Best of 2011: YouBooth Photo Booth favorites

We saw the photo booth trend grow even stronger in 2011.  We are lucky to have had our YouBooth photobooth at some fabulous events last year.  From Fashion Night Out to Google’s holiday party, the New York City photo booth phenomenon is staying in full gear.  With the advent of our Social Media Portal, YouBooth is all the rave in event marketing, mitzvahs and weddings alike.

We are very pleased to share some of our favorite  YouBooth photobooth images from 2011.

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A Look Back on 2011: Lessons Learned From the Trenches

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.

A Reflection on the State of Event Photography

If you’re like me, ripping off that last page of the calendar is a time of reflection, an opportunity to take stock of your business and in some cases, the people in your life.  When I look back on this year I am truly grateful for the people I get to work with on a daily basis and to those who have trusted our company with preserving the memories of their special events.

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. Read the rest of this entry »

Ho Ho Ho Holiday Event Photography Returns!

Jingle Bells indeed!  It is so wonderful to hear the sounds of the phones ringing for holiday parties this year.  It’s been two long years of dreary Christmas’s in the corporate world.  But this year, it seems people are taking a deep breath and feeling more appreciative of where they are – and that they’re still here!
We are finding that many of the photography choices have been geared towards employee and customer recognition opportunities.  People are not hiring our photographers just to shoot the event; they are providing their employees with lasting gifts: photos they can download, take home, or use for their private purposes.

Here are a few of the ideas that we have been booked on in the past few weeks for the holidays ahead:

Youbooth, Youbooth, Youbooth! Photo booths are the hottest thing right now and Youbooth stands out by providing instant prints as well as instant entertainment and fun.  By using technology to enhance the photography, we allow our clients to customize their offering to suit their specific needs.  And luckily we have more than one photo booth, for larger parties.

Onsite prints – with photos taken by one of our professional photographers versus the DIY photo booth—are still a big hit for holiday parties, especially when used with green screen.  The idea of going far away (via a green screen image) without leaving the party is pretty attractive at this time of year.  Others are opting to use a holiday themed image for their green screen background.

The gift of family portraits or a new headshot is an old idea that’s making a comeback.  Some companies are offering their employees a studio photo session for themselves or their families, or a headshot to be taken at their party, where they also provide professional hair and make-up prep for everyone.  With social media now a part of everyone’s lives, we all can use a great headshot. What a great way to appreciate your employees!

Photo albums and folios are another gift idea we see more and more.  We’ve created wedding albums for the parents of several of our recent wedding couples, which they’re giving as holiday presents.  A Bar Mitzvah mom asked us to create a three-photo wall folio of her son and family, as a gift for her parents.  And a corporate client ordered large prints of her group photo to give as gifts to her team.

If you’re looking for gift ideas for your family or company, call us!  We’re happy to provide creative solutions to fit just about any budget.

New Takes on Photography Add Pizzazz to Your Holiday Party

As we get deeper into summer, many event planners – maybe like you? – begin thinking about the winter holidays.  If you’re planning a corporate holiday party, or if you’re a planner who works with companies on their parties, you’re always looking for ways to add some zest to this year’s holiday celebration, a way to take it beyond the typical.

While the economy seems to be (slowly) improving, most companies aren’t ready to return to the blow-out celebrations of the past. (It’s possible we’ll never return to those days, but that’s another subject.)  Shrinking event allocations can burden a planner’s list of challenges: how do you bring in fun, novel party entertainment that won’t gobble up the budget?

New ways to use photography offer the perfect solutions to party ennui.  Following are a few ideas to ignite your creative fire and bring much-needed pizzazz to 2010 holiday parties.  These ideas will deliver that “WOW” factor everyone wants for their events. Read the rest of this entry »

Your Company Holiday Party: Make it Count this Year

We all know how a great company holiday party can improve employee morale, reward your workers for a job well done, and show the world that your company is vital and growing.

Professional event photographers can help you reach these goals by knowing exactly when and where to take those shots that will remind your attendees what a terrific time they had at your company holiday party.

Some companies even use our onsite printing services and send their guests home with a great photo as a gift. You can use the shots on your corporate website, in your printed material, and even send framed photos as gifts to your best clients. Read the rest of this entry »