Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis Page 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS...... 2 DEDICATIONS, THANKS AND CREDITS...... 6 Dedication ...... 6 Thanks and Credits...... 6 Disclaimers...... 6 INTRODUCTION...... 7 Isn't The Photobooth Market Saturated?...... 7 REASONS NOT TO GET INTO THE PHOTOBOOTH BUSINESS ...... 11 Do Not Do It For The Money...... 11 Be Prepared To Give Up Weekends...... 12 Do You Enjoy Photography?...... 12 Do You Enjoy Dealing With People?...... 12 THE ABSOLUTE BASICS...... 14 Open Booth Or Closed Booth?...... 14 Photo Booth Or Photobooth?...... 15 PHOTOBOOTH HISTORY...... 16 Digital vs. Chemical...... 18 Fast Forward To Today...... 19 MARKETS THAT USE PHOTOBOOTHS...... 20 Weddings...... 22 Corporate Market...... 23 Holiday Parties...... 23 School Market...... 24 Birthdays...... 24 Bar and Bat Mitzvahs...... 24 Trade Shows and Product Promotion...... 26 Radio Stations...... 26 Charity Events and Fund Raisers...... 27 STEPS FOR SUCCESS IN THE PHOTOBOOTH BUSINESS ...... 30 YOUR MISSION...... 31 Make Your Booth Fun...... 32 Be Unique ...... 32 Add A Second External Monitor...... 32 Smile...... 33 PRICING...... 37 All Inclusive or A La Carte...... 38 Groupon?...... 38 Don't Sell Yourself Short...... 38 UPSELL BABY...... 39 Service Tiers As Up-sells...... 40 Green Screen...... 40 Red Carpet And Stanchions...... 41 Idle Time As An Up-sell...... 41 Frames...... 41 Photo Book As An Up-sell...... 41
Page 2 Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis Tent...... 42 Celebrity Impersonators...... 42 And Some More Ideas...... 42 Summary on Up-sells...... 43 PROPS...... 45 Ideas For Props...... 45 Where To Buy Props...... 46 Sherman Specialty...... 46 Windy City Novelty...... 46 Rhode Island Novelty...... 46 Party City...... 47 CTS Wholesale Sunglasses...... 47 Dollar Stores...... 48 Garage Sales...... 48 Thrift Shops...... 48 Re-Used Props Or New Props...... 49 Inflatable Props...... 49 Higher End and Custom / Specialty Prop Websites...... 50 Limbo Sticks...... 50 What To Do About Stolen Props...... 51 Toy Guns and Weapons...... 52 Buy Props Off Season...... 53 THE ART OF SELLING...... 54 Get Them Talking...... 54 Ask Open Ended Questions...... 54 Don't Go Cheap On Advertising...... 55 Use a Graphic Designer If You Can Afford It...... 55 Build It And They Will Come...... NOT...... 55 Start Off With A Logo and Mission Statement...... 55 Use Personalized Appointment Cards...... 56 Look For A Specialty / Niche...... 56 Build Relationships...... 56 Snail Mail...... 57 Evaluations...... 58 Go Above And Beyond...... 58 Competing With The DIY Booth...... 59 Competing With DIY Booth Photographers...... 59 START-UP COSTS IF YOU DO IT RIGHT...... 62 Hardware...... 62 Software...... 63
Computer...... 64
Camera – DSLR, Point and Shoot or Webcam ...... 64 Printers...... 65 Backdrops...... 66 Tables (Banquet)...... 66
Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis Page 3 Insurance...... 66 Remote Support...... 68 Paper Suppliers...... 68 Scrapbooks...... 69 Creating Templates...... 70 I Love Free Software Programs – Especially Open Office...... 70 Other Shareware / Freeware...... 70 Buy The Right Photobooth...... 72 Proprietary vs. Open Systems...... 72 Should You Try to Make One Yourself...... 72 Do Not Gamble, or Gamble On A Sure Thing...... 73 HIRING EMPLOYEES...... 74 Reference Check...... 74 Define Your Wish List...... 76 Teachable Skills...... 76 Inherent Skills...... 76 Put Yourself In Their Shoes...... 76 Sometimes You Have To Use Your Gut...... 76 Don't Let Bad Attitudes Through The Door...... 76 Employee Or Subcontractor?...... 77 NETWORK NETWORK NETWORK ...... 78 Learn Learn Learn...... 78 Conventions...... 79 SOCIAL MEDIA AND PHOTOBOOTHS...... 80 WHERE TO HOST PHOTOS...... 82 Advertise with Photo Hosting...... 83 GREEN SCREEN...... 85 What Is Green Screen...... 85 Lighting And Subject Placement Is The Key To Making Excellent Green Screen Pictures...... 86 Creative Uses Of Green Screen...... 88 Photokey 6...... 89 FLIP BOOKS...... 90 VIDEO...... 92 Other Variations...... 93 ARE PHOTO PRINT STATIONS THE NEXT FRONTIER?...... 94 AND SOME FINAL WORDS OF WISDOM...... 95 Do Not Be Late...... 95 Dress To Impress...... 95 Make A Confidence Call...... 96 Do Not Talk On The Cell Phone...... 96 Don't Look At The Clock...... 96 Buy A Power Source Checker...... 96 Always Back Up Your Cables...... 96 Use A UPS (Uninterrupted Power Supply)...... 96 Top Troubleshooting Tips...... 97 Remember Murphy's Law...... 97 Don't Panic and Don't Advertise the Problem Unless You Have To.....97
Page 4 Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis Apologize Quickly...... 97 Dealing With Difficult Customers...... 97 Drunks...... 97 Complaints...... 97 Things to Protect Yourself Against Liability Lawsuits...... 97 APPENDIX 1: PHOTOBOOTH WEBSITES...... 99 Hardware Sites...... 99 Software Sites...... 99 Free or Shareware Software Sites...... 99 Prop Sites...... 99 Photobooth Information Sites...... 100 Photobooth Company Pages I Like...... 100 APPENDIX 2: MOVERS AND SHAKERS IN THE PHOTOBOOTH BIZ...... 101 APPENDIX 3 : HINTS AND TIPS WHEN TRAVELLING...... 124 APPENDIX 4 : FRANCHISE, NETWORKS OR DO IT YOURSELF...... 125 BEST ENTERTAINMENT NETWORK...... 126 About The Author Rob Savickis...... 130
Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis Page 5 DEDICATIONS, THANKS AND CREDITS
Dedication This book is dedicated to the memory of Bronislavs Savickis, without whom none of this would be possible.
Thanks and Credits I would like to thank my parents Bronislavs and Klara Savickis for getting me to this point and for their continuing support. I would like to thank my wife, Heidi Koch, my kids, Derek and Stuart Savickis and our cats Bandit and Sadie for their enduring patience and help in getting this book written, amongst many other projects and dreams. Thanks to Ryan Burger and the staff at MOBILE BEAT MAGAZINE and MOBILE BEAT TRADE SHOWS for the great job in getting the book edited and ready for print. Thanks to Brian Henry of Quality Entertainment for his input into this book, especially in the chapter on Hiring Employees.
Disclaimers Despite many years of business experience the author is neither an accountant nor an attorney. No advice in this book should be construed as either legal or accounting advice as it is absolutely not intended as such. Furthermore, laws differ widely from state to state, from country to country and from time to time. If you are ever unsure of the legality of any action you may take, or of the proper course of action in running your business, you should always consult a licensed attorney and/or licensed accountant. Many products, dealers and websites are mentioned in this book. Other than in cases where the author is a dealer or representative for a product, the author merely directs to and does not endorse or guarantee any products or services that may be listed in this book.
Page 6 Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis INTRODUCTION
Should I get into the photobooth business?
So, the biggest question is WHO should get into the photobooth business.
Only you yourself can answer the question of whether you should be in the business. My hope is that this book helps you make that decision, or to reinforce your decision if you are already in the business. Maybe a few of you will want to get out (LOL) but I hope that number is somewhat limited.
The main concern I have heard is the following:
Isn't The Photobooth Market Saturated? Yes, it is certainly true that more and more people are getting into the photobooth business every day, and certainly with the publication of this book there will be some more.
But that by no means is an indicator that YOU cannot be successful. If
Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis Page 7 anything it is an indicator of the health of this type of business. After all, we don't see many new people getting into the typewriter business, or the newspaper business. Even in a declining business such as the two I just listed there are some people getting into it, and some of them will even succeed I am sure.
Of course the photobooth business is still growing, and probably will for some time before it is truly saturated. This is just the natural course of ANY, I repeat, ANY BUSINESS. If you think the photobooth business is saturated, just look at the DJ business. Yet there are new DJ s entering the business every day, some of which will make it big.
I was searching for a good way to explain exactly what I am explaining here when I came across a great quote from Melanie Duncan. Melanie is the successful owner of a number of online businesses, an online guru, inspirational speaker, educator, and the founder of the Entrepreneurs Academy. I subscribe to her newsletter at www.melanieduncan.com, as I am a firm believer in education and learning all you can from others to better your own business.
One of the things she offers a course in is creating webinars. Here is the pitch for her product:
“Many people do not like to sell, but the problem is that if you're a sole proprietor you have to do it all - create, market, and sell - for your business to be a success.
Luckily, selling doesn't have to be some sleazy process where you lie and manipulate.
I've found the most effective way to sell is through providing incredible valuable content for my audience.
When you learn the right way to sell, not only will people love you for it, they will buy from you like crazy!
So what's the best way to provide amazing content?
Webinars.”
So the first thing you are thinking is what this could possibly have to do with photobooths, but you will understand the link in a paragraph or two. As with photobooths, there are some who mistakenly feel that webinars have run their course and that there are too many already in the game. To quote Melanie again:
Page 8 Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis 'Now I know what you may be thinking:
"But Melanie, EVERYONE is doing webinars now. They can't possible be effective anymore."
Here's the truth....
You shouldn't not do something because other people are already doing it. (Chances are lots of people are doing it because IT WORKS!) However, you do need to be able to stand out, which means you've got to know what you are doing, and do it well.
I am going to repeat her last paragraph and make it larger type because it is SO SO IMPORTANT!!!! “You shouldn't not do something because other people are already doing it. (Chances are lots of people are doing it because IT WORKS!) But you do need to be able to stand out, which means you've got to know what you are doing, and do it well.”
I read this and kept thinking to myself – there is NO WAY I could or can possibly say it better. What Melanie writes about webinars is also directly true with photobooths. There are a lot of photobooth businesses out there because people LOVE photobooths. Ten years ago they were almost unheard of at weddings. Now they have almost become a staple, an alternative form of entertainment for the guests. A couple of years from now they will be a staple. If you are not offering a photobooth at a wedding, someone else will. But as Melanie said, since you will have competitors, you NEED TO STAND OUT, YOU NEED TO KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING, AND YOU HAVE TO DO IT WELL. It is my goal with this book to make sure you know what you are doing, show you how to stand out, and teach you to do it well. For inspiration, look to the story of 5 Guys Burgers. I am sure that in 1986, when the first store was opened, most people considered the fast food hamburger market saturated? After all, who could compete with McDonald's, Wendy's and Burger King, not to mention Taco Bell, Subway, Pizza Hut and many many others.
Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis Page 9 What 5 Guys Burgers did was not rocket science. They simply started off with a principle that quality should never be sacrificed, not even in a fast food marketplace. The food was all fresh and juicy. They did not cut corners and definitely did not cut price. Even though they were the new guys, their prices were higher than the established leaders. So despite McDonald's, Wendy's and Burger King, all of which are still growing, they carved their niche. 625 stores later they are growing faster than ever. And many new companies are entering the gourmet hamburger marketplace every day, just as many people are entering the photobooth business every day.
Having said that, one thing I noticed at 5 Guys Burgers is that many times they will literally dump a ton of extra fries into the bag. I am not sure if this is a company-wide policy or if it is something they just do at my local store, but it all follows along with the “give them more than they expect” principle.
People know that they are paying a premium by going to 5 Guys, but by dumping in the extra fries they are definitely not going to leave hungry and are much more likely to accept the higher price and return.
Image Courtesy of Mojo Photo Booths
Page 10 Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis REASONS NOT TO GET INTO THE PHOTOBOOTH BUSINESS
Image Courtesy of Apple/FacePlacePhoto
Do Not Do It For The Money The photobooth business is much like any other business. If you do it for the love, there is a good chance the money will follow.
There used to be an old joke, which is probably more true now than ever, that being a DJ is a real hard way to make an easy living. Well, this pretty much applies to the photobooth business as well.
When you love what you do it does not feel like work. Many successful entrepreneurs failed several times before achieving success but they did not give up because they loved what they did. Colonel Sanders was rejected 1009 times in his attempt to sell his chicken recipe. All he could do was sell the chicken himself and the rest is history. Henry Ford and Walt Disney both went bankrupt in their initial business ventures, but they learned and tried again till they finally succeeded.
If at first you don't succeed try-try again only works if you truly love what you do. Overnight successes are very few and far between. I am not sure as to the accuracy but I remember reading that the average entrepreneurial
Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis Page 11 millionaire has been either completely broke or nearly broke 3.2 times. The point is that unless you commit to the long haul and love what you do, you may quit before you ultimately succeed.
It is a fact that the harder you work the luckier you get. Your big break will most likely never come unless you work at it. Getting 50 no's to every yes in business is just par for the course. The Harry Potter manuscript was rejected 12 times before a publisher accepted it. Multiple record labels rejected the Beatles. Monopoly was rejected as being too complicated by many game manufacturers before Parker Brothers finally took it on.
If you love what you do, you will persevere. You will try harder. You will not give up. That is why you need to love what you do.
Be Prepared To Give Up Weekends The photobooth business is not a 9-5 job. Yes, there are corporate gigs that you will hopefully land throughout the week, but Friday and Saturday gigs will make up the majority of your opportunities.
If you are a DJ or wedding photographer then you already understand this well, and what I just said will not come as a shock.
If on the other hand you are new to the business, and you treasure the time you spend with family on weekends, or at the other end of the scale you can't wait to dance at your favorite club every Saturday night, well the photobooth business may not be for you.
The upside to this of course is that if you don't want to jump into this business head first, and want to keep your day job for a while, then the most common day for the rental of a photobooth is on a Saturday.
Do You Enjoy Photography? You do not have to be a photographic expert in order to be a successful photobooth operator, but it helps to at least have an interest in the art of photography. When people talk about ISO`s and apertures do you have any idea what they mean? Do you care? Do you enjoy making pictures in your spare time? If not then there are a lot of other businesses that might interest you more.
Do You Enjoy Dealing With People? Once again, you do not have to be a full fledged entertainer such as a comedian to be a photobooth operator, but it does help if you like dealing with people. If you do not have the patience to deal with idiots – LOL - this may not be the occupation for you. Many times you will be dealing with people that may have had too much to drink, you may be dealing with a family issue, or with bratty kids.
Page 12 Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis On the positive side however, if you are currently a DJ then I'm sure you have seen and heard it all and this will probably be a bit on the easier side. You won't hear ``When are you going to play something good`` or ``If you play this song next I'll get some tonight`` or well, you get the idea.
While I still DJ quite a bit, I do find that while slightly less challenging, it is easier with photobooths to please everyone, from 5 to 95. Just have good quality pictures, engage your customers and you will do fine.
Image Courtesy of Limelight Photo Booths
Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis Page 13 THE ABSOLUTE BASICS
Image Courtesy of Mojo Photo Booths
Now, if you already own photobooths or are familiar with the business, you may want to skip this chapter as it is very rudimentary. Getting right down to it, while there are lots of different types of photobooths, they all come down to 4 main components:
A Camera A Computer A Printer A Shell
Having said that, your various options for putting these components together are almost endless. You have so many options in all of these categories that it is almost mind-boggling, however I hope that the chapter later on in this book titled “START-UP COSTS IF YOU DO IT RIGHT” will help to narrow your options.
Open Booth Or Closed Booth? So here we have it, the debate of the century. For almost 100 years photobooths were closed. That is, they had 4 sides or walls and the picture taking was a somewhat private experience, sometimes behind a curtain. In a couple of instances I read about certain locations removing the curtains off the photobooths because of activities that were going on inside.
With the current batch of photobooths, some are more open than others. Today you can even place some of the smallest photobooths on a tripod.
Page 14 Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis People who like to hold on to nostalgia will probably like the closed booths better, as that is what their grandpa was used to. And of course there are some people who prefer private booths for whatever privacy reasons. I won't go there, but it is generally not something I have personally run into in this business. But then I have always worked with open booths.
