What’s New with 5th Avenue Digital’s YouBooth

Just when you thought you’d seen it all, we found some new ways to make our YouBooth photo booth even better.  With a few technological tweaks and twists, we’ve made it more simple and fun to use. Here’s what’s new:

Enlarged Screen—Our monitor is twice as big, so you can see yourself better.

Photo Preview—See what your photo will look like before it prints.

Retake Option—If you don’t like how your photo looks, you have the option of retaking it.

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Ten Things I Learned this Week in Sandy’s Aftermath

1-It is time I start to believe the hype about incoming storms. Sometimes they are correct.  I’ll never go through a tunnel again without remembering the sight of the flooded Brooklyn Battery Tunnel.  Kudos to Governor Cuomo and Mayor Bloomberg for leading us calmly and fearlessly.

2-It’s time to move to higher ground.  It’s tiring getting evacuated once a year.  My family in Connecticut all own their own generators. That won’t help on the 19^th floor.

3-New Yorkers are always nicest in crises.  I met the most wonderful people sharing cabs, bargaining with livery drivers, waiting on the bus line and sharing a power strip in Starbucks.  We come together and help one another when it counts.

4-Facebook has improved communication in crises.   This was the first crisis I’ve been involved in where Facebook was a major source of family communication.  We found out who left town, what Fire Island looked like, who had showers, and who needed a hug.  We shared sad pictures and humor and we have been able to help out friends in need faster than in times past.

5-New Yorkers are tough.  When one way doesn’t work, we find other ways.   We band together to help our neighbors and we speak our minds when we think we are not being treated fairly. Staten Island was offended by the idea of the merriment of the marathon – and Bloomberg listened.

6-It’s key to have a friend in the Police Department.  After the crane collapse on 57^th Street, we couldn’t get into our office, but needed to, to access our equipment for the weekend’s jobs.  Detective Bueller and Sergeant Gardella could not have done more to help us.  We were able to get into the office and get the equipment we needed. This was the result of Sergeant Gardella being a good friend of one of my dear friends, Alexis Fine DeAngelis of the Glazier group!   Detective Bueller even helped us lug our equipment down the street!

7-I have the best friends in the world!  This is not something I needed Sandy to learn, but it’s always reassuring to see how my friends are always there to check in and give support, to offer a desk, a bed, a shower and laugh.  I am eternally grateful.

8-I have the most amazing team.  While I also did not need a hurricane for me to learn this, Sandy reaffirmed it in a big way.  Camping out in Starbucks, strategizing how to get event galleries completed and YouBooth jobs fulfilled was a wonderful day.  We each brought humor and skill to the tasks at hand.  When the news came at the end of the day Friday that the marathon was cancelled and all our herculean efforts were for naught, Rylan and Beth went back to work managing the new information and informing the rest of our team.  I am so fortunate to be working by their side and learn from them always.

9- After 25 years of marriage and a few crises beyond our control, my husband is the best partner I could ever ask for.  I hold it together for a good period of time, but when I don’t he is there to make the decisions and work together in a true partnership to get through.  I am incredibly lucky and I am reminded often.

10- Some things work out the way they are supposed to.  About three months ago, our top technician, Ron, told us he was getting married on November 3^rd and asked us to use the YouBooth for his wedding.  When the marathon booked three booths, we quickly began working on YouBooth version 3 so we would have an extra for Ron.  We were close to it being finished, but Sandy got in the way and we were closed out of the office because of the crane.   Ron understood of course.  When the marathon cancelled, we had an extra booth and were able to supply it to Ron and Daphne!

All in all, there is always learning that comes from catastrophe.  The government will be spending lots of time on how to improve New York’s infrastructure.  I’m lucky to know that there is nothing I need to improve except my need to be in control.  Because, are we ever really in control??

A Look Back on Summer 2012

This summer brought tangible signs of growth for 5th Avenue Digital. The weddings we provided with photography, videography and our YouBooth photo booth were heartfelt and beautifully tailored to each couple.  We saw an uptick in same sex marriages that’s been encouraging and re-affirming.  John and Scott had been together 27 years before they were able to have a celebration that was as lavish and beautiful – and legal! – as every other wedding we’ve photographed over the years.

Our newer photographers were also able to spread their wings this summer to fantastic results. We couldn’t be more excited to see what creativity unfolds on the jobs they have booked for the fall. Nikki Scheidt is a new addition to our sales team as she has been doing a wonderful job meeting with our social clients at a time when all anyone wanted to be doing was going to the beach. Read the rest of this entry »

How to Add More LIFE to Your Summer Party

What’s the best way to bring some lively fun and laughter to your summer party?  With our YouBooth photo booth, of course!  You don’t have to do anything but reserve the YouBooth.  We take care of everything else.  From load-in through hours of fun, our Digital Technician does all the work.  All you have to do is smile!

We offer plenty of options to add to the fun.  Props give everyone more reasons to mug for the camera.  Photos can be shown almost instantly, in real time, on large screens.  And our exclusive Social Media Portal allows immediate sharing for all the photos via email, Facebook and Twitter. Read the rest of this entry »

The Fabulous YouBooth Photo Booth Can Rock Any Event!

This past week the versatile YouBooth was all over town, getting parties started for a first communion celebration, a graduation party, and a surprise 50^th birthday party.  We had the pleasure of working with both kids and adults, who had a blast using props and different backgrounds. With its sleek and open structure (no squeezing into a tiny dark booth), the YouBooth gave guests the room to be themselves and have loads of fun.

Perfect for any event— from weddings to product launches, summer outings and reunions to nonprofit celebrations and fundraisers—YouBooth can be used with customizable backgrounds in just about any configuration you can think of.  This shot of the New York Public Library that FeteNY used as its step-and-repeat backdrop for a graduation party made for gorgeous photos.

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5th Avenue Digital’s YouBooth Continues to Snap, Crackle and Pop!

Our YouBooth photo booth keeps growing in popularity and it’s a huge hit for Bar and Bat Mitzvahs, birthday parties and corporate events.  This week, the YouBooth was in play at all three types of events!   The YouBooth was featured at an Event Planners Association event, a 30^th birthday party, a kids’ birthday party and a Bar Mitzvah.  Whew!  That’s a whole lotta snappin’ going on.

Check out the fun photos below!

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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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How to Make a Photo Booth More Fun – From High Tech to No Tech

This past year saw a lot of action our YouBooth photo booth.  And we’ve learned a lot from these events!  We love distilling what these experiences have taught us and bringing new ideas to our clients.  Some ideas are pretty high tech and probably require a technician (like us!), but others are easy and anyone can do them.

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. 

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.

The Fun (and Art) of Marketing YouBooth photobooth at Trade Shows

Having been in the event industry for over 20 years, naturally I’ve become adept at working trade shows and other industry events.  I like them because they offer opportunities to mingle with some of the movers and shakers in both the social and corporate events industry.  This week was one of the most fulfilling for my little networking self.

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. Read the rest of this entry »