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.

Part of the fun of working at 5th Avenue Digital is learning new and often fascinating things about our world and the people in it.  And I usually learn them from our photographers and clients!  Most recent example: with photography and onsite prints we provided for HBO.

As a thank you to one of their sponsors, Verizon, HBO brought Bernard Hopkins to the Verizon office to meet and greet their employees.  Each person had their photo taken with Hopkins, which we printed onsite so people could take their photos home.

Our photographer on this job, Stavros – being the thorough professional he is – wanted to know more about who he was shooting, so he did some research on Hopkins.  He discovered quite a story.

Hopkins is the current WBC and Light Heavyweight boxing champion, the oldest boxer ever to win a world title, surpassing George Foreman’s record.  What’s more remarkable is how he got where he is.  At 17 he was sentenced to 18 years in prison for nine felonies.  To protect himself from the atrocities he witnessed in prison, he learned to box – and became very good at it.  He was released after less than five years, and decided boxing was his way to a better future.

Since then, he’s achieved enormous success in the boxing ring and in life, as an entrepreneur and business owner.  Known for being bold, brash and sometimes controversial, his impact on the boxing world is undisputed.

Stavros believes that knowing something about the person he’s photographing translates to better pictures.  There must be something to this, because our clients love working with him.  And I have to say, when I look at the photos, my knowledge of Hopkins’ rough climb to success affects my perception.  I see a smart, thoughtful, determined man.  Take a look at the photos and see if you don’t feel the same.

Thank you, HBO, for imparting yet another lesson in the human experience!

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Last week we had the pleasure of working on the annual fundraising event for the Jewish Enrichment Center (JEC), along with the amazing folks at Global Events, Gotham Hall, Bentley Meeker and Foremost Caterers – plus the former president’s staff and Secret Service detail.

These grip-and-grin photos don’t just happen spontaneously; they are fully staged, with plenty of pre-planning.  This was by far our most carefully produced step and repeat session.  Happily, all the advance work paid off, because the results are spectacular.  We were able to take 150 images of the President with the VIP supporters of the JEC.  After the portrait session with President Bush, the photos were printed onsite and placed into engraved silver frames for the special guests to take home after the program.

What made this photo session unusual for us was the black curtain blocking all the guests from the portrait station, so no one saw President Bush until their turn for the photo.  There was also a Disneyland-worthy line that snaked around as people waited for their private time with the former president.  These parameters were arranged through Bush’s secretary of special projects.  She had the final word on where the president would stand, how big the line needed to be and how to quickly distribute the prints.

When the moment came for the president to enter the room, there was a palpable excitement running through the crowd.  I was on hand to make sure the photo areas remained clear and the line kept moving.  It was me and three Secret Service men and one very large security guard, along with a very small sweet handler named Russ.  This positioning gave me an opportunity to witness the animated chitchat that took place between the president and everyone who was photographed with him.  It generally went something like this:
“I met you last year at the (insert prestigious organization’s name here)….great organization.”

“You bet.  How about those Texas Rangers,” if the VIP was a man.  If it was a woman, the comments went something like, “You’re pretty cute.”  “Thanks, you’re not bad yourself!”  And I heard a lot of “Thank you for supporting Israel,” which was certainly appropriate.

Whatever your politics are, there is something exciting about being in Presidents Bush’s presence. Now that the political Kennedys are almost extinct, the Bush dynasty (for better or worse) is part of our American royalty.  George W displayed a self deprecating manner on stage, especially during his carefree question and answer session, when he relayed his thoughts on the Middle East and his position on Israel.  That, and his joking about how no one ever gave him much credit for reading let alone writing a book, made him quite likable.  There, I said it!

That’s why, despite the strong reception our YouBooth has gotten in the past year, we looked for ways to make it even more attractive and fun to use.  I’m using the royal “we” here but actually it’s all the work of our exceptional Producer and resident Genius, Rylan Crooks.  Even though the booth he invented has been a huge success,  he envisioned some tweaks that could make it even better.

So improve it, he did!  Thus is born our new, even more beautiful YouBooth.

The new YouBooth is translucent white, so it blends with any décor, and can easily be branded with a logo or customized images.  It’s smaller and lighter.  The photos print even faster, and can of course be branded as well.  Another innovation is a count-down monitor that alerts people when the photo will be snapped.  Very cool!

If you haven’t tried the 5th Avenue Digital YouBooth before, now’s the time to find out how much fun it adds to any event!