I personally like working the more open booths because the entertainment aspect attracts people to the booth. When people see other people having fun in the booths, well, it makes them want to take part too, not to mention the fact that it gives them something to look at and laugh.
Open photobooths are also as a general rule much more portable than closed ones, though there are exceptions to the rule.
The two other big reasons that I like open booths is that they are more handicap accessible generally and it is much easier to accommodate large (15-30 person) groups in an open booth. And if green screen is part of your repertoire, it is hard to argue that you should have an open booth properly lighted to achieve the best picture quality.
The other thing I like about open booths is that you can always close up an open booth where people for whatever reason desire privacy (I hope they realize these pictures go on a hard drive!) by adding a tent or other enclosure. On the other hand, you can almost never open up a closed booth.
I have nothing against closed booths and there is a market for all types of booths, but for the ones I purchase for my own business, I am all for the open booth with backdrop. We ARE in the entertainment business after all.
Photo Booth Or Photobooth? In this book I will be using the term photobooth as one word rather than two to save space. Most people could argue that the correct English term is the phrase of two words photo booth and it is more often written this way, but let me be a rebel - LOL . Besides that, almost every photobooth or photo booth company has a website which for internet reasons is condensed to www.xyzphotobooth.com . No, that does not justify changing the term from the proper two words to the more familiar one word, photobooth. But like I said before, in order to save space, and because I am a rebel, that is exactly what I'll do.
Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis Page 15 PHOTOBOOTH HISTORY
Although in the wedding business the photobooth is a relatively new phenomena, in the shopping malls and arcades and exhibitions of the world photobooths have been around almost as long as the cameras and vending machines from which they are derived. Photobooths have become a part of American culture as much as baseball, hot dogs, apple pie and Chevrolet.
The concept of using optics to create images was first described by Chinese and Greek philosophers in the 4th and 5th centuries BC but cameras themselves did not become a practicality till the middle of the 19th century. The first American patent for photography was issued to Alexander Wolcott in 1840 but it was George Eastman`s patent of the Kodak roll-film camera that first brought cameras into more widespread use in 1888.
Just as with photography, vending machines also have a history that dates back a long long time. The Greek mathematician Hero is credited with inventing a machine to vend holy water in Egyptian temples in 215 BC but once again it was in the late 19th century that practical modern uses of
Page 16 Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis vending machines came into use. The Thomas Adams gum company is credited with introducing the first vending machines in the United States in 1888. These machines sold Tutti-Frutti gum on the elevated subway platforms of New York City.
A cross between vending machines and cameras, it was not long before photobooths started appearing. Photobooths have a fascinating history and I am sure many people who operate photobooths today will appreciate getting an insight into the many generations and re-incarnations of machines that eventually led to today`s photobooths.
Over in England, the first accounts of a photobooth type of business rests with Spiridione Grossi and his “Sticky Back” portraits. Grossi had applied for patents and was using some sort of apparatus that took six small portraits and then placed them on a narrow strip of photo paper that had adhesive matter pasted on the back, much like a postage stamp. Technically this was not a photobooth as the picture was taken by a human, but it was the first account of a strip of photos much like we would later see in the automatic booths.
Mathew Stiffens had patented an automatic photography machine in France in 1889, as had a few others worldwide. The first huge success amongst photobooth operators in America however rests with Anatol Marco Josepho (1894-1980) who created a machine called the Photomaton which produced a strip of 8 photographic portraits in 8 minutes for 25 cents.
When he opened the machine up to the public in New York City at 1659 Broadway (between 51st and 52nd St) in the summer of 1925 it was an instant success. Similar to accounts of when Atlantic City first opened its doors to casino gambling much later, people were literally standing around the block to get their pictures taken. According to an article published in Time magazine on April 4, 1927, 280,000 people patronized the first Photomaton location in its first 6 months, during which time he kept it open 24 hours a day.
In 1927 Josepho sold his machines and his patent to a group of investors for the even sum of one million dollars plus guarantees of future royalties, and the rest is history. For the remaining 50 or so years of his life Josepho was a very rich man and generous contributor to various causes.
It was not long before photobooths appeared on just about every corner. Many imitators also entered the picture (no pun intended), and even World War II increased the demand for photobooths in that soldiers were using the photobooths to send small pictures of themselves to their loved ones and in return their loved ones sent a picture back. According to some estimates, by the early 1950's there were more than 30,000 photobooths in the United States.
The Photomaton itself however, had lost the majority of its market share by
Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis Page 17 this time to Auto-Photo Company which had better distribution and was able to cut giant deals with Woolworth's and Kresge's, two of the retail giants of the time, for rental space. Known primarily as Model 9 and Model 11 machines, the 700 pound machines were cranked out by the thousands. They were a fixture at just about every arcade and drugstore, and at one point were even used by police departments and prisons for mug shots.
The artist most famous for utilizing photobooth pictures in their art is Andy Warhol. Over the course of his career Warhol made hundreds of photobooth portraits and self-portraits and often used these to produce silkscreen paintings. All of this of course helped to establish photobooths as essential parts of American culture.
By the late 60's the introduction of Polaroid photography caused the photobooth business to shrink for the first time in almost 40 years. The Auto- Photo company was bought by Photo-Me, a company based out of Britain and although photobooths never did disappear they were in trouble. Of course the manufacturers of mall and arcade photobooths did not give up even in a declining market. First color booths, then sticker booths and finally digital booths replaced the old standards in different phases.
Some estimates put the current number of mall and arcade photobooths in the United States at around 10,000 with many times that number existing around the world. Almost all current photobooths are digital. Only a handful of historic chemical ones remain and they are housed mostly in private collections and museums. Of course, as we all know, portable mobile photobooths started appearing shortly after the start of the millennium.
Digital vs. Chemical Much like there are people who love LP records and hate the switch to cd and then mp3, there are photobooth lovers out there that love collecting the old photochemical booths, and prefer them to the current blend of what they call “digital” booths. I do not necessarily agree with their opinion but there are those that claim that the old chemical prints were more sharp and more durable.
I do agree that there is a certain old nostalgia to the old booths, and they have a certain style as do many of the classic cars. For those of you that enjoy classic movies as well, photobooths played a part in many many movies. Photobooths have definitely been part of the popular culture for almost the last hundred years. If one searches the movie databases, one can find photobooth references in movies dating back to 1928, but the first movie I saw myself with a photobooth was the Beatles' A Hard Day's Night in 1964.
Many movies in the 1980's and 1990's had scenes with photobooths including The Fugitive (1993), Karate Kid (1984), The Terminator (1984), Beaches (1988), The Mambo Kings (1992) and The Net (1995) among many others,
Page 18 Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis but the best use of a photobooth was in the movie Superman III. In the movie Clark Kent substitutes the traditional phone booth with a photobooth as his locale for changing into Superman. An amazing listing of movies with photobooths appears in the website www.photobooth.net .
Fast Forward To Today With the advent of digital photography and portable computers it was finally possible for photobooths to be much more easily moved to temporary placements at events such as weddings and corporate parties. People have always loved photobooths but for the first time people did not have to seek out photobooths. Rather, the photobooths came to them and their parties.
It is hard to explain the psychology behind the fact that photobooths bring out the wild and crazy side of just about everyone of any age, but it is this reality that has transformed photobooths in the last few years into the new and alternative form of entertainment. By this time the general idea of the photobooth was pretty much in the public domain for a long time and only specific innovations could be patented, so this brought out manufacturer wannabe's by the hundreds. As always, only a handful got to the top of the pile.
Unlike in the past when photographers were the main forces behind the growing photobooth markets of the time, in the twenty-first century a funny thing happened. Many photographers at first shunned the idea of using a photobooth at a wedding or a special event as they incorrectly believed that it was automation designed to replace them.
Many DJ companies picked up the slack and started offering photobooths as part of their services and proved that DJs, photographers and photobooths could all co-exist at a wedding, each playing their own important and vital roles. For many DJ firms, especially the larger ones, it was photobooths that helped them survive the recession of 2009 relatively unscathed, or perhaps even in a much stronger position. After all, in hard times the strong have traditionally become stronger and the weak have well, disappeared.
The other thing DJs can be credited for is promoting the new photobooths not just as the new method of taking pictures but rather the new form of entertainment. Props for the first time became an essential part of the whole photobooth experience. Photobooth attendants were for the first time seen not as unskilled labor but as facilitators of fun. At least this is what the companies that were doing it right were promoting.
Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis Page 19 MARKETS THAT USE PHOTOBOOTHS
Page 20 Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis Page 21 Weddings For many photobooths operators, this is their main market. For almost all photobooth operators, the main market will either be the corporate market or the wedding market, with the best ones being able to successfully serve both.
Though it is far less common, you will occasionally get a request to do a photobooth at a stag & doe (or buck and doe or whatever it is referred to in your area) or even a bridal shower or engagement party.
Page 22 Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis Sometimes, people who have destination weddings have parties for all their friends (sort of like a reception) when they return. I have done some of these and like to promote “green screen” here. I tell them to make some pictures at their “destination” and pick 5 of their favorites and I will (assuming they are of the correct quality) use them as the green screen backgrounds. Other than that I treat this type of Image Courtesy of Apple/FacePlacePhoto party pretty much like a wedding.
Corporate Market This is my favorite market, even more so than weddings.
One of the best things about the corporate market is that it is not centered around 40 prime Saturdays every year.
As well, as long as you deliver the quality, the corporate market is a little less price sensitive and is willing to pay for the best you have to offer.
Holiday Parties Just as with DJing, expect December to be full of company “Christmas” or “Holiday” parties. My busiest day of the year has traditionally been the Saturday closest to 2 weeks before Christmas.
Now, if you are looking for new business, I would start marketing in August and then every month till December – AUGUST, SEPTEMBER, OCTOBER and NOVEMBER.
Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis Page 23 School Market During prom season expect to be busy. If you do many events at the school market be ready to work pretty much steady at graduation time. Homecoming, after-prom, fundraisers and more tied with the schools is another opportunity for you as a photobooth operator.
The school market is yet another way to extend your photobooth business beyond a weekend endeavor.
Birthdays From my direct experience, after weddings, corporate events and schools, birthdays were the next most common type of photobooth event.
Many times these are kids parties, but I have also done 40, 50 and 60 year old birthday parties. I think my record is 80.
Many times at birthday parties, photobooths are not just used for entertainment, but as well for pictures people will keep for a lifetime. There are times I truly feel privileged in being able to help these memories for people.
Bar and Bat Mitzvahs
If you serve the Jewish market to any extent you will find your photobooth calendar busy with bar and bat mitzvahs.
Page 24 Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis Generally you would treat these pretty much the same as birthday celebrations. For those people that might not know, bar (for boys) and bat (for girls) mitzvahs are Jewish ceremonies that, very simply explained, represent the first step towards adulthood.
Under Jewish law, children are not obligated to observe the commandments, until they reach their bar or bat mitzvahs, at the age of 13 for boys and 12 for girls. In ancient times hundreds of years ago, before secular and even more current Jewish law governed such activities, reaching your bar or bat mitzvah also represented the age at which you could form binding contracts, testify before a court and marry. I repeat, this was a long long time ago and today, represents merely the first of many steps towards becoming an adult.
Some congregations have elaborate ceremonies to mark this occasion along with significant religious educational requirements such as learning and reciting the traditional chants, while others have lesser demands, as the bar or bat mitzvah is considered automatic. There is no such thing as passing or failing. Of course, the religious service in modern times is followed by a reception that is many times as elaborate as a wedding reception. Consequently, photobooths have become an important part of many bar and bat mitzvah receptions.
I have done a lot of work for the Jewish community over the last 20 or so years. Most of this I credit to what I learned early on from Mobile Beat Magazine and Bobby Morganstein.
Back in 1991, in what was probably the 3rd or 4th issue ever of Mobile Beat Magazine, Bobby Morganstein had an ad out for his brand new cd, The Complete Jewish Party CD. I think it was at the time something like 28 bucks, but it was the best 28 bucks I ever spent.
Now at this time I was not doing photobooths, but rather was a DJ. I got a phone call from a prospect, and their first question was whether I had any Jewish music.
Of course I told them about the new cd I had just purchased that had Hava Nagila as well as some Hora medleys on it, and guess what, I got the job. Now this was not a bar or bat mitzvah but rather a half-Jewish wedding. However, it seems they liked the job I did and this led to at least 40-50 more bookings within the Jewish community in the next few years. Like I said before, it was the best 28 dollars I ever spent.
If you have a quality photobooth and provide excellent service, try to get into the Jewish market. Some of the larger metropolitan areas actually have trade shows showcasing entertainment services to the Jewish community. I would suggest you check them out.
Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis Page 25 Trade Shows and Product Promotion Companies are starting to use photobooths to attract people into their own trade show exhibits.
Being able to effectively brand the client's product is critical to success in this market. Most importantly this is done with the template you use for the photos. Remind the client or prospect that their own prospects will probably keep the photobooth strip much longer than the other literature that was handed to them at the booth.
For a company such as Coca Cola, the marketing reach of the photobooth strips with Coca Cola written all over them could truly be multi-generational. The photobooth strip you provided today might be indirectly responsible for the bottle of Coke someone's great great great grandchild buys in 2130 after looking at your picture that you took at the trade show today.
If you are planning on doing a lot of work to corporate clients at trade shows you might want to look at buying a photobooth that allows you to specifically brand products. If your booth does not allow you to do that, as this is a fairly new upgrade, you may want to look at a temporary wrap of your booth for that particular project.
Radio Stations Radio stations market both themselves and their sponsors at a large number of trade shows every year. Photobooths, especially social media photobooths, are starting to become in demand with radio stations. In the United States radio stations start with the letter W or K. In Canada, they start with the letter C. A long time ago, there was a joke that a new radio station format was going to play nothing but RAP music. And of course, while in the US that radio station would have been called W-R-A-P in Canada it was called C-R-A-P. I am not sure if this last comment will make it through the publisher`s content editors, but if you are reading this then it was not censored. The only reason I came up with repeating that joke was that I needed a fictional radio station to use. So now, what you need to do is approach radio station C-R-A-P and suggest that they contract you to provide for them photobooths at both their on- location live telecasts as well as their trade show appearances. I generally do not recommend radio or TV advertising for a photobooth company as it is too generalized and your dollars would probably be better spent elsewhere, but I would definitely give them a real good deal as long as they keep mentioning your photobooth company on the air.
Page 26 Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis You may also want to consider some sort of co-operative deal with them where their name is on the top of the strip and your name is on the bottom. This way they are promoting you as well. Sell photobooths to the radio station promotions staff as something extra they can sell to their clients. Be sure to remind the radio station of the benefits your photobooths can provide them. Your photobooth will enhance their event presence, increase awareness of either the station or sponsored product, and will without a doubt drive traffic to the booth. A photobooth is a fresh new approach to on-site marketing that associates the advertised brand with a positive experience. As with trade show marketing, it continues to deliver brand impressions long after the event has taken place.
Some of the latest photobooth software also allows the radio station to collect marketing information that can be used to later market to prospects. As an example, if someone sends their picture to their email, with their permission (pay close attention to your country`s data collection laws) you now have their email address.
Also, in order to allow them to post to their Facebook page, you could insist (very nicely of course) that they first have to ``LIKE`` your Facebook page. All I am saying here is that the marketing potential is limitless.
Charity Events and Fund Raisers One thing you have to be careful of here is the fact that you will get calls from charity events asking you to do their photobooths for free, in exchange for promotion. Every charity under the sun will call you asking for a free donated photobooth. If this is a charity you really believe in or if you have so much money you can afford to give your work away for free then by all means go ahead.
If you are willing to donate your time (or pay your employees to do it on your behalf) and are willing to donate the paper and other miscellaneous supplies, well then that is your decision. If you are in a jurisdiction where this applies, see if you can get some kind of tax receipt.
I have in the past done events for companies that paid me and then turned around and gave the booth out for free. If you are making too much money and need some way to get rid of it (wouldn't that be nice ) well maybe this is a good way to do just that.
I have been weary however of the extent of “promotional” value that you do get from doing these events. I remember one event, a large children's festival with a significant admission cost where the owner of the company I was working for at the time was told he would get a free booth in exchange for making FREE photos of all the people that wanted pictures taken.
Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis Page 27 It was a huge success for the festival. The photobooth concept was certainly helped. However it was a lot of work over the course of a long weekend, a lot of money was spent on labor and paper, and money was lost from not being able to use the booth at a paying event, and that did happen.
