You can even use green screen technology, which will create a photo background that represents any place you want.  Tell us what you want to create, and we can probably find a way to do it.

Rebekah had reservations about her original photographer, and after talking to us and seeing our wedding work, she listened to her gut and decided to go with our photographer Jesse.

We are so glad she did!  Despite the 90 degree weather, Rebekah and Makenzie were serene … even blissful.  Theirs is a beautiful love story told in the way she looks at him.