Recent Events Using You Booth, Photo Booth

For the past 18-plus years 5th Avenue Digital has been offering corporate event photography, golf outings have been a healthy part of the mix.  That is, until two years ago, when Lehman, one of our largest clients, collapsed and the economy went into a tailspin.  Prior to the recession, we’d frequently been shooting foursomes on the course, printing the photos onsite with the client’s logo, and giving them to the group as they finish.  Players always appreciate the photos as much as the prizes they receive!

Late last summer, we started to feel a glimmer of hope that the economy was starting to turn when we photographed our first golf outing in two years, for Goldman Sachs.  Today we are happy to report that we already have a few golf outing shoots scheduled for the summer.

It feels great to again be bringing this branding opportunity to many more organizations that want to create a tangible keepsake for their golf events.  To encourage even more golf outing successes for our clients, we are drastically reducing our usual rates for onsite printing.  Until the end of June, 5×7” branded foursome prints for two hours are just $1700.  It’s a great deal, and the perfect way to jump-start your summer marketing efforts.

The Lauders themselves were on hand at the event to present the award and commend Jeanette’s work ethic for the years she was at Estee Lauder, her dedication to family and the New York City public schools. She has mentored woman throughout her career and continues to do so.  It was a lovely way to start a new award tradition by celebrating a woman who inspires others.
A surprise guest was Tyra Banks, who has just joined the same Harvard program that I completed last October. She described for the group why she went back to school in the midst of a successful career; how she came to the realization that her brand had to stand for more than just her, and that if she was to build a sustainable business she needed to educate herself further.
Tyra’s experiences in her first term at Harvard matched mine.  She sat up at 2 AM, looking decidedly un-glamorous with no make up on, learning about world economics, while she offered other entrepreneurs from around the world her marketing know-how.
As the photos demonstrate, it was truly an evening of inspiration and I was proud to have sponsored the photography for the event.

Nikon is a notable exception.  They put on a big bash in Arena, a renowned New York City nightclub, to not just tell, but show their customers how much they’re appreciated.

Smart marketers that they are, in addition to the huge party, everyone there got photos to take home.  And they did this with 5th Avenue Digital’s YouBooth photo booth.  Anyone at the party could stop by the booth and snap a photo of themselves – and just about everyone did!  Of course, the photos were branded with Nikon’s logo, further extending the connection of Nikon with Fun Party.

To maximize the photo booth fun, the YouBooth photos were projected onto a giant wall in the club in real time.  Everyone was able to see the photos as they were printed, which encouraged more people to participate and allowed everyone to share the laughs.

Another smart move for Nikon was including an event photographer, also provided by 5th Avenue Digital, to record the entertainment, crowds on the dance floor, people mingling and everyone having fun.  The photos document the various elements of the event and provide Nikon’s upper management with evidence of its success.

This stellar event was produced by the incomparable team at Shawn Rabideau Events & Design.  They truly infused this party with fun, including entertainment by The Screaming Queens, Nikon-branded cupcakes, glowing necklaces and plenty of libations.  This was a major event with lots of moving parts, so bravo to Shawn, Michael and the entire crew for making it a resounding success.

Finally, kudos to Nikon for investing real effort and significant dollars to say “Thank you” to their customers, demonstrating in more than words how much they value their business.  And to do so with pictures – what could be more perfect?

First, it’s worth mentioning how much we love working with the Fourth Wall Events, one of New York’s most innovative event producers.  They always insert some kind of twist into what they do, adding details that make you stop and say, “Wow, that’s cool!”  For example, on their website they provide an event space calculator that helps you figure out how many people will fit in your space, or how much space you need to fit a certain number of people.  Check it out here!

The most recent event did with Fourth Wall was designed to promote tourism to Great Britain, targeting travel bloggers.  To create the experience of visiting Britain, we provided four different scenarios to use as green screen backgrounds: Big Ben, Kensington Palace, an aerial view of the Thames and London’s classic red telephone box.

The bloggers had a blast posing with crowns, derbies and other props – underscoring again how much props bring out the fun in people.  They were able to pose for as many pictures as they wanted, all of which could be accessed later on a customized website we created.  The event guests can now post the photos on their blogs and Facebook pages, print them, send them to friends.  And every time they do, the Britain – You’re Invited logo is included.

The smart team at Fourth Wall Events certainly knows the power of social media, branded photography and photo sharing.  And we’re always happy to help them execute their vision successfully. Check out all the photos from the event here.