Though some indirect business that I am not aware of may have resulted from this participation at the event, I am not aware of a single direct booking that was obtained.
Worse yet, perhaps one of our competitors got business, because people were sold by us on the photobooth concept, then went with another company with a lower cost which did not have the overhead of doing a “free” festival.
I would rather that someone else promote the general idea of the photobooth and then I come in and scoop up the business (LOL).
As well, by doing these “free” events you run the risk of devaluing yourself in the eyes of future prospects. Let me stress that this did not happen with my own company but a company I was working for, but I remember one time I was doing a “free” event. Even though most of the people did not know we were doing the event for free, I did have one lady who may have been part of the organization (or something like that anyway) who came up to me asking for a price to do the photobooth for her school's prom. After I told her the price, she almost got mad and acted like I was ripping her off, after all I was doing this event for FREE on a Saturday night.
Now, there are exceptions to what I am talking about here. If someone (let's say the manager of an upscale golf club) has referred a lot of business to me in the last year and then has their own event, I may very likely do their own personal or company event for either cost or free (depending on the volume) purely as a Thank You!
As well, if you are just getting started, you may not have much choice than to do a few “freebies” just to get your name out. Twenty-six years ago, my first few DJ gigs were free as well, for organizations I was heavily involved with at the time. However, I would not suggest making it a permanent part of your business.
As a general rule I do give a “charity” discount and depending upon the charity and the circumstances (and perhaps most importantly the date) I do discount deeper. And yes, I would probably donate the photobooth for my best friend's wedding (LOL).
As well, I will consider verifiable advertising (on paper – not just a thank you) opportunities in exchange for a photobooth. Every situation is different and must be considered individually. Just remember, don't let yourself become a sucker and then wonder later why you aren't making money.
Page 28 Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis Having said that here are some ideas for working with charities where you are not giving the booth away for free: a) CHARGE FOR THE PHOTOS – and then split the price between you and the charity. b) SELL AD SPACE ON THE PHOTOBOOTH PHOTOS – limit the photos to 2 or 3 so that you have generous space left over for the advertising of the sponsors logos – once again make sure some of the money goes to you and some back to the charity. Remind the sponsors that unlike brochures or postcards, photobooth pictures rarely get tossed after the event. They end up on bulletin boards, fridges and many times on social networking sites such as Facebook. Done right, photobooth photos can be a valuable advertising product with shelf life.
I generally will give a reasonable discount to registered charities, more so if it is on an off day, but I won't go overboard. The person who gives their work away may get a lot of work, but at the same time they'll go broke. Then the result is that you are a non-profit or charity yourself. Pick a few to work with that have a special meaning to you and give the others deals on non-prime days.
Also, if word gets out that you work extremely cheap, well you will devalue your product and will have a much harder problem getting a reasonable price for your services.
Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis Page 29 STEPS FOR SUCCESS IN THE PHOTOBOOTH BUSINESS
The most important thing to remember here is that there is no one thing that will make you a success. You are only as good as your weakest link so you must do your best to be the best in all the following areas, which are covered in detail in different sections of the book. Go through the following list. If you sense you are not the best in any of the following areas take steps to change that today.
Quality Of Pictures
Quality Of Advertising
Quality Of Attendants
Quality Of Props
Quality Of the Photobooth Itself
Quality Of Follow Up
Furthermore, Don't Try To JUST Be Better – Try To Be Different ALSO
Be unique. Be an INNOVATOR. Change the world.
Page 30 Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis YOUR MISSION
Image Courtesy of Innovative Foto
The photobooth is the new form of entertainment. Your job is to make the guests at the parties you entertain “giggle”. As we already know, successful photobooth operators are not selling pictures, but rather the entertainment experience.
Just about anyone can deliver a photobooth to a location but good photobooth operators are those who more than just take pictures. They build a rapport with their customers and effectively motivate the crowd, enticing them to become involved in the activity, just like a good DJ does.
A good photobooth operator should not be modest or shy. They should show plenty of enthusiasm, have an even temperament and pleasant personality as well as the ability to control a crowd. They should also have a customer service attitude and a strong desire to satisfy each customer.
This is perhaps why DJs found photobooths to be a natural fit. I personally think that DJs and photographers have a lot to learn from one another. Disc Jockeys turned photobooth operators need to consistently work on their photographic skills and always strive to make better quality pictures. Of course some photographers can learn from DJs as well in the goal of creating
Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis Page 31 a world class entertainment experience. They are no longer photographers in the traditional sense. They are now entertainers.
Make Your Booth Fun As with a DJ Service YOUR PERSONALITY will be a key factor in determining your success. Although all aspects of running a photobooth are critical, this is the most important one by far. After all, it was DJs putting the FUN into photography that made photobooths so popular in the first place.
Let your personality shine and enjoy yourself. If you are having fun this will encourage the people at the function to have fun as well. If you do not add entertainment value to the evening then you are not worth the big bucks.
Be Unique Employ strategies that will make your photobooth stand out. Try to be unique and find that niche. Do something that will have your guests talking for weeks. If you are just going to copy everyone else I probably wouldn't suggest you get in the business.
Add A Second External Monitor I offer a second monitor as an up-sell, but even when it isn`t booked I use it as I want everyone at my booth to have the best experience possible.
I don`t think I can stress enough what having the monitor is to the whole photobooth experience. I can remember days when I literally had 20-30 people looking at this slideshow of pics that were made that night as if it were some sort of feature film. It attracts people to the booth and people absolutely love looking at the pictures.
I haven`t done this yet, but one of my next business purchases will be a wall projector as a further up-sell. I have seen other companies do this and it is a hit.
The wall projector will cost a few hundred dollars, if not closer to a thousand for some of the better ones, but in the mean time, the cost for the second monitor is minimal.
Of course, first you need the software. If you are using Breeze software, Breeze sells a slide show program, Breeze Viewer, for $69 (2014 price). There are also some free options available:
FastStone Image Viewer 4.8 - available at www.faststone.com
Photolive – available at http://www.partytools.net/photolive/
A good second monitor does not need to be expensive. $150 will buy you a
Page 32 Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis nice sized full screen monitor in 2014. Of course there`s no reason you can`t buy one at a pawn shop for half the price.
You absolutely should have a 2nd monitor.
Smile If you were considering using a photobooth at your wedding and were shopping around for a photobooth company to use, the smiles of the attendants (or lack there-of) would probably be one of the deciding factors you would use to choose.
You are on a stage when you are working as a photobooth attendant or cast member. Put away your cell phone – and make sure your employees do as well. Nothing says lack of caring about a job more than constantly looking at your cell phone.
Also, do not look at the clock. Put it on a table so it is not so obvious (don't wear an expensive watch – LOL) . Many times you are competing with the DIY (Do It Yourself) photobooth . For this reason it is even more important that you sell your personality. Anyone can take pictures - not everyone can deliver fun. Earn your keep!
Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis Page 33 Page 34 Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis Page 35 Image Courtesy of Colorado Sound and Light
Page 36 Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis PRICING
In the course of writing this book I did a lot of research on the various DJ, photobooth, wedding and photography forums and blogs that are out there and came across a very interesting story. I won't mention any names or sources but this particular company was having trouble competing with all the new upstart photobooth companies out there.
When price matching wasn't working they decided to do something completely different. They upped their price to almost double that of their nearest competitor while at the same time substantially increasing their quality by upgrading their software and adding red carpets and stanchions among other things. Surprise, surprise, a funny thing happened. Their business actually increased. It's the old story of “if you can't sell a hamburger for $3, try selling it for $6.”
Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis Page 37 All Inclusive or A La Carte What do you include and what do you put on as extras?
Some companies like to offer only one package and promote that. When I think about pricing strategies, I think often of what airlines do. Some charge a premium price with lots of things included while others offer rock bottom prices, but you even get charged for the peanuts.
I have been flying to the Mobile Beat DJ Conventions for years and every year I must select an airline and a flight. There was a time I used to drive the 40 hours each way but time no longer allows that for me. Maybe I will do that again someday but in the mean time there seem to have been two airlines I have used the most and somewhat indirectly have been responsible for some of my own pricing theory.
Southwest brags that they are the only major airline left that allows you to take 2 bags FREE. Spirit Air on the other hand even charges you for a carry on bag. I have flown with both airlines and there are pros and cons to both systems.
In determining my pricing strategy I decided to offer in effect both systems. When someone calls me asking for price I start with the lowest price to keep them talking but then explain all their options. I give them a choice between a- la-carte and all inclusive.
There is nothing underhanded here and it actually works quite well. At wedding shows I offer them a special on the all-inclusive package that is a huge savings over paying for everything a-la-carte.
Everyone has to decide on their own pricing strategy. I just find that this method works well for me.
Groupon? If you decide to do a Groupon to get your business started, make sure that you offer the lowest price package on the Groupon and then add the additional. For example you could sell a 2 hour package for $399 and then sell additional hours for $199 after the fact. I hope there are no Groupon reps reading this but the secret is that this way you are splitting less money with Groupon too.
Don't Sell Yourself Short You will never be the cheapest photobooth out there, so concentrate on being the best. There will always be someone cheaper than you. Do a lot of research to come up with the correct pricing then stick with it, at least for a while. Keeping consistent also allows you to get others to sell for you.
Page 38 Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis UPSELL BABY
Image Courtesy of Colorado Sound and Light
The last time you went to McDonalds, do you remember them asking “Would you like fries with that?” Of course you did. It's part of their script.
There is a reason that every time you go to Best Buy they try to sell you extended warranties. They make more money. Similarly, airlines will try to get you through the door with low fares and then charge you for luggage, food and so forth. $7 popcorn at the movie theatre is the ultimate up-sell.
You may not like it, or like to do it, but the plain business fact is that up-selling works and it is not rocket science.
Learning to up-sell, or add to a sure sale, is a vital skill that most if not all successful sales and business people have, and is a skill you must learn to utilize if you don't want to miss the opportunity to make more money.
To many DJ companies, the photobooth itself is an up-sell. If you are making this much money as a DJ, wouldn't you like the chance to double it by offering a photobooth. Similarly, many photographers are using photobooths as an up- sell to their existing services.
Of course, once the client has chosen your photobooth there are many ways to add to the sale.
A big difference between a very profitable photobooth company and a not-so profitable photobooth company is the ability to capitalize on up-sells.
Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis Page 39 Also keep in mind that there is a very fine line between up-selling the right way and increasing your profits and being pushy in a way that turns off your customers and ends up losing you money. On the fine line you must always view up-sells from the point of view of the customer. Always offer an up-sell because it will ultimately benefit the customer, not just because you want to make more money.
Service Tiers As Up-sells
Offering different tier levels of service is the ultimate up-sell. I call mine at the moment the
a) CUSTOM PACKAGE (A LA CARTE) b) SIGNATURE PACKAGE c) THE WORKS (ALL INCLUSIVE)
I avoid, and you should avoid the price question by asking them what package they want.
Of course their first question will be What is Your Price!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I generally say that our packages range from $395 to several thousand dollars depending on what specific package is requested. I ask them to tell me a bit about their vision for their event and then I can suggest what package would best make their event a success at the best price.
This gets them to talk more about their event and it builds rapport.
Now keep in mind that I do not come up with money figures out of thin air. Everything has a price and is itemized.
Green Screen Green Screen generally requires a more experienced operator and better lighting. At least this is the case if you want it done right. Also, there are many more photobooth operators than green Image Courtesy of Colorado Sound and Light screen photobooth operators.
Page 40 Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis Using the laws of supply and demand, I charge $150 extra for green screen except on the all-inclusive package of course. Of course I love doing green screen, but that does not mean I will throw it in for free. Well, maybe I will throw it in for a few of my favorite customers, but definitely not for most.
Red Carpet And Stanchions A red carpet and stanchions add a touch of class to any event. One thing you have to keep in mind here is that before you up-sell the red carpet and stanchions, make sure that you are familiar with the venue and the space you are allotted. You don`t want to sell this and then find out that you can not set it up because you have no space.
Idle Time As An Up-sell The following situation happens all the time. A bride or groom books a 4 hour package and then a week before the wedding they tell you they need to have you set up at 3 pm.
Now with the all-inclusive package I will set it up at whatever time they want as they are paying me a premium price for ``the works``.
For the a-la-carte package however, I always charge for idle time. How many jobs do you know of where you are told to show up to work 5 hours early and wait around and not get paid? Didn't think you could name one.
I generally charge $50 per hour for idle time.
Frames Look into getting some custom frames for the client so the guests are taking home something more significant. Check Dollar Tree type stores or the below to buy them in bulk. Harkin Industries / Harkin Incorporated 3 Yeoman Dr. East Northport NY 11731 631-266-1328
Photo Book As An Up-sell It is not hard to make a photo book these days. Even supermarkets www.aldiphotos.us can provide you with free online software with which you can create photo books at a reasonable price (about $30 for 26 pages with a hard cover – 2014 pricing) and this makes for a great upsell. Walmart online also has a similar setup.
As this is quite a bit of extra work I generally save this upsell for my premium packages, but where I have done these books the brides have been thrilled.
Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis Page 41 Once again, though it is available easily for anyone to offer, not everyone offers it. This can help you stand out.
Tent I have said over and over again that I am a big proponent of open as opposed to closed booths. However, every once in a blue moon a client will insist on closing the open booth. Of course the nice thing is that while you can always close an open booth, you can't open a closed booth – yet another reason why I like open booths better.
Of course it takes time and a tent to achieve this, so this to me becomes an up-sell.
I will do outdoor functions with no problem other than I insist on being under a tent in case of inclement weather. If there is no tent then I insist that they rent from us a canopy – this is $100.
If they want to close the tent for the purposes of private pictures, the add-on is $125.
Celebrity Impersonators
This is an idea I got once when a client actually brought cardboard cutouts of celebrities to use as props.
There are a lot of agencies out there that offer celebrity impersonators, especially in the the larger metropolitan areas. This may not be possible in northern Alaska, or at least not to any wide degree.
I generally will charge what the agency charges me plus 25 percent for my trouble. I thought about making it 50 or 100 percent, but since the agency rates are reasonably high to begin with and publicly available (though I do get a discount with some of them) I didn't want to push it.
Of course in working with the agencies, I am also marketing my photobooth services to them. This to me has been the more valuable part of the equation.
And Some More Ideas
In addition to a photobooth you may want to make connections so you can offer the following services to your customers. I have seen all of these done at weddings though in my case it was not I but rather the bride and groom that arranged it. In the future I will be offering these.
Page 42 Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis HIRE AN ARTIST to create a painting of the ceremony or of parts of the reception.
HIRE A CARICATURIST or several caricaturists to make on-the-spot drawings of guests that they can take home.
HIRE A FIREWORKS SHOW – you can literally end the night with a bang. Nothing could be more memorable than a fabulous outdoor fireworks show. Suggest that the show be in the wedding colors, or at least the finale should be in the wedding colors.
Sell www.weddingsnap.com
Here is a product that doesn't compete directly with photobooths, but if you are in the wedding or event business, you may find will put a bit of extra money in your pocket.
These people were neighbors of mine at a recent Mobile Beat DJ show and were offering their product as an up-sell not just to photobooth operators but also DJs and for that matter anyone in the wedding business. Once the wedding couple signs up and creates their album they receive personalized business cards with instructions for their guests
Of course this program is competing with a free one www.wedpics.com
Summary on Up-sells
Having said all this, keep in mind that a successful up-sell is one that the customer never regrets. In order for up-selling to succeed always look at the up-sell from the customer's point of view. The ultimate goal should not be to increase your take but rather to increase the customer's ultimate satisfaction. If you approach up-selling from this point of view then the money will follow naturally. Think long term not short term.
The words you use will also determine how successful your up-selling endeavors will be. Take a lesson from Amazon.com . After every sale they will try to up-sell you with yet another item. But you will notice they never write “We recommend”. They always write “Customers who bought this item also bought”. It's a subtle difference but one that probably makes Amazon millions of dollars.
So to convert this info to your photobooth business, when you are trying to sell green screen, do not say “I recommend you get green screen.” Always say, “Many of our customers request green screen. They find it adds to the excitement their guests experience.”
Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis Page 43 Image Courtesy of Atlanta Photo Booth / Extreme Event Design
Page 44 Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis PROPS
Props are an essential part of the photobooth experience and are one of the major factors that will set you apart from other photobooths in your area.
