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.

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.

Unlike other digital photo booths, YouBooth comes with all the workings inside.  Its sleek, aesthetic design allows it to be seamlessly integrated into any event décor.  With our digital photo booth, your event guests have a blast taking fun photos of themselves, which we brand with your company name, logo or message.   The YouBooth photo booth is an entertainment element as well as a marketing tool.

The photos print in seconds, giving each guest at least one fun picture to take home after the event.   And when they take their photos home, they’re taking your branding home as well.   In most cases, that photo from our digital photo booth will be placed in the frame of a mirror or stuck on the refrigerator for weeks or even months.  Your branding message will be seen again and again, by the recipient — and probably his friends and family too.

Multiply that one recipient by dozens … and those impressions by dozens more … now that’s IMPACT!

First, people have to know the photo booth is there.  At an intimate event, the booth’s presence is obvious; curiosity is aroused and it doesn’t take long for people to start having fun with it.  However, at a large party or a corporate event – or, as we experienced recently at a trade show – the booth’s presence isn’t as obvious.  With so much happening in a large event space, some people probably won’t even notice the photo booth.  This is easily resolved with onsite promotion and signage, which leads to the first tip.

Tip # 1: Use promotion and signage to let people know the photo booth is there.

If you’re hosting a large event, include mention of the booth – and that people will be able to take photos home with them – in the invitation verbiage, and in all pre-event promotion.  At business and not-for-profit events especially, people like to know they’re getting something just for showing up.  If they know the photo booth is there, they’ll probably seek it out.

At the event, you can direct people to the photo booth with signage at the entrance and throughout the space.  You also could tack photos onto a corkboard and place it on an easel somewhere in the venue, so people can see photo samples.  The key is to use visuals to generate buzz, curiosity and participation.  Showing the images on large screens is the most impactful way to do this, which leads to the next tip.

Tip #2: Show the images on large screens so everyone can share the fun.

With our YouBooth photo booth, it’s easy to have the photos shown on plasmas, a large plain wall or large screens throughout the room.  If you’re already using screens at the event for other purposes, there’s little additional cost.  People love seeing the images flash around them.  It’s always a conversation-starter, and it makes the photos become part of the event entertainment.  Once people see the images projected, it usually starts a stampede for the photo booths – everyone wants to join in.

This video shows how the projection looks in a large venue: event video

Of course, with many events, budget or space restrictions preclude showing the images on large screens.  But remember the power of the spoken word!  This brings us to the next tip.

Tip #3: Make announcements about the photo booth location.

When the party includes a host or DJ, have him encourage everyone to use the booth.  If there’s a public address system, use it to make announcements about where the photo booth is located, and that free photos are available for everyone.  The word “free” usually generates immediate interest!   With catered affairs, or those with entertainment or hired hosts, you can ask the staff to spread the word about the booth.  If you can spare a few of the staff early-on, ask them to have their photos taken, and post them.  This leads to …

Tip #4: Get the ball rolling by taking photos of yourself or your support staff.

Once people watch other people use the booth, they usually want to give it a go themselves.  Often, that’s all you need to break the ice.  The hostess can ask early arrivers to pose with her, and she can then ask those people to ask a few other people to pose with them…and so on.  Do the same with the event staff at a corporate affair.  When people are seen posing and having fun with the photo booth, and they start showing their photos around, others want to jump in.  Most people will want more than one photo, but to keep people coming back for more, you need to make it interesting, which takes us to the final tip.

Tip #5: Use props to maximize the hilarity – and get better photos.

With our YouBooth photo booth, we offer a selection of props that people can use to help bring more silly fun to their photos.  Boas, hats, picture frames, fake mustaches and goofy glasses are all fun props that bring out everyone’s sense of play.  When people are having fun, you get better pictures.

You can customize the props for holidays, or tie them in with the theme of the event – small bouquets for weddings, fake lobsters and bibs for a seafood cook-out, Santa hats and mistletoe for a Christmas party. There are dozens of ways to personalize the props and make the photos more relevant to your event.

We are always happy to work with you in finding creative ways to maximize the effectiveness of our YouBooth photo booth.  Using even one of these tips will help ensure that you maximize the effectiveness of the photo booth – and that your event guests maximize their fun.

When asked about holiday parties, one planner confirmed that her firm (a large technological services company) would be holding holiday parties in their various offices around the country, and that budgets for them had grown from last year.  Planners in the financial sector echoed this optimistic view.  And while other industry sectors took a more cautious view, the overall mood indicated promise for a more robust economic future.

This upbeat mood is certainly reflected in the photos we captured with our YouBoothphoto booth.  COPE graciously allowed us to showcase the YouBooth photo booth at the event, held in the stunning, panoramic Bridgewaters space with superb food by the Glazier Group chefs.  As usual, people had a blast mugging in front of the YouBooth camera and taking fun pictures with their friends.  Just take a look at the smiling faces below – you’ll start to feel optimistic about the future, too!