Here are some more fascinating facts: in the average user’s network of friends, one can find 97,000 photos in all.  Women upload and tag twice as many photos as men, and almost everyone prefers to look at photos of women over photos of men.  And if you think all this is a youth phenomenon, you’ll be surprised to know that older people upload as many photos as younger people.

What this means is, if you’re not making photos from your event available for everyone to view and share, you’re missing a huge opportunity.  This cuts across the board of corporate, not-for-profit and even social events.  In this new image-consumed (and consuming) environment, failure to include photography for your corporate and not-for-profit events actually affects bottom-line results, in terms of impact and even profit.

Consider this: the more people who know about your product or your cause, the more successful you’ll be.  It’s a numbers game.  And as the numbers outlined above demonstrate, photo sharing is the way to achieve high-volume distribution of your images.

The innovative team at Pandora Media knows this.  We recently covered promotional events for them at three locations around the country: New York City, Los Angeles and Chicago.  At each location, we provided step-and-repeat photography and general coverage.  The next day, the photos were available on the Pandora website, in a web gallery that we branded with their logo.

At 5th Avenue Digital, we make photo sharing a seamless, easy part of your event.  Our top-notch photographers provide compelling images that support your cause, product message or logo.  Our expert tech team can print the photos onsite, so your guests have a hard copy to take home.  Then our post-production crew perfects the images and creates a web gallery for easy viewing.  Within hours, you can have all the photos ready for your event guests to share.

Photo sharing is the linchpin of today’s successful events, and 5th Avenue Digital delivers it to you effectively and easily.

We continue to pursue our goal to create a company that provides a quality product with exceptionally responsive service.  The wonderful news is that our planners and clients who work with us are recognizing the value we offer them, and our company continues to thrive in an environment where most photography businesses falter under the weight of intense competition and shifting consumer needs.

Our YouBooth photo booth has proven to be the most successful product we created this year.  It stands out from the other free standing photo booths because it does it all: high quality prints that pop out in seconds, simultaneous transmission to A/V screens and the ability to customize back drops and branding on the prints.

Essentially, the photo booth is a custom party in a box!  Corporate events, bar mitzvahs and weddings have been enjoying the benefits of having the guests take control of their picture memories.  And each guest gets to take home a memento!  It’s much more memorable to give your party guests a real print instead of sending a photo to their computer after the party.

We have noticed a change in the type of photographers that people want to shoot their weddings, and we have responded by collaborating with some of the best in the business.  Photojournalism is out and editorial photography is in.  This has been brought about by all the gorgeous photos found on wedding blogs and in the proliferation of bridal magazines.  Photographers are getting more creative with the pre- and post-wedding shoots and about finding ways to add this editorial flavor to the actual wedding day photos.  We are very excited to share these new photographers and the beautiful work they are doing for our clients

Bar Mitzvah photography has not changed as radically as wedding photography.  Our clients still want wonderful family pictures and artistic candids of their family’s special occasion.  The biggest difference we have found in this economy is that value is king!  We provide photographers by the hour, so our clients can document the events that are most important to them and can choose how to preserve their images.  Our photography services are offered a la carte, so our bar mitzvah families get more their money – excellent values on top notch photography.  Most of our clients still want albums, because in the end, isn’t that what you have left?

Also this year, we have seen a return of the monumental social occasions.  Consumer confidence seems to have returned enough for people to again host large celebrations of the special birthdays and anniversaries.  We have had the opportunity this year to photograph sweet 16’s, 50th birthdays, 80th birthdays, graduation parties and some special anniversaries.  These images are suffused with love!  Truly, there is nothing better than being in a room full of the people you adore, who adore you in return, and having the lasting images that commemorate these occasions.

In the corporate world, we have seen a steady increase in using photography to document events.  Holiday parties returned as a way for companies to thank their employees and supporters.  We photographed a number of golf outings and client appreciation parties.  We didn’t see a lot of excess but still the events are back and that’s a great sign.

The big news in corporate events is branding.  Whether it’s with the YouBooth or with onsite printing, companies want their guests to take home a picture with their logo or tagline on it.  Thankfully, we have become known for being able to execute high-end green screen photography fast and efficiently, even with large print counts, and always backed by our responsive customer service.  With corporations, these are the things that matter and we are happy to say we’re now the go-to company for many PR, marketing and advertising agencies.

My wish for the coming year is to keep the momentum going so we all can experience even greater success in the year ahead.  Thank you to everyone who has helped bring us to where we are, and we look forward to working with you more in 2011!