Ideas For Props Props you can use are endless. Here are just a few categories to help get you started:
Hats – Any kind of hats from Animal Characters to Sombreros – the key is to have it show part of the face and not be a full mask.
Mustache On A Stick Blow Up Instruments – Guitars – Saxophones, Microphones Sunglasses – of all kinds, normal and novelty. Signs – I'm With Whoever, Chalk Board, Wipe Erase Boards Wigs - Colorful
Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis Page 45 Image Courtesy of Apple/FacePlacePhoto
Holiday / Event Related Christmas - Santa Hat, Reindeer Antlers, White Beard New Years St. Patty's Day Birthday Hats and Signs
Where To Buy Props
Sherman Specialty www.4funparties.com - some nice props specifically listed for photobooths
Windy City Novelty www.windycitynovelties.com – also a great selection of kits and separate pieces for photobooths
Rhode Island Novelty www.rinovelty.com – ironically Rhode Island Novelty is located in Massachusetts – they also have some great props for photobooth operators
Page 46 Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis Party City I find a lot of my favorite props at Party City.
My favorites are the signs packages that they offer.
PARTY PHOTO FUN SIGNS 12CT – SKU 455436
This package contains 12 signs with 24 very relevant sayings, one on each side. Yes you could make your own, but I just like the way these are presented and the way they appear in the photos and I would say that they are one of my most popular props. The only downside is that they don't last forever, but at the price of $2.99 at Party City, if they last 10 shows they have paid for themselves.
For weddings I also add the following
BRIDAL SHOWER PHOTO SIGNS 12CT – SKU 471055
These signs are also only $2.99 at Party City and well worth the cost.
Here are a few of my other favorites at Party City:
FEELING GROOVY PEACE SIGN BOWLER HAT – SKU 536932 PRICE .99
BALLOON PARTY THE PARTY'S HERE YARD SIGN 14 in X 15 in – SKU 66011 PRICE $5.99
CTS Wholesale Sunglasses
Based out of Oregon, www.ctswholesalesunglasses.com has a wide assortment of sunglasses sold in lots of 12 for the most part with prices ranging from .66 to $3 each– they also have a novelty section that is great for photobooths, with Devo sunglasses, “Bats” sunglasses, “Frankenstein” sunglasses, flashing sunglasses, well you get the idea.
They also have a sunglass display for $16 that will help you keep all the sunglasses organized.
They also sell hats – my favorite is the jester hat that at last check was being sold at $30 for 12 of them.
Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis Page 47 Dollar Stores Some of the props at dollar stores are garbage, but others are irreplaceable, especially now that dollar stores have become dollar- and-up (LOL) stores. Many times I find props in dollar stores that I can't find at a better price at wholesale. When I do find something good I tend to stock up on it.
The only down side to dollar stores seems to be that they have very few after-season sales on items that are not perishable. Of course when the item is a dollar in the first place, well it is hard to discount that.
Garage Sales If you enjoy attending garage sales, you might be amazed at the quality of goods you may be able to find that could be used as photobooth props.
I enjoy garage sales (though I don't have the time to attend them that I would like) because you never know what you are going to find. I may spend an entire morning and find nothing and then another day I just stop at one sale on the way to something else and I find the buy of a lifetime. According to Forrest Gump, “life is like a box of chocolates” and I really like the fact that at a garage sale you never know what you are going to get.
I really find it hard to NOT stop at a garage sale though sometimes I am prevented from doing so either because of time limitations or because of who else is in the car that has no interest in garage sales. No, I have never found that million dollar piece of artwork for a dollar, but I have picked up a lot of lesser items. Back in the 1980s I bought a lot of LPs dirt cheap at garage sales, and indirectly it was my massive record collection that not too much later (1987) led me on the path to becoming a DJ and much later a photobooth operator and owner. So I guess you could say, if it were not for garage sales, I probably would not be writing this book.
Thrift Shops No I am not talking about the Mackelmore song but since I mentioned garage sales, I may as well mention thrift shops. Once again, looking for props here is an adventure – they will probably not be as cheap as garage sales, but cheaper than regular stores. Of course, I tend to avoid things from thrift shops that I can't wash, unless in the rare instance it is new of course.
Page 48 Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis Re-Used Props Or New Props
This is a business decision every photobooth operator needs to make.
I offer 3 levels of service depending on the package booked: (call it an up-sell if you want.)
– standard assortment of re-used props (CHEAPEST) – brand new props that we keep at the end of the night (MORE EXPENSIVE) – brand new props that are distributed to the guests at the end (MOST EXPENSIVE)
Many of our props are hats and blow-up instruments. Many times guests like to take the props onto the dance floor and have fun with them as almost a DJ prop. If they have booked the highest end package I definitely let them do that – on occasion I have let them do that with other packages as well. After all it is my job to entertain the guests and despite the risk of prop loss or damage (keeping in mind that many of these props are fairly inexpensive to begin with) I let them have their fun with it. I do my best to collect the props at the end of the night – they are sometimes sitting on tables or on the floor.
When there are lots of kids at your party you might definitely suggest the brand new props that are distributed at the end of the party approach. First off, props are much more likely to grow legs at a kids' party than an adult party (unless there is heavy drinking), and kids are generally delighted to have something like a prop to take home at the end of the party. In one case, I had the DJ in the last 15 minutes of the party give them away. This just made the night.
I think I am one of very few operators in my area that offer all-new props and this is something that makes me stand out. Most clients do not go for the option yet it is all part of the marketing strategy.
I also offer glow sticks and bracelets in my higher-end packages. While it does not add that much to the pictures themselves people really like them and when I allow them to keep them they go around the room and it attracts more attention to the fun people are having in the photobooth. The glow sticks are available from most novelty wholesalers and as well at www.sureglow.com which at a recent DJ convention sold a $15 package of lots and lots of glow sticks and bracelets. I used this with great success at a number of my shows.
Inflatable Props
Not everyone will agree with me, but I love inflatable props. They are easy to
Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis Page 49 transport, relatively cheap and the ones I use are very colorful and so they blend in nicely with the pictures. They do have a couple of drawbacks. They don't last forever and yes, you do have to blow them up at the start of the event and let the air out at the end, but usually I don't have a problem making the time as I generally arrive quite early at my events anyway and rarely have any problems.
At a minimum I will carry a blowup guitar, blowup sax and 2 blowup mics. They are readily available from any of the novelty stores.
Higher End and Custom / Specialty Prop Websites There are many companies that make custom props. Check them out on the internet and then order from your favorites.
www.etsy.com – has lots of prop vendors – just do a search for “photobooth props” and you will see them all listed.
www.instaphotoprops.com
www.papercutsandwoodworks.com
Limbo Sticks So, now its time for yet a bit more shameless self promotion. Long before I got into the photobooth business, I was selling collapsible limbo sticks for DJs . I have had a number of other products that I have been selling over the years, but by far my best seller has consistently been the decorated collapsible limbo stick which I also wholesale to a variety of DJ stores and novelty wholesalers.
You can buy these limbo sticks online at either www.djcompanionrecords.com or www.ezphotobooths.ca . Just look for the props section in the later case.
I am not going to try and over-sell this and try to tell you that you cannot do a photobooth without a limbo stick. This is absolutely not true.
Page 50 Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis I will tell you what I do however. Many times I have combination DJ and photobooth shows so I do put a number of limbo sticks in with both my DJ systems and photobooth systems. In the case of the photobooths I do sometimes use the limbo sticks for decorative purposes. I do sometimes make a joke that you must do the limbo in order to get your picture taken.
I have also had some girls take the limbo stick and turn it into a stripper pole. Now just so I make this perfectly clear – the limbo stick can only be used as a simulated stripper pole for pictorial purposes. It has no vertical strength and could not be used as an actual stripper pole.
The biggest thing I like about the limbo stick is that it folds up very easily no matter what I do with it. Look at all the fun you can have for only $29.95.
What To Do About Stolen Props
This is a difficult one. Sooner or later, and many times unintentionally and by drunk guests, some of your props are going to disappear.
There are ways to limit the loss. The best way is to have adequate staffing for the size of the event and to maintain effective control over your booth. There are many reasons why you should not lose control and let the inmates run the prison, for lack of a better analogy, but holding onto your props is not one of them.
Also be very careful with drinks. I try to have a table nearby where the guests can place their drinks while they are at the booth. I am very vigilant in not allowing guests to put drinks next to the props and will remove the drink placing it aside if necessary. The risk of losing props to spilled alcohol is in my experience an even greater risk than losing them through other means. There is nothing worse than a box of props that smell like an old stale bar, and well,
Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis Page 51 I don't allow that to happen, but have seen that with other photobooths I had nothing to do with where I happened to be either a guest myself at the party or the DJ.
There are some who have suggested charging the client for lost props and making that a part of the contract. While I don't completely disagree with that approach I won't use it myself for a number of reasons. First off, if you are running the booth properly in the first place, the losses should be both infrequent and relatively minor, so I write them off as a cost of running the service. Secondly, it leaves a bad taste in everyone's mouth and puts you in an adversarial position with the client – the $20 you got for the props may end up costing you a future $1000 booking. Third, it is a logistical nightmare. I keep a relatively good inventory of my props and add and subtract effectively where necessary, but in order to charge a client for the props, you must first completely inventory and have the client sign off on what was delivered, and then re-inventory again at the end of the night, at a time when you most likely want to just pack up and go home. All in all, its just not worth it for me to do all this work for the sake of a few props here and there. I have generally lost more props just due to regular wear-and-tear than to theft.
Toy Guns and Weapons
This will create some controversy (sorry NRA) but as a general rule I do not include any sort of weapons (toy guns, knives and so forth) amongst my props.
The following story didn't happen to me directly but for one company I was working for and I can assure you it was a true story. There were a couple of dollar store toy guns in amongst the props at a school formal. Well, they were well used but a few days later we get a call from the school board.
It appears that one of the parents was very upset that these toy guns were in the props. They went so far as to try to call the police and tried to get us arrested. Well, the police said since they were toys they really couldn't do anything but suggested they call the school board. So of course the school board was called, as was the principal of the school and a few others as well.
In the end, nothing really happened. We continued doing photobooths for this particular school board but they did ask us to remove any and all weapons which we did.
We quietly removed all toy weapons from all the systems and I understand to this day they still have a box of “confiscated toy weapons” in the back corner, saved just in case anyone does want them in the props.
Was this an over-reaction? Maybe, but I will tend to err on the side of caution when it comes to possibly upsetting people. With all the violence that goes on
Page 52 Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis in the world, maybe it would be better to leave the weapons out of the prop box.
On the flip-side, my policy is that if a client insists on using guns and weapons I will allow them but I generally will make a note on the contract that they had asked for them to be included, and where possible I will make them initial it.
On a similar note I also tend to be careful when it comes to the signs used. I love the party signs at Party City (and especially the $2.99 price) but I generally remove the “Hoe” and “Tool Box” signs. I have never gotten in trouble for using them on the couple of occasions I did, but why take chances.
Buy Props Off Season
Right after July 4th (or your nation's holiday) is the best time to buy patriotic props.
Right after October 31st is the best time to buy Halloween props. Right after Christmas is the best time to buy Christmas props.
This past Halloween (Nov 3 I think) I bought a ton of props both at Walmart and Target. At Walmart I got 90 percent off, at Target it was 75 percent, but at both stores I scored some great deals.
Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis Page 53 THE ART OF SELLING
Get Them Talking Everyone has dealt with pushy salespeople. For this reason everyone's guard is up. This is the number one reason why it seems like everyone's first question is “What is your price”! There is a fine art to lowering their guard and making them want to deal with you. If you seem like you are desperate to get the sale, rest assured you will probably lose it. The key is to focus the conversation from the customer's point of view. Effective selling requires patience, the ability to listen to what the prospect wants, and then the skill of being able to present to them exactly how you can help them achieve their wants and needs. Everyone likes talking about themselves. By asking the right questions and showcasing your knowledge about the product, in this case a photobooth, you create a dialogue between yourself and the prospect. This dialogue is essential in being able to close the sale. As a rule of thumb, if you can keep them talking for 5 minutes on the phone, chances are pretty good you have the sale.
Ask Open Ended Questions The best way to create a dialogue with a prospect is to ask relevant open ended questions. Try to avoid simple yes or no questions as this does little to advance the conversation or find out what the prospect truly wants or needs.
Page 54 Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis Here are a few examples: Tell me about photobooths you have experienced in the past. Tell me what you know about our company and what we can do for you. Tell me a bit about your dreams for your wedding day. Listen intently and then use the information you received to help your client achieve their dreams.
Don't Go Cheap On Advertising I learned this one the hard way. In the early 90's I was ahead of most people in terms of the quality of my advertising and it paid off big time.
When I re-started my business in 2011 I was trying to save money – I did not go full-color and made up the materials myself and I did not get the results I wanted.
What I saved actually cost me money.
I learned my lesson and in the future will go for full-color professionally printed materials.
Use a Graphic Designer If You Can Afford It Create an image and then keep it consistent. You may well be the best photobooth operator in the world, but what good does it do anyone, most importantly you, if you don't do the proper job in spreading the word.
You are only as good as your weakest link. Don't waste money on wedding shows if you are not going to maximize the investment by issuing top notch marketing materials.
Build It And They Will Come...... NOT You must pound the pavement, especially in the beginning. If you need to do so many sales, you need to make so many presentations. To get so many presentations you must make so many approaches. Always plan your marketing. To truly succeed you must have a well-conceived and consistent marketing strategy.
Start Off With A Logo and Mission Statement
Take in all the marketing seminars you can afford both time-wise and money wise. If you are running your own business, your marketing skills must match
Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis Page 55 your operational skills in order to be truly successful.
If you are starting your own business, write down your mission statement. Create a logo. Center your marketing efforts around this mission statement and logo.
While word of mouth will always be the premier business driver for successful businesses, social media is becoming more and more important with every day that passes in getting your info out there.
Do you know how to maximize your results on Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and more recently Linkedin, Pinterest and Instagram? Maybe not, but there are many people willing to teach you - some for free and more often for a price.
Never throw away something that works, but always measure the results (How did you hear about us needs to be a mandatory field). Stay in tune with the market and constantly re-invent your business model.
Use Personalized Appointment Cards
Relatively few people book right at the bridal show. Your success at the show will depend highly on your ability to make an appointment with them after the show to close the sale. One tip is to have personalized appointment cards at the bridal show. On the front of the card use whatever you have on your regular business cards. On the back you could use something like this:
APPOINTMENT: Mon___Tue___Wed___Thu___Fri___Sat___Sun Date______Time______AM___PM___ If you are unable to keep your appointment for whatever reason, please contact us as soon as possible.
Look For A Specialty / Niche
Think hard about what markets do you want to serve and what makes you special? If you are part of a particular community use that to your advantage. Use any leverage you can get to get your foot in the doors.
Build Relationships Always get in contact with the hall that you will be setting up in. Build a relationship with them, or at least try to. Calling them and giving them a heads up is the best excuse to market yourself at the same time. It is also a part of providing superior service to your clients.
Page 56 Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis Send out Christmas, other holiday and maybe even anniversary or birthday cards to prior and regular clients, complimentary businesses and even competitors. Snail mail works best but can also be time consuming. If this is not possible then at least send out the cards online. One site you can do this with is
www.birthdayalarm.com
The free component at this site is adequate for most purposes.
There are other programs out there that allow you to keep in contact and stay top of mind with your prospects and clients. Here are a few:
www.sendpepper.com
www.aweber.com - allows you to send emails at intervals of your choosing, including the number of days before the event or wedding date.
Write a series of emails to send 12, 9, and 6 months before the wedding, and then 2 months and 1 month before. Personalize these with the bride and groom's names, wedding date, and location. This way, while the emails are sent on autopilot, they seem personal and friendly.
Every Monday (or Tuesday if you take Monday off) send THANK YOU cards to everyone you worked with at the wedding:
Photographer DJ Florist Banquet Manager Officiant
Thank them for their professionalism and teamwork in making the bride's day a success.
Snail Mail I like snail mail. Because everyone is so focused on the net, if you send something in the mail it makes you stand out. Depending on what source you look at and how you do it, somewhere between 80 and 99 percent of advertising emails are never even opened.
If you have the time personally address the letter – just make sure everything else is professional. Get a co-op student with good handwriting to address the letters. People are more likely to open personally-addressed envelopes.
Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis Page 57 Evaluations
ALWAYS send out EVALUATIONS and always follow up with your clients. I used to get a 60–80 percent return rate on evaluations with the majority being perfect. Enclose a self-addressed stamped envelope. With email I have seen this dip to 10-20 percent. In the evaluation always ask for a testimonial you can use in your website or other advertising materials. Testimonials are like references. Get them as often as you can.
When sending out evaluations by snail mail always put a stamp on the return envelope – this makes them feel obligated to return it.
Send a coupon (at least $100) that they can give to any of their friends.
If you still want to use email consider using a survey program www.esurveyspro.com www.surveymonkey.com
Go Above And Beyond
Have you ever heard that you should always exceed expectations? Sure it may cost you a little bit of money upfront, though sometimes more its time, but what it does is to lock in customer loyalty.
Would you rather spend more of your time chasing business, or spend more of it exceeding expectations. I think we all know the answer to the question.
In any business there are two types of businesses, low price leaders and industry leaders. In commodity based businesses, low price leaders tend to do quite well because people can see what they are getting. If you can buy a car for 30,000 but get a supposedly better car for 25,000 which are you going to choose?
I don't always buy the “you get what you pay for” theory when it comes to commodities, but pretty much always buy it when it comes to service. After all, people will generally charge what they can get. If their service is in high demand the price goes up. If they can't get work the price goes down. There are of course exceptions but that is the general rule of thumb.
Now you could choose to be the low price leader but you will continue to be frustrated by someone who undercuts you by a few dollars, and at the end of the day do you really want to be working for peanuts.
Achieving excellent service is something that is more difficult to do than cutting your price but at the end of the day you reap your rewards.
Page 58 Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis Part of going above and beyond involves contributing to the health of the very business of which you have chosen to make your living, or at least a part of it.
In my particular case I chose to write a book. I didn't do it for the money. I did it because it is usually the teacher who learns the most. By setting this goal I advanced my ultimate aim to become a true expert in the field. I don't have all the answers, but because I am always looking for them I am learning at the same time.
Competing With The DIY Booth
I am sure I will have some people asking, what is a DIY booth? DIY simply means Do It Yourself. If you go to Youtube, there are people that will try to show you how to create your own photobooth experience for less money than it would cost to hire a professional company.
Of course this doesn't just apply to photobooths. If a wedding is on a severe budget, it is cheaper to have a pot-luck dinner than to hire a professional caterer. Picking your own flowers is cheaper than going to a florist. A 13 year old friend of your cousin will probably DJ on his or her i-pod for a lot cheaper than a professional company will. Can someone run their own photobooth? Probably they can try. Can they do it as well as you? I hope not. If they can then you probably should not be in the business.
I remember reading a blog where this lady explained in great detail how to create your own photobooth at your wedding, and how she did it at hers. There were no instant pictures. Nor was there live view. At least she did use a DSLR camera, because that was what her sister owned, and she borrowed it from her.
After going through all the work getting the booth ready for her wedding she forgot to do one thing. Her sister never charged the batteries for the booth, so at her wedding all she got was two minutes worth of photobooth. Of course a real photobooth would have used an AC adaptor so this would not have been an issue, and would hopefully have had backup.
I guess if the worst thing that happened at her wedding was she did not have a photobooth, then things could be worse, but she did teach us a good lesson. Apparently, her brother did make some use of the backdrop with his click-and-shoot camera, so they did get a few pictures.
Competing With DIY Booth Photographers
There are some photographers out there offering excellent photobooths, just
Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis Page 59 as there are DJ's offering excellent photobooths.
However, some photographers call their setup a photobooth when in reality what they are offering is their body holding a camera, as well a backdrop.
As long as they clearly explain what they are offering there is no issue. More accurately what they are offering is called doing a photo shoot, and they may be very good at it.
They may add some props to enhance the experience and there is nothing wrong with that too.
There are 2 main features however, of a REAL photobooth that a simple photo shoot does not offer.
1. LIVE VIEW – people really like seeing themselves on the video screen as their photo is being taken. On the screen they see a countdown such as ``6 seconds to picture 1 of 4``. 2. INSTANT PRINT – remember those Polaroid cameras in the 70s and 80s. People don`t want to see their picture next month or even next week. In today`s society there is a demand for instant gratification. People want their photos instantly. If there are no instant photos then I personally don't think someone has the moral right to call what they are offering a photobooth.
Yet there remain many times people will call something that is not a photobooth – well - a photobooth, and often at a very low price. Most commonly, some photographers will include a so-called photobooth as part of their package.
While some photographers do use real photobooths (and I have sold real photobooths to some excellent photographers) very often this so-called photobooth is nothing more than the photographer's body holding a camera, maybe with a backdrop. If you are lucky, maybe they have some props.
If you are competing with such booths, it is very important for you to point out to your prospect as I did above why a real photobooth is a far superior experience to just a photographer with a backdrop.
Make sure you stress the value of a real photobooth that provides instant pictures. One of the reason for the success of photobooths is that people like instant gratification, and appreciate a memento that they can take from the party or the wedding. Two weeks later for the first picture just won't (or shouldn't) cut it in the photobooth business.
Second, part of the appeal of the photobooths is the ability to see yourself (or your group) as the picture is being taken. Without the live-view aspect a photobooth just is not a photobooth.
Page 60 Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis Furthermore, being able to see the pictures recently taken on an external monitor adds to the complete experience. While a pseudo photobooth may be OK and better than nothing, it is no replacement for a real photobooth.
Image Courtesy of Kingdom Photo Booth
Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis Page 61 START-UP COSTS IF YOU DO IT RIGHT
Image Courtesy of Kingdom Photo Booth
Hardware
Many people think they have the capabilities to build their own photobooths, and of course some do. For those that do, perhaps they should consider marketing their booths.
There are some very attractive home-made booths out there, but more often they don't come out so good once they are completed. Here are some of the biggest problems I have seen with home-made booths.
1. WEIGHT AND SIZE – Many people just didn't figure how heavy their booths were till they completed them and then it was too late. Booths need to fit in your vehicle, they need to be portable and they should ideally be able to be set up by one person. If this is not the case you may need to re-consider your design.
2. DURABILITY – Your photobooth will take a lot of abuse over the years – Have you designed it to look as good after 100 events or 1000 events as on the first event. If it is not durable, you should reconsider the design. Even if it is durable, you may want to consider investing in a cover to protect it from scratches.
3.FITTING IT ALL TOGETHER – This may not seem like a big deal as there
Page 62 Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis are really 3 main components to the photobooth, the printer, the computer and the camera. However, you can well benefit from the experience of someone who has put together hundreds of booths. They may be a little more expensive but you will save a lot of headaches and in the end you may even end up saving both money and time.
Most people choose to buy packages from companies that have made a lot of photobooths. Here are some of the market leaders:
Where To Buy Photobooths – please note some of these are covered in more detail in the Appendixes.
Apple Industries – faceplacephoto.com Colorado Sound and Light – csnl.com Extreme Event Design/AtlantaPhoto Booth – extremeeventdesign.com EZ Photo Booths – ezphotobooths.com EZ Photo Booths in Canada – www.ezphotobooths.ca Innovative Photo – innovativephoto.com Kingdom Photo Booth – kingdomphotobooth.com LA Photo Party/Photo Party Upload – photopartyupload.com Limelight Photo Booth – limelightphotobooth.com Mojo Photo Booths – mojophotobooths.com Open Air Photo Booths – openairphotobooth.com Photo Box Interactive – photoboxinteractive.com Slomo Booths – slomobooths.com Vanity Photo Booths – vanityphotobooths.com Viral Booth – viralbooth.com
Software If you are a software engineer by trade, well maybe you can create your own photobooth software. For everyone else, even those that manufacture their own photobooths, you will probably have to rely on a software company or at least a programmer (much more expensive) to create your photobooth software.
The program I am most familiar with is Breeze as this is the program that I was using at the start of my photobooth career.
www.breezesys.com
I have also played around with software from Photo Booth Solutions
www.photoboothsolutions.com
Other programs I have not played around with but am told from various
Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis Page 63 sources are good and will do the job for you are:
www.memoryfactoryllc.com
www.photoboof.com
Computer
The first thing you must decide is whether you are going to be in the MICROSOFT WINDOWS or APPLE world. A long time ago (25-30 years) at one point I actually worked for IBM so I learned a lot about their hardware and the software they used. Consequently, I have never really worked with Apple. So call me biased.
I hear many good things about Apple, especially the new IPADs and such. However, I will not speak of what I do not know.
I have basically worked with 2 types of booths. I started working with a PC in a case with a monitor before I started my own photobooth company. This for the most part works fine, but I much prefer for mobile applications an all-in- one PC for one reason and one reason only, weight.
While an all-in-one PC may have some limitations when it comes to expandability and so forth, it is hard to beat the convenience. The other thing that I like is the fact that there are less cables to worry about. This makes the whole setup a lot cleaner to the look and since cable connections are very often the culprit when it comes to diagnosing problems, well, the fewer pieces there are to connect, the better.
My favorite configuration for running a photobooth is an ALL-IN-ONE PC that runs WINDOWS and BREEZE. Apple may or may not be better, but it will probably be a while before I can judge for myself.
Camera – DSLR, Point and Shoot or Webcam
Could you get away with using a webcam camera on your photobooth. Yes you could. However, I do not recommend a webcam other than for a non- attended photobooth designed for social media because the quality standard amongst the market leaders is DSLR cameras, and most photobooth software supports Canon DSLR cameras.
There was a time when DSLR cameras were reserved because of their price
Page 64 Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis point for professional photographers. Today however, even many consumers who demand better quality are buying DSLR cameras at places like Walmart, so the prices have gone down, and if you try to run a photobooth with less than a DSLR, I am sure your competitors will quickly point that out when they are comparing themselves with you.
I also recommend that you use a good quality flash with your camera, especially in an open booth setting. Whereas in a closed booth, the lighting in the booth can be controlled with properly placed lights (yet another reason to benefit from the expertise an established booth setup rather than experimenting yourself) in an open booth you will encounter different lighting situations with just about every setup. Sometimes you will be in bright light, other times the ambient light will be quite dark. Yes you can add your own professional stationary lights and if you know what you are doing you can adjust the apertures and ISOs to accommodate that particular location, but a flash helps to compensate and adjust to just about any lighting situation. I have also found that the flash tends to create a more dynamic picture and tends to highlight the subjects and their faces better than the background. It is only with green screen photography that you have to be careful to add additional lights to minimize the shadow effect that the flash tends to create.
Printers If you want to be taken seriously, you need to use a DYE-SUBLIMATION printer. The most common dye-sub printers being sold by the various printer manufacturers in 2014 are the Mitsubishi CP-D707DW, Mitsubishi CP- D70DW, DNP DS-RX1 and HiTi P510L. These printers are all in the $700 to $1000 range.
They are used by almost all photobooth operators and are known both for their reliability and relative low cost per print, in almost all cases less than .20 per 4X6 print, and often closer to .12 . Dye-sub printers are one of the only type of printers where you can calculate precisely the cost of your prints.
Many people wonder why dye-sub printers are the standard for professional photobooth companies, and that was one of the questions I had when I first started in the business. One of the main advantages of dye-sub printers is that the photos are dry and ready to handle the second they exit the printer. Since the dye never enters a liquid state, this also means that for mobile applications, there are no liquid inks to clean up, the printing cycle is much more clean and there are few moving parts that can break down. Almost all the dye-sub printers have a reputation for being extremely reliable, and this is what you need for a printer that is constantly on the go. Dye-sub printers create pictures that are photo-lab quality and with dye-sub printers there is no problem with printing right to the edge of the paper.
For a BACKUP printer only you may want to consider a Canon Selphy printer. While they are technically dye-sub entry level printers, they are very slow and
Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis Page 65 awkward to use, so I would never ever recommend using them as your primary printer. For strictly backup purposes however, they are small and cheap and will do the job in the rare instance your pro dye-sub printer breaks down.
Backdrops If you are doing a large number of photobooths, you need to standardize your backdrops.
I carry 3 backdrops to all events – a black one (most commonly used), a white one, and a green one for green screen.
I do have a variety of other backdrops that I will take along on request. I also bought a few canvas backdrops that I will only bring along on request, but they do make very nice photos.
There are also times that I will suggest to the client that the backdrop be the natural backdrop of the location, be that a brick wall, outdoor landscape and so forth. Many times at Christmas parties I will set up next to the Christmas tree as the backdrop. Certainly those pictures very nicely represent the mood of the party.
Tables (Banquet) I generally will bring along 3 tables to add to the photobooth setup. One is a 4 foot rectangular table on which I place the props and the other 2 are highboy tables on which I place either more props, a 2nd monitor, or which I use to create the scrapbook at a wedding. I highly recommend spandex table covers for all of the above. While the spandex does not last forever, it creates a very clean and modern looking setup, which is something that can differentiate your booth from the other less professional booths you may be competing against. Here are a couple of online suppliers I have found good deals at in the past: www.banquettables.com 24X42 with FREE SPANDEX $84.99 special www.banquettables.pro www.displays2go.com search Bar Table Covers with 31” X 42” Highboys
Insurance We all hate talking about and dealing with insurance, no-one more so than me. I think the only people that probably like dealing with insurance are lawyers (LOL) and even then I don't think that they like dealing with their own insurance, just other people's.
Page 66 Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis Now, let me insert my disclaimer here. People may call me a lot of different things (LOL) but one thing I definitely am NOT is a lawyer. That said, nothing I write here should be considered in any way, shape or form, legal advice. You should always consult your lawyer to ensure that any decisions you may reach with respect to your business meet with your jurisdictions requirements.
So now that I have said that, we all know that we live in a society where people like to sue people, sometimes for just cause, and sometimes not. When you run any business, you must be careful that your life's work, and sometimes even your home and so forth, are not wiped out by a single incident that may in some cases not even be your fault. Maybe you were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. I am not trying to sell insurance, and I wish there was a way around it, but this is just an ugly fact of life.
Some people like to take chances, but especially if you have a family and a home, I would recommend that you not be one of them. There are two primary types of insurance when it comes to photobooths – Liability insurance and contents insurance. Liability insurance is designed to protect you if someone sues you and content insurance covers your equipment if it is stolen or in certain circumstances damaged.
I would first check with your local insurance agent to see what kind of a deal he can make for you. I would then get at least 3 other quotes if not more. I would also compare it to insurance policies promoted by associations such as the National Association of Mobile Entertainers. Their website is www.nameentertainers.com . Their insurance provider is Willis and they advertise that they provide liability and equipment insurance for all sorts of mobile entertainers including DJ's, bands, stage hypnotists, clowns, comedians, magicians, and of course photographers and photobooths. I am not necessarily endorsing this policy or any policy for that matter. I am just saying it is probably worth comparing to other policies out there to see what is in your best interest. Also, you may ask around with your local competition to see what insurance they have. I am sure many will tell you (though some will want to keep it a secret – LOL)
Other than protecting yourself, the other main reason for having insurance is that there are some venues out there that will not allow you on their premises without proof of insurance and some clients, especially institutional ones, will require you to have insurance before they even consider hiring you.
You should also be careful to make sure that your vehicle is properly classified. Insurance companies in general are notorious for not wanting to pay if they have any possible legal way out of it, and they have their armies of lawyers protecting their own interests. I'm not blaming them as I would probably do the same. All I am saying is to be truthful and always make sure you read the fine print.
If you have employees, you also need to check out the rules with respect to
Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis Page 67 workers compensation, as well as other mandated government fees, not to mention taxes. But like I said, I am neither an accountant nor a lawyer, so I will leave it at that.
Remote Support At a minimum you should have Teamviewer (www.teamviewer.com) set up on your pc. Many of the photobooth suppliers will load this onto their systems so that they can log into your system if you call them for support. Setting it up is free, but if you make use of it they do ask that you be fair and pay them. A competitor to Teamviewer is logmein (www.logmein.com) . This is strictly a pay-per-use program after an initial trial. While I do know of some people that use Logmein, I know more that use Teamviewer.
Paper Suppliers Paper will be a major cost of you doing business. You may choose to get your paper from a local supplier or you may choose to get it online. Also make sure to check with the manufacturer of your photo booth as they will have more experience in this area than you have.
One thing you need to know is that with all the major dye sub printer manufacturers, they sell the paper and the ribbon ONLY as a pair, or unit. You cannot buy the ribbon without the paper nor the paper without the ribbon. Or at least I have not seen it yet. (On a side note you often get leftover paper – I use this sometimes for request paper for DJ services)
While dye-sub paper and ribbon does have a reasonable shelf life it does not last forever. Learn the markings that indicate on each box when that paper was manufactured, and when you buy paper make sure that you are not getting stale-dated product. In the case of HiTi P510 paper there is a sticker right on the outside of the box that states when it was created. For other manufacturers you can generally get this information by going to the manufacturers website or you can definitely get it from the various blogs, if it is not blatantly obvious.
While there may be great deals to be had buying the paper in quantity, I would never buy more than a one year supply no matter how good the deal. If you see a deal that just seems too good to be true, make sure the paper wasn't manufactured in 2005. (LOL)
With dye-sub paper (because of the ribbon) take a bit of extra care to make sure that the paper does not go to extreme temperatures. On the HiTi boxes, it is recommended that the paper does not get colder than 5 degrees Celsius or hotter than 35 degrees Celsius. Converted in fahrenheit this would be a range of 41 to 95 degrees.
Page 68 Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis Sometimes I have no choice but to carry this paper into temperatures beyond this range but I do my best to make sure it does not stay in that range for long. I do not leave the paper in a car or van overnight and during the coldest winter days or hottest summer days will place the paper and printer in the passenger compartment rather than in the trunk where it can get very cold or very hot.
I have bought my paper from a number of suppliers and am currently looking at re-selling myself. One supplier I have personally had a good experience with myself is:
Photo Finishers Supplies Inc. 11-22 44th Road Queens, NY 11101 800-786-8730 www.pfsny.com
Scrapbooks I have probably gone through more suppliers in this category than in any other. There are so many options for scrapbooks out there. Most people will start off getting their scrapbooks from the big-box craft stores such as Michaels and Hobby Lobby and then gradually move to online and wholesale outlets as their volumes increase. Hobby Lobby also sells their products online. 2 products they offered in 2013 that you might want to consider:
12X12 Post Bound Scrapbook Album – The Paper Studio Item 621680 - UPC 09720 11233 Retail $9.99
8X8 Album Item 798686 - UPC 09720 14576 Retail $8.99
Colorbok also has some very good offerings and in Canada I have had some luck with the following supplier:
Forever In Time Scrapbook Collection (Albums and Scrapbooks) 12 in. X 12 in. (30.5 cm X 30.5 cm) Code 081-SA200-242-0712 SA200B Cream (also available in black) Imported by MultiCraft Imports Inc. Ottawa, ON Canada K1B 1E3 Made In China www.multicraftimports.com
Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis Page 69 Creating Templates Creating or using attractive looking templates will be one of the factors that will differentiate yourself from your competitors. In the wedding market more often than not the name of the bride and groom will appear at the top of the strip and the wedding date will appear at the bottom. This can be done relatively easily by using photo editing program such as Adobe Illustrator, Corel Paint or even free ones such as www.getpaint.net . If you are using Breeze software for your photobooth, then any of these programs will allow you to edit your headers and footers. The corporate market will be a bit more demanding and you will more often than not be creating custom templates with their logos and different picture layouts. If you are very creative you can create these from scratch yourself, but you may also want to look at buying pre-made templates online. Some manufacturers or franchisees will include templates with their offerings, but if that doesn't apply to you simply do your research online and find places you can purchase these yourself.
I Love Free Software Programs – Especially Open Office For years I got tired of making Bill Gates richer and richer by buying legal and EXPENSIVE versions of Microsoft Office. Sure, it is a great program suite but the commercial version costs about $400 and every year or 2 they will try to get you for another $200 for the upgrades. No, the alternative is NOT getting a not-so-legal copy – I would never suggest that – I don't do that and it could be very dangerous especially in a commercial setting. The much better alternative is a FREE and LEGAL alternative to this program that in my opinion is every bit as good. OPEN OFFICE. This document was originally developed using OPEN OFFICE. To download it go to www.openofffice.org If you want to transfer documents to people who use Microsoft Office you can save any document in WORD format.
Other Shareware / Freeware For simple editing applications one of my favorite editors is free and can be downloaded at www.getpaint.net . For editing my green screen backgrounds I like to use PhotoPad http://www.nchsoftware.com/photoeditor/index.html .
SyncBackFree, available at www.2BrightSparks.com is a free file backup & synchronization program. It’s easy to use, and even the free version includes many options for the power user. For more powerful features they also offer SyncBackPro for a modest fee. If you want to save some time at the end of
Page 70 Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis the night and are giving your pictures to the customer on a USB stick, you may want to consider using Syncbackfree to back up the photos onto the USB stick as the night goes on, rather than waiting till the end of the night.
Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis Page 71 Buy The Right Photobooth
Image Courtesy of Atlanta Photo Booth / Extreme Event Design
There are many options and many things to consider when entering the photobooth business. Make sure to shop around and look at features vs. prices of the various systems.
Proprietary vs. Open Systems Some systems require that you use their printer paper sometimes at an additional cost. The tradeoff of this is a guaranteed system that works and followup and continual service after the initial sale. Look at these options and decide the benefit of such vs. the limitations.
Should You Try to Make One Yourself Are a you a design expert? Are you a manufacturer?
Well then maybe.
However, for the other 99.9 percent of us we will spend much more money trying to do it ourselves especially when there are companies out there that have made hundreds of booths and put their knowledge and expertise into the
Page 72 Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis design of every booth.
Do Not Gamble, or Gamble On A Sure Thing If you are not sure that you can sell a photobooth, try it before you buy. If you only get 2 bookings and decide you do not want to buy, if you tell us beforehand and we trust you, we will rent you the photobooth for those events.
If on the other hand, you have thousands of dollars in business beforehand, then well, by all means buy!
Image Courtesy of EZ Photo Booths
Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis Page 73 HIRING EMPLOYEES
So you are a great photobooth attendant and operator. Maybe you are certain you will never need to hire any employees. If that is the case feel free to skip this chapter.
More likely, however, that time will come when you find you can take on much more business if only you have more systems and some employees. When you are turning away more business than you are accepting, most of us will look at expanding. Of course, the hard part becomes, how do you duplicate yourself?
You must FIND personality – you can't teach personality.
Most people don't do this, but I like to find out a bit about my employees before letting them through the front door.
Reference Check A general script for a reference check could go something like this:
Hello. This is (INSERT YOUR NAME) with (INSERT YOUR COMPANY NAME) and I would like to verify the employment information for (INSERT APPLICANT NAME) who is applying to us for the position of photobooth attendant. May I verify some information with you regarding their work history?
Page 74 Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis First verify their dates of employment to make sure that they correspond to what the applicant has written on the application.
Then ask if the applicant would be eligible for rehire at the previous company if a suitable position were available.
Possible answers would be YES, NO, and UNSURE.
If no then discreetly try to ask why.
Also, ask how they would rate the applicant in comparison to people they have worked with in similar positions:
Once again, look for the answers: EXCELLENT, GOOD, FAIR or POOR.
Now, many companies will only verify dates of employment and the larger the company the less likely you will get anything other than start and finish date, but I would always like to do my due diligence for my company and follow up on the references.
FACEBOOK / TWITTER / GOOGLE CHECK
Generally, the wisdom goes that you should not put anything on the internet that you don't want the world to see, but many people don't follow that wisdom.
Isn't it better to find out the dirt on your employees before they are on your payroll.
QUESTIONS TO ASK IN AN INTERVIEW:
1. Why do you want to be a photobooth attendant? 2. We advertise to our clients that we provide them with FUN INTERACTIVE ATTENDANTS, people persons. This is who we need to hire. Tell me what about yourself would make you fit into this role. 3. Would you describe yourself as punctual? Give examples. 4. Are you able to lift 60 lbs. 5. What is the closest job you have had to that of a photobooth attendant? 6. What were your expectations of that job? Why did you leave? 7. What is your educational background? 8. What other job or jobs do you currently hold? 9. What do you like to do on a Saturday night? 10. What is the biggest challenge you have ever faced? 11. What do you already know about our company? 12. Where do you see yourself a year from today – 5 years from today? 13. Discuss a time when your integrity was challenged.
Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis Page 75 Obviously there will be some trial and error here as there is no 100 percent fool proof way to hire the right person.
Define Your Wish List The first thing you need to define is your wish list for the particular position for which you are hiring. If you don't know what you are looking for how can you have any hope of finding the right person or persons. Define which skills you need them to have already and what you can teach them. In the examples below I will use the position of “Photobooth Attendant” or “Photobooth Operator” or “Photobooth Cast Member”,
Teachable Skills Breeze Software Photography Skills Company Procedures
Inherent Skills These are the skills that your candidates had better bring to the table.
Drive Personality Ethics Basic Computer Skills Transportation
Put Yourself In Their Shoes Why do they want this job? – Are they right for it? What do they want out of the job and can you give it to them? Will they stick around?
Sometimes You Have To Use Your Gut Trust your gut. If you get a bad feeling run don't walk away.
Don't Let Bad Attitudes Through The Door
Bad attitudes are contagious – stop it at the door. positive attitude will they represent the company as well as you do not look at the clock - (if you need to keep track of the time then place the watch on a table) do not look at the cell phone (nothing portrays more that you don't care)
Page 76 Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis Think outside the box when looking for people CRAIGSLIST KIJIJI MONSTER.COM
Check them out in the social media – esp FACEBOOK – google them
Actually check out references – even though you know some of them may be fake (LOL) – that counts against the prospective employee.
Once you have them hired – how do you retain staff?
Constant Contact
Always conduct an exit interview – often someone walking out the door will be more honest and forthcoming than someone who still depends on you in whatever form for a paycheck.
Employee Or Subcontractor? In most cases the staff member that you are sending out on these events will be an employee. We recommend consulting with your accountant or lawyer for more details. But simply remember these bullet points to determine subcontractor or employee from the Internal Revenue Service. Behavioural Control – do you as the employer have the right to direct how the work is done? If yes – Employee, If no, and they just have to complete the job contracted – Subcontractor Financial Control – if the worker has to invest in costly equipment to complete the job – they would be a subcontractor. Who controls the money. Relationship of the Parties – Benefits are only for employees, do they work for others doing similar work?
Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis Page 77 NETWORK NETWORK NETWORK
In almost every business success I can point to, I can credit the amount of networking I have done.
Some people shy away from meeting others in their industry and giving away what they think are their trade secrets.
I am of the opposite opinion. I don't think there are many industries out there that are based on “secrets” - well maybe Kentucky Fried Chicken, but beyond that people have succeeded because of hard work, persistence, dedication and education.
Remember, when you are talking to someone else they are talking to you as well. A smart man is one who learns from his own mistakes. An even smarter man is one who learns from the mistakes of others. Attend trade shows. Join associations. I am not saying that every association is worth joining and worth your time, but the better ones, and ones that relate to your market are.
Learn Learn Learn The first place to educate yourself about photobooths is on the internet. Go to youtube or google photobooths. You will literally find a wealth of information. Many of the photobooth manufacturers have tons of videos that you will find very worthwhile and instructional.
Here are just a few websites that have worthwhile blogs and other information you can learn from:
www.photoboothcity.com www.photoboothtalk.com www.photoboothowners.com
Page 78 Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis Learn everything you can about photography through seminars and courses - Photographers have an edge on DJs with this one so you need to catch up (of course DJs have the edge on photographers when it comes to entertainment).
If you are a DJ you will have to get yourself up to speed relatively quickly on basic photographic techniques, especially if you have not done any professional photography.
Now don't get scared – it's not that hard. I did it a couple of years ago. The most common photobooth software out there and the one I am most familiar with is Breeze. Play with the settings in Breeze and see what they do. And remember, practice makes perfect. Here are just a few things to look out for when you are trying to make better pictures:
1. Framing 2. Lighting and Color 3. Motion Blur 4. Grain (keep ISO at lowest level while ensuring adequate light) 5. Flash – helps to keep even skin tone and focus on the face
Over time you will develop an eye for making good pictures.
Most professional photobooth companies will use DSLR cameras and DYE SUB printers – its almost mandatory – but you still need to know how to use them.
Conventions Conventions of all kinds are available that will help to serve you in your business. Picking the right one or ones for you to go to is something you need to do some research on. Mobile Beat's DJ Conference every February in Las Vegas is produced by the publisher of this book and would love to have you in attendance. While geared towards Djs, a large percentage of the seminars will be applicable for anyone in the wedding and event production industry thus worth attending. Also look into WPPI and other national and regional shows when considering what to attend to grow your business, find out about new trends and network with other professionals like yourself.
Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis Page 79 SOCIAL MEDIA AND PHOTOBOOTHS
Image courtesy of Colorado Sound and Light
In the photobooth world, being able to connect to social media on the internet is the new big thing.
There are many new photobooth stations coming out where that is all they do – you don't actually get a picture, but you can send it directly to your email, or to Facebook or Twitter, or whatever the new internet sensation of the day happens to be.
In order to be able to have the pictures sent to the internet, you must have some sort of connection to the internet yourself.
Perhaps this is thru wifi at the the venue. I have also tethered my cell phone creating a “mobile hot spot”.
Then you need software that will allow this.
The program I am most familiar with is a program called Photo Booth Connected www.photoboothconnected.com which allows you to monitor a folder and when an image is added it will immediately pop up on the screen and allow you to send the photo to a myriad of places.
I have tested this program out but have only used it sparingly because it slows down the speed at which I can process people through the photobooth.
Page 80 Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis So, unless a customer is insisting on it, I generally have not been offering it.
I know what some people have done is to network the main photobooth computer to a print or send station that people can line up separately to send off their photos. This is definitely a solution to the line problem but of course it complicates immensely your entire photobooth setup.
There are many photobooth suppliers out there that simply make photobooths for social media exclusively. For one thing these photobooths are much lighter as there is no printer component and consequently there is no paper and toner cost as well. Many of these photobooths actually use webcams which makes them even lighter. While I generally believe a DSLR camera should be used for most photobooth applications, for the social media booth, in most cases a webcam does do the job.
There will be much more to write in the coming months and years as this whole part of the photobooth market continues to expand.
Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis Page 81 WHERE TO HOST PHOTOS
There are many many places to host photos online but not all suit the needs of a photobooth operator equally. Many photobooth companies have chosen www.smugmug.com to host their photos, probably because once you pay their subscription fee, you can upload an unlimited number of photos, it is relatively easy to upload the photos, you can have it seamlessly connect to your website with your own branding, and as well you can load up to 10 minute videos. Though their pricing is in the middle of the pack it is certainly affordable. If you are just hosting and not selling the photos the cost (as of 2014) is $150 per year, and if you want the ability to sell them then it is $300. I would probably take the $150 package for the free photos, which most of your photos will be as it is included in the package, and then perhaps find somewhere else to “sell” photos you may want to sell. If you are selling a lot of photos then by all means go for the
Page 82 Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis higher package, but I am pretty sure that in addition to the $150 they charge you a 15% commission (I could be wrong about that as I just read it somewhere), so you may want to do some window shopping. I know smug-mug does the job but here are a few of their competitors. The best thing to do is to ask around and see what other companies are using. Some of the websites below are more consumer oriented and may not have all the features you need. The one thing for me that would be a deal-breaker would be a limit on uploads, which some of the websites I am listing below have. The other deal-breaker would be not being able to seamlessly connect to the photo sharing page from your own webpage with your own branding. Also you must be able to assign an individual password to every event. Beyond that see if the hosting site meets the needs of your individual business. www.phanfare.com www.stickyalbums.com www.photobucket.com www.flickr.com www.picasagoogle.com www.shutterfly.com www.snapfish.com www.photobox.com www.kodakgallery.com www.webshots.com www.photoshelter.com www.shootproof.com www.instagram.com www.imgur.com www.deviantart.com www.twitpic.com www.imageshack.com www.tinypic.com www.4chan.com www.fotolog.com www.photo.net www.slide.com Anyway, you get the idea. There are a lot more I have not even listed.
Advertise with Photo Hosting Give a card to everyone at the event that looks suspiciously like your business card. However on the back of the card is a sticker that gives them the information they need to retrieve their photos.
The beautiful thing here is that they have to go to your website to get access to the site that hosts your photos. Or at least I certainly hope you make them go to your site first. Think about it. If there are 500 people at your event, here are 500 new prospects. You will be amazed at the number of people that will be visiting your website.
Always hand out access cards. Referral business is the best business, and the least price conscious business. You pay hundreds, if not thousands of dollars to participate in a bridal show, so you can hand out your business cards and information at a show in which you are competing with any number of other photobooths. At a function, you have a captive audience of sometimes as many people as attend a trade show. What better way is there to promote yourself? Remember, to access their pictures, make sure they have to go to your web site.
I recently had someone tell me that rather than giving out cards they post this information on a sticker that they put on the back of each and every photo strip they hand out. They believe that the sticker will be remembered longer
Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis Page 83 on the strip than a card will. This is a possibility and I may test this out to see if they are in fact right. Along the same lines, if someone has any input regarding this or any other issue I would really like to hear from you.
Page 84 Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis GREEN SCREEN
Personally I love green screen. To me it adds immensely to the value of the booth. Maybe it is because of my own creative nature but although it is an add-on/up-sell I actually prefer to do a green screen photobooth as compared to one without. On a few rare occasions I even offered to do the green screen free at no extra charge after the client had booked the photobooth without green screen, just because I happened to like that particular customer, and of course they graciously accepted.
What Is Green Screen In the broadcast industry, green screen is technically known as Chroma Key or Chroma Keying, and its history dates back to the 1930's. Feature film producers make regular use of it, but the most recognized use of it is in the nightly news shows where it is almost always used in weather reports.
I understand that green was originally selected for chroma key because ordinary human skin of all races does not have any green components in it.
Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis Page 85 While green remains by far the most common background color for chroma key, in theory any color can be used, and the second most commonly used color is blue. I actually haven't seen any other color being used but in theory it is possible.
Green screen is actually pretty simple. Whatever software you are using simply looks for any use of the selected color which from this point forward we will consider green, and replaces it with the supplied background. More technically, the chroma keying program takes a sample of any green pixel it finds on the photo and replaces that with the corresponding pixel of whatever color from the background image. A case where an alternate color such as blue would be used would be in the case where the subject was wearing the color green.
As you may already know, if for example the subject was wearing a green dress, well in the green screen picture it would look like she didn't have a body. The dress would now become a part of the green screen background. In testing this out I have worn green t-shirts on occasion, and basically what happens is that it looks like I just have a head and arms and the rest of me just disappears.
I have actually never switched the green screen to blue (though this option is available with the BREEZE software I mostly use) because in my experience people who are wearing green actually have fun with this reality and it can create some pretty interesting pictures.
Most photobooth software packages include green screen. Specifically I know that the current versions of Breeze and Social Booth (www.photoboothsolutions.com) include Green Screen.
While green screen can be a lot of fun, you do have to know a bit more about photography, subject placement and lighting.
Lighting And Subject Placement Is The Key To Making Excellent Green Screen Pictures
In real estate, they say that the three most important things are location, location and location.
Well, in green screen photography or photoboothing, the most important thing is location, location and lighting.
How you handle location and lighting will be the difference between OK and truly great photos.
When I say location, what I mean is the placement of the subject or subjects relative to the green screen backdrop. To achieve the greatest result, you
Page 86 Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis want to keep the subject as far away from the backdrop as possible. Five-ten feet is ideal. Unfortunately this is not always possible on site as the space is not allotted but try in all cases to keep the subjects at least 2 feet from the backdrop. Do not place them right up against the backdrop and if that is where they want to go then tell them to move forward. The main reason for this is to reduce the shadows that create jagged edges or “jaggies” around the subject.
When it comes to lighting, do everything you can to make sure that the subjects are better and more lightly lit than the backdrop. The first step in achieving this is to use a flash. I generally recommend this with all photobooths in any case as it creates better color composition, allows you to use a lower ISO, compensates for different lighting conditions without having to make major adjustments, and accents the faces of the subjects, but in green screen photography it is even more important that the subjects are better lit than the background.
For a more serious photo shoot and where space allows consider adding professional photographic lighting. For the best green screen photographs you want to keep the ISO settings as low as possible and preferably at 100 or even lower if possible. With professional lighting you can lower the ISO. Since higher ISO settings create pictures with much more noise, this creates the possibility that the pixels on the green screen will be less green, or not green at all and may not be replaced in the picture. The picture below is one I experimented with where not all the green screen was removed.
Occasionally you will be asked to do green screen outside. While it is possible and during the day there is usually no shortage of light, try to stay out of the sun as it may create unwanted shadows and bring along your lighting just as if you were in a dark room. Who knows, the photobooth could be such a hit that they ask you to stay well into the night. In any case if you rely on natural light and don't know how to make adjustments when the natural light changes,
Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis Page 87 which I can guarantee it will as long as the earth keeps circling the sun, you could get into some jams.
Amazingly professional lighting is much cheaper than you would think, can make your booth look more professional and these lights definitely make better pictures. If you don't have the space for such lighting, work lights from the hardware store will do the job but probably won't look as professional.
The other thing that professional lighting does is eliminate shadows that the flash might create when someone holds up a prop, or for other reasons. Just remember to place the professional lighting in such a position that it evenly lights up the green backdrop and does not create hot-spots.
Creative Uses Of Green Screen I haven't done this myself yet, but I found one of the most creative uses of green screen in the tourist shops of Niagara Falls.
For years (and I'm going back as far as the 1970s) , there used to be shops where you would ascend a few stairs behind a barrel and then your group got their picture taken in a barrel. They tell you to look scared and then snap the picture. It was a very nice personalized souvenir that you could purchase at a premium price. The picture looked quite real and obviously it was very popular as these shops lasted for the better part of 30 – 40 years.
Well, a couple of years ago, passing these very same shops, I noticed that the physical barrels were gone and instead they had replaced their backdrops with just a green background. I actually thought that the physical location was a bit less appealing visually then the former “take your picture in a barrel” setup, but nonetheless, since they were photographing everyone ascending in this case the Skylon Tower, I went ahead and got my whole family photographed.
Of course, after you take the elevator back down from the tower, you exit into an area where you can digitally see your picture not just in a barrel, but also in a variety of locations in Niagara Falls. The quality was quite good so of course I did purchase a couple of these pictures. Once again, they were not cheap. I think I paid something like 25-30 dollars.
Similarly if you go to Las Vegas and decide to visit the Stratosphere Tower, they will take your picture in front of a green background before ascending the elevator, and on your return you will have a choice of receiving very nice pictures of yourself at various locations throughout the city, and if I remember right in the desert as well. And yes, I remember this because I paid the 20 or 30 bucks they charged to get the very nice pictures.
Page 88 Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis Photokey 6 Photokey 6 seems to have become the leading green screen editing program for photographers. I first learned about it during several photography shows, seminars and courses that I have attended in the last while.
I am sure I will buy a copy some day soon but as Breeze has so far met my needs for Green Screen strictly for the photobooth I haven't been able to cost justify the $299 price tag so far, but I did take some time to download the demo version and played with it for a while. It is quite intuitive.
What this program does allow you to do is take any green screen photo with the green background and blend it with any greenscreen background you may need to use. In testing out the demo I did find it to be very intuitive, a feature I like to see in any software.
If at some time your Green Screen career leads you to editing photos for your clients, this is definitely a program you will need to get.
The website for the program is:
http://fxhome.com/photokey-6-pro
If you really want to learn more about this program Dave Cross at F.J.Westcott is the go-to guy. I have attended a couple of his seminars and have asked him some questions, and this guy really knows his stuff. He has a great series of videos on youtube and anyone who is serious about green screen should watch them. Here is the link to one of them:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTrpIDh9LaE
Of course the Photokey program does have its competitors. Some I have come across include:
www.greenscreenwizard.com
I downloaded the demo version of this program also and it seems that it has a relatively easy user interface as well. If you explore the website they teach a lot about green screen and even sell backgrounds and magazine templates. When I have a chance to catch my breath I will definitely be exploring this site further.
One of my businesses specifically targets green screen and this is how I differentiate myself from some of my competition. I call my business ``Green Scream Photobooth`` and a couple of my slogans are ``I Scream You Scream We All Scream For Green Scream`` (I credit my son Derek for that one) and ``More Fun Than A Roller Coaster``.
Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis Page 89 FLIP BOOKS
Offering flipbooks as part of your photobooth experience is something that you can use to differentiate yourself from the competition as not that many people in the business, including myself, offer flipbooks at the moment. I plan to soon, but have not done it yet.
Just to give you some background, with a flipbook, guests record a short animation using video capabilities of photobooth software, and then can play back the animation by quickly flipping through the pages of a printed flipbook that you create for them.
As with photobooths, flipbooks are cross-generational. Very old people may remember kineographs, which eventually became the inspiration for motion pictures. It was basically a very short movie in a flipbook.
Flipbooks themselves were first patented in the United States by Henry Van Hovenbergh in 1882. They became very popular in the early 1900s when the Cracker Jack Company gave them away as their in-pack prizes. It didn't take long for other snack food and cereal companies to jump on board and by the mid 1900`s many other marketers had followed suit, including companies such as Disney and McDonald`s.
Many science centers that I remember going to over the years have displays that show how movies work using a circular-style flipbook. The faster you turn it, the faster the motion. They are featuring the work of Herman Casler, who in 1894 invented the Mutoscope. This is essentially a mechanized form of the flipbook which mounts the individual slides on a rotating cylinder rather then in a book. Even after the coming of motion pictures, the mutoscope
Page 90 Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis remained popular through much of the early and mid 20th century in penny arcades and amusement parks as a coin-operated machine.
Of course, fast forwarding to today, once DSLR cameras had video capability, software manufacturers were able to create flipbook software.
If you are thinking of adding flipbooks to your repertoire, the good news is that, other than buying the software, if you already have a photobooth, chances are you have much of what you need to create flipbooks without investing a whole lot more money.
Your dye sub printer must be one that cuts 4X6 sheets in half into 2X6 segments. Printers currently on the market in 2014 that allow this include the Mitsubishi CP-D707DW, Mitsubishi CP-D70DW, DNP DS-RX1 and HiTi P510L. In addition to this you will need to buy a Trimfast RE3943 ream cutter with quick release paper clamp, or its functional equivalent. These units appear to be selling on the internet in the range of about 600 dollars. I am not sure if there are ones you can get for less money.
Flipbook software is available at a reasonable price from Breeze systems and I am sure a number of other places as well. I have played around with a demo version of the software but as of yet have not coughed up the money to actually offer it. I may be buying the Breeze flipbook software soon as I just learned the new version now supports Green Screen which is something I like doing. It is not on the top of my priority list, but I am sure you will see me doing it sooner or later.
Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis Page 91 VIDEO
The good news is that if you are using the latest version of Breeze software you already have the capability to produce video segments for clients.
I am not sure if there was a similar show in the United States but in Canada there was a well know program called “Speakers Corner” from 1990 to 2008 which was basically a video booth where someone could say whatever was on their minds. People who watched this show know exactly what video booths are all about.
Mostly people ranted about various issues and even announced lost pets but every week the producers would pick the best clips and show them on TV. Speaker's Corner was also used by up-and-coming musicians to gain exposure. Barenaked Ladies, perhaps most famous nowadays for writing the theme song to the TV show “Big Bang Theory” used Speakers Corner early in their career to sing their future Canadian hit “Be My Yoko Ono” to the Speakers Corner audience. Although the show is no longer on the air, many people would request a wedding version of Speakers Corner at their wedding.
I have tested the video component of Breeze software and it does work. At the moment it is not something I am really pushing to my prospects and clients because with an open booth I have run into a number of issues.
The first issue is ambient noise. This is perhaps the one place where a closed booth is superior to an open booth, as the amount of ambient noise is reduced and as well, it is easier to capture the voice of those being recorded.
The other issue is that yes, you can record people and give the recording to the bride and groom at the end of the night, but really the big draw of
Page 92 Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis photobooths is being able to give instant satisfaction to the guests in the form of a photo strip.
At the current time I don`t have a convenient way of perhaps allowing them to immediately upload to youtube or some wedding site. For this reason, while I do offer video upon demand, it is not something I am really pushing. Who knows, however, in the future it may be the next big thing.
Other Variations In addition to things like Green Screen, Flipbooks, and Video, photobooth software writers are coming up with all sorts of wonderful and wacky variations. Digital graffiti, drag-and-drop props and many other exciting innovations are making their way into photobooth software.
Image Courtesy of Photo Box Interactive
Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis Page 93 ARE PHOTO PRINT STATIONS THE NEXT FRONTIER?
In addition to photographers and photobooths, there is another new trend at weddings, namely guests shooting pictures with their cell phones and other mobile devices.
Wouldn't it be nice to able to print these photos on the night of the wedding? This is where mobile photo print stations come into play.
With Instagram being the new (in the last few years anyway) site to go to, wouldn't it be nice for guests to print off their photos.
Many people remember going to print stations at their local drug store or supermarket with their digital SD Many people still do that.
I am keeping a close eye to see how quickly this catches on in the wedding market.
Page 94 Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis AND SOME FINAL WORDS OF WISDOM
Do Not Be Late As an absolute minimum, never ever ever be late to your gigs. I can not stress this enough.
If you have employees, PAY THEM, yes PAY THEM to arrive earlier than the contract time. Also pay and instruct them to stay a little later if necessary.
If the contract says you will arrive an hour and a half before the function, be there 2 or even 2 and a half hours before.
At a wedding this is the bride's special day. She wants it to be stress free. You are not going to be in her good books if she is worried about you arriving.
Other than a total system breakdown, showing up late is perhaps the worst thing that can happen. Before you even arrive you have invoked a sense of anxiety and a negative image in the customer's mind. It would take twice as good a job if not more to reverse that, though I have seen that happen. If ever there is a time for punctuality (no pun intended) this is it.
If for some uncontrollable reason you are unavoidably detained, call ahead both to the client and/or the venue to let them know you are coming.
Dress To Impress
Take your appearance seriously. I don't think I am exaggerating when I say that more people care what you look like (or your employees) than what your photobooth looks like. Or at least, if you don't look your best they will not even care about the booth. People (correctly or incorrectly) make the assumption that what the attendants are wearing reflects how they will perform in other aspects. This is especially important because there are a lot of "horror stories" out there about a people showing up in T-SHIRT AND JEANS to a wedding. Always dress to fit in with the crowd you are playing for and always look confident. It is fine to dress casually while setting up and then change (unless the facility itself has a dress code). However, if you get caught setting up in your set-up clothes, make it obvious to the party concerned that you will be getting changed.
Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis Page 95 Make A Confidence Call A simple call a few days before the event reassures the customer that you are coming. It also helps to create a rapport between you and the customer.
Also check all the important details to make sure nothing has changed. This didn't happen to me but I remember once during the confidence call that the bride had kept everything the same other than one detail – the GROOM. This was important to know beforehand.
Do Not Talk On The Cell Phone You are on the stage when you are working. Nothing says I don't give a rats butt about the job then constantly looking at your cell phone.
Don't Look At The Clock We all need to look at the click for timing reasons (and yes sometimes we want to know "how much longer"). But remember, you are "on stage" and people are looking at you. A good idea is to take the watch off your hand and put it on the table. That way, when you look at it is not made obvious to the crowd.
Buy A Power Source Checker These little units are cheap – usually from $5 to $20. And it only takes a few seconds to test your power source – but one day that $20 may save your $5000 photobooth.
Always Back Up Your Cables The most important thing to have backed up is cables. Always make sure you have a backup of the most critical cables. (which would probably be all of them)
Always have spare cables available (2 of everything)
More often it will be the connecting cables that fail rather than the equipment itself. Do not allow a $5 cable to be the reason for a thousand dollar refund.
Use A UPS (Uninterrupted Power Supply) At the very least use a surge-protected power bar ($50 could save you $5000 at some point – plus a refund)
Page 96 Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis Top Troubleshooting Tips
Remember Murphy's Law
Always carry your backup. Make sure you have tried it out and know how to connect it.
Don't Panic and Don't Advertise the Problem Unless You Have To
It is always better to temporarily shut off the system & fix a potential problem than risk a total system breakdown
Apologize Quickly
If something goes wrong and you have to resort to backup do it as quickly as possible. Once you are back up and running, QUICKLY apologize for the delay, offer a brief explanation and then try to make everyone forget it happened. FINISH THE NIGHT.
Dealing With Difficult Customers
Drunks
Do NOT allow a drunk person near your equipment. If they will not leave, stop taking pictures and ask someone to get rid of them. - Do NOT let someone take control of you!!!! YOU ARE IN CHARGE. HOWEVER, MAKE SURE YOU REMAIN COLLECTED AND PROFESSIONAL AT ALL TIMES.
Complaints
ALWAYS KEEP YOUR COOL - even when the other party doesn't The first thing to consider is whether the complaint could be valid. Some of our best ideas come from customers. If it is valid, then implement it, at least to some degree. If it is not valid, then consider who is giving you the complaint.
Things to Protect Yourself Against Liability Lawsuits
I) If you have a photobooth on a stand, take precautions to make sure that it cannot be knocked down. You may need to make a very heavy base to hold the booth and stand, but do not take chances. Test it out beforehand II) Be careful with the legs of speakers on stands (not in a high traffic area, or well marked (maybe put a chair in front). III) Be careful with cords on the floor. All cords in high traffic areas MUST BE
Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis Page 97 SECURELY TAPED DOWN TO THE FLOOR! IV) Do not let anyone "leave something" with you for safe keeping. You are not a coat check person. Kindly let the person know that you are not in the booth at all times, therefore, you cannot take responsibility for valuable items. V) Make sure you have insurance.
Image Courtesy of Photo Box Interactive
Page 98 Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis APPENDIX 1: PHOTOBOOTH WEBSITES
Hardware Sites Apple Industries – faceplacephoto.com Colorado Sound and Light – csnl.com Extreme Event Design/AtlantaPhoto Booth – extremeeventdesign.com EZ Photo Booths – ezphotobooths.com EZ Photo Booths in Canada – ezphotobooths.ca Innovative Photo – innovativephoto.com Kingdom Photo Booth – kingdomphotobooth.com LA Photo Party/Photo Party Upload – photopartyupload.com Limelight Photo Booth – limelightphotobooth.com Mojo Photo Booths – mojophotobooths.com Open Air Photo Booths – openairphotobooth.com Photo Box Interactive – photoboxinteractive.com Slomo Booths – slomobooths.com Vanity Photo Booths – vanityphotobooths.com Viral Booth – viralbooth.com
Software Sites www.breezesys.com www.photoboothsolutions.com www.sparkbooth.com www.memoryfactoryllc.com www.photoboof.com
Free or Shareware Software Sites Open Office www.openoffice.org
Paint Programs www.getpaint.net
Prop Sites www.4funparties.com www.windycitynovelties.com www.rinovelty.com
Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis Page 99 www.ctswholesalesunglass.com www.etsy.com (search for photobooth props) www.instaphotoprops.com www.papercutsandwoodworks.com www.sureglow.com www.djcompanionrecords.com (limbo sticks)
Photobooth Information Sites www.photobooth.net www.photoboothcity.com www.photoboothtalk.com www.photoboothowners.com
Photobooth Company Pages I Like www.funphotobooths.com
www.memorylanephotobooths.net
www.snapshotphotobooth.com
www.clearchoicephotobooth.com
www.neverforgetphoto.ca
www.thephotobooth.ca
www.flashphotobooth.ca
www.abbeyroadentertainment.com
www.photonovelty.ca
Page 100 Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis APPENDIX 2: MOVERS AND SHAKERS IN THE PHOTOBOOTH BIZ
Ryan Burger – Publisher of Mobile Beat Magazine and industry member for 20+ years. Disc Jockey Service owner for nearly 30 years.
When did your interest in photobooths first begin?
I got my first photobooth system from Open Air Photo as they were an early exhibitor at the Mobile Beat Las Vegas DJ Show and I saw immense possibilities in this for my own company. I have since purchased several more Open Air units and one from Kingdom Photo Booth that we sell as an up-sell from the standard booth because of it's additional functionality and finish.
How did you get your start in the photobooth business?
We purchased two booths and started marketing them along site our DJ service as a nice up-sell.
What do you enjoy the most about the photobooth business?
It's a definite change in pace from being the DJ at the event and I enjoy the shorter schedule and the high profitability of them.
What separates your company from your competition?
This is tough area to explain because there isn't a lot of separation now that Photobooths are all over our market. We offer two different booth systems, one more basic and portable and another more detailed.
What advice would you give to someone just entering the photobooth business?
Without a doubt research the booth types and softwares and consider them a package deal whether they come together from the booth manufacturer or they are sold separately.
What significant changes have you seen in the photobooth business recently?
Competition no doubt about it but also a wide variety of experiences for the client
Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis Page 101 What is the most challenging aspect of your business?
While I'm not involved in that part of the business as much as I used to be I still find it fun. As to a challenge related to the business it's differentiation of our company from all the others, a thing that customers can't know until they have experienced it, and often it's too late if they chose poorly.
What do you think the coming trends are in the photobooth business?
Extra features like Green screen, video experiences, etc.
Tell a story. What is the funniest or most unusual incident you have experienced in your business dealings?
Don't do enough of these myself to have such.
What strategies and mediums have you found to be most effective in promoting your photobooths?
Bridal Fairs and the web.
Jim Baxter – Colorado Sound and Light – Manufacturer of Photo Booths plus Event Production in Colorado.
CSNL’s “AFUNPHOTOBOOTH” delivers the best of many worlds. It’s compact, modular design makes it easy to transport in any passenger vehicle. No need for Vans, Trucks, or Trailers. Constructed in the US with high quality materials, finished in black carpet, and includes a slip cover to keep it looking new. Setup is fast and easy with only two components to set up and plug in.
Inside of your CSNL Photo Booth, everything is managed by a Lenovo Laptop, Canon Camera, and Breeze Systems software. This leading software is packed with features like green screen, email capture, and more. The CSNL 4 button wireless remote system will make the operator’s job easy allowing remote control of the functions at the event. The optional Hiti printer
Page 102 Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis cuts your strips, and is available in two different road cases for portability and protection.
As with every CSNL product, the photobooth comes with our unmatched service, support, and knowledge. We feel that we offer the best value in photo booths. Our price is competitive, and the operating cost is minimal for the end user. We are here to answer your questions, too! Tech support is just a phone call away.
When did your interest in photobooths first begin?
In 2009 we started to see the photobooths at trade shows. We knew it would be a hot trend in this industry.
How did you get your start in the photobooth business?
A customer kept asking if we would build him one. He knew our reputation for building “DJ Friendly” products. We had to test that prototype, so we added it to our event services. That prototype is still in use today.
What do you enjoy the most about the photobooth business?
Everyone is so happy to get their picture taken, everyone walks away smiling!
What separates your company from your competition?
We use green screen at every event, it really adds an element of fun. We use different background images throughout the event to keep people coming back.
What advice would you give to someone just entering the photobooth business?
Do your homework on the equipment. Try to find a balance of high quality and low operating cost. It has to be practical, look professional, and it must work every night.
What significant changes have you seen in the photobooth business recently?
Clients are not as set on seeing an enclosed booth, they often welcome the versatility of an open style setup. Also, the number of companies offering photo booths, and the reduction in rates as a result..
What is the most challenging aspect of your business?
Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis Page 103 The market is flooded with photo booths now. Competing with the $200 coupon website offers. (For $200, I saw a wedding client get a guy in a t-shirt, carrying a macbook and a sheet, with a half-empty inkjet printer!)
What do you think the coming trends are in the photobooth business?
Technology will keep the industry changing. Social Media integration and Guest-Interactive software will likely be the way to stay profitable.
Tell a story. What is the funniest or most unusual incident you have experienced in your business dealings?
I was hired for a large charity event, and the client wanted two booths to handle the volume of guests. A competitor was hired for the second booth. We were set up right next to each other. Because I had a green screen and could fit lots of people in frame, everyone passed his booth, and came to mine. Poor guy was bored to tears all night..
What strategies and mediums have you found to be most effective in promoting your photobooths? Least effective?
Still the most effective way for us to sell the service, is by packaging it with our other event services. We offer the DJ, Photobooth, and Uplighting, from a common source. Our clients appreciate the fact that they only have one vendor to coordinate all three services.
Brian Henry – QUALITY DJS – Ottawa ON Canada Voted Ottawa’s Favourite Company for 2013 by the Best Ottawa Business Awards
When did your interest in photobooths first begin?
Last year
How did you get your start in the photobooth business?
We started by renting booths from other suppliers until we bought our own booth
What do you enjoy the most about the photobooth business?
The interaction with the guests
Page 104 Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis What separates your company from your competition?
The quality of the equipment and booth and the overall fun experience our booths offer with our photobooth hostess
What advice would you give to someone just entering the photobooth business?
Invest in a good quality booth. There are already a lot of cheap booths. Stand out by offering a quality booth
What significant changes have you seen in the photobooth business recently?
Competition has lowered the price of photobooths that it is more difficult to make money from it unless its delivered and operated by the same person
What is the most challenging aspect of your business?
Educating clients on the quality of our booth versus others that are available at lower prices and lesser quality. Example: Our photos print in 8 seconds or less while some competitors offer printing on site but it takes 30 seconds and the print is not the same quality
What do you think the coming trends are in the photobooth business?
Giving more away – longer hours for the same price and more photos
Tell a story. What is the funniest or most unusual incident you have experienced in your business dealings?
Naked photos when people didn’t think anybody is around – and not realizing all photos are stored on the photobooth hard drive
What strategies and mediums have you found to be most effective in promoting your photobooths? Least effective?
Word of mouth is always the best and least effective is print advertising
FacePlace Photo Booths
Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis Page 105 Are Face Place Photo Booths a good fit for event planners?
If you are an event planner looking for a photo booth look no further! On top of our most popular Deluxe and Sapphire models, Face Place Photo also features two booths perfect for event planners looking specifically to rent photo booths. The Photo2Go easily folds up to almost half its size and in one step can easily be toted around by a single person! For those event planners focusing on wedding photo booth rentals, the Face Place Photo Wedding Booth is exactly what you are looking for providing beautiful custom upholstered panels and trim with a custom-made silver cushioned seat and built-in features specifically designed for weddings.
Why are Face Place photo booths so popular at weddings and other events?
Photo booths are back on the rise! Having a photo booth at your wedding has become one of the hottest trends over the past few years, and for good reason! Photo booths allow you to step away with a few friends or loved ones behind the curtain to capture memories that will last forever. People love the opportunity to snap a bunch of silly or romantic photos and events like weddings and birthday parties provide the perfect audience! On top of that, our Face Place Wedding Booth is so popular because it has special custom settings available for the bride and groom including a mosaic photo, video recordings, and the ability to save all photos from the night onto one neat CD.
Why Face Place Photo Booths?
Our booths continue to be most technically advanced photo booths in the world. From the internals of our booths, to their sturdy yet stylish cabinets to our best-in-industry software, we provide photo booths that are designed to meet the needs of our customers. We are always innovating and it shows in our products and software; Face Place Photo Booths are the only photo booth on the market capable of instantly sharing pictures to Facebook and TwitterINSTANTLY from inside the booth!
Page 106 Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis Mojo Photo Booth
The world's only patented, commercial-grade, portable photo booth for sale on the market. Mojo Photo Booth is proud to celebrate 6 years of providing service excellence in photo booths for sale to the event servicing industry.
Mojo Photo Booth is a true American company featuring the only U.S. Patented portable photo booth for sale anywhere. Our system was specifically designed and engineered for its light weight, portable dimensions and heavy- duty commercial-grade construction. Mojo Photo Booth has always been manufactured and operated with pride in the Midwest.
Our focus is in helping enthusiastic people and entrepreneurs who are eager in becoming self-employed. We pride ourselves in bringing you the only patented, commercial-grade, portable photo booth for sale on the market that offers a true turn-key business with “one-person portability.“
Clete Schroeder Limelight Photo Booth – iClick Mini
The iClick Mini is a multifunctional photo booth kiosk which offers photo, video, slow motion video and GIF animation in one ultra sleek portable unit. The modern award winning design combines high resolution photos and HD quality videos making it the ideal choice for those expanding their business or just starting out.
The iClick Mini can easily be branded for corporate events and with our social media photo and video sharing software, Pixposure, you’ll be able to reach new clients virally through social media networks such as Facebook and Twitter.
The iClick Mini offers an easy one person setup and breaks down into one flight ready ATA travel case for local or out of town events.
When did your interest in photobooths first begin?
2010.
How did you get your start in the photobooth business?
Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis Page 107 I was a professional wedding photographer who started doing photo booths as an add-on for wedding clients.
What do you enjoy the most about the photobooth business?
The smiles… I love seeing the enjoyment my booth gives people. It’s similar to the joy I received while being a wedding photographer and capturing the emotional moments between the bride and groom on their wedding day.
What separates your company from your competition?
First you can’t have an exceptional photo booth without great staff. We have friendly, inviting and fun staff members who bring fabulous energy to each gig. Pair that with unique, stylish photo booths and you have a successful business.
What advice would you give to someone just entering the photobooth business?
Go BIG or go home.
What significant changes have you seen in the photobooth business recently?
The number of people interested in starting a photo booth business.
What is the most challenging aspect of your business?
Constantly evolving into something better.
What do you think the coming trends are in the photobooth business?
We hear there is a lot of interest in slow motion video booths right now.
Tell a story. What is the funniest or most unusual incident you have experienced in your business dealings?
We have done a photo booth for dogs before, so …that’s pretty unusual.
Rob Savickis
Page 108 Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis Photobooth Book Author
My name is Rob Savickis and a rep for EZPhotobooths.
I started out as a DJ in 1987 and in the next ten years slowly grew the company into approximately a half million dollar a year operation.
Since 1997 I have been selling the DJ Companion Book, collapsible limbo sticks, and a variety of different items at DJ trade shows throughout the United States and Canada.
Mostly due to conflicts with my ex-wife with whom I was a partner, I left the company I founded in 2003 to go work in a casino. She kept the company running for 7 more years but wound it down in 2010.
In 2011 I decided to get back into the DJ business and after a short stint on my own was offered a full-time position as Operations Manager of one of Ontario Canada's largest DJ and photobooth operations.
In January 2014 I once again opened a retail store for DJS in Hamilton Ontario Canada as well as a photobooth and party planning outlet. I also released a new book START YOUR OWN PHOTOBOOTH BUSINESS at the 2014 Mobile Beat DJ Show.
In my quest to have a good photobooth supplier in my store, I spent a lot of time researching the many great photobooths there are out there to support the growing photobooth market and found lots of variance in the offerings by the various manufacturers. I suggest you do your research and find out what works best for you.
Ken Moss – Kingdom Photo Booth
Kingdom Photo Booth is the largest manufacturer of special event photo booths in the country, now with almost 1,000 customers in 13 countries and all 50 of the United States. Our incredible growth and leadership position within the industry really comes down to one thing: putting the needs of our clients above our own and success will follow. We go beyond saying that we care about your success, we actually do. The overwhelming majority of Kingdom clients own multiple booths because of the amazing experience they have with our company, both before and after they purchase from Kingdom.
Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis Page 109 Kingdom pioneered the Photo Booth rental industry in 2005 when most people had never heard of renting a booth for a party. In talking to thousands of brides, Suite 16s, and Mitzvah Mommies, we quickly learned what the rental client wanted and designed our booths around their desires. Clients want quality, they want beauty, reliability and a genuine booth experience that evokes the nostalgia of photo booths they’ve experienced in arcades, malls and at the beach. They also want the latest tech toys and social media options.
Kingdom Photo Booths operate our own exclusive software that always leads the industry. We were the first Photo Booth in the world that offered video messaging, email, Facebook uploads, custom design templates, and so much more. Just this past year we became the only Photo Booth in the world that comes with its own exclusive companion iPad application where all the pictures can wirelessly jump to an iPad and guests can digitally edit the pictures and upload them to Facebook, Twitter, tumbler, Flickr, email them, or request reprints back from the booth. Kingdom is constantly developing new software and our customers get free software upgrades forever, so Kingdom operators always have a significant advantage over their competition. With free upgrades and free tech support forever and a rock solid booth that works, our clients can focus on growing their business knowing that Kingdom is behind them all the way.
When did your interest in photobooths first begin?
We built the arcade for Cal Ripken when he built his first Little League stadium. At the end of the first season we had a commercial Photo Booth left over and didn't know what to do with it and someone suggested we rented out to them for a party. I thought it was a silly idea the time, little did I know it would alter my career for the next 10 years.
What do you enjoy the most about the photobooth business?
I love the fact that we are in a business based upon making people laugh and smile. We have the unique privilege of knowing clients take our equipment places that help folks celebrate some of the high point milestones of their lives.
What separates your company from your competition?
We humbly believe that we offer a superior product that excites the rental customer and service that exceeds the expectations of our clients. We have a full-time staff of 12 people that are devoted to servicing our clients, which is unmatched in the industry.
What advice would you give to someone just entering the photobooth
Page 110 Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis business?
Buying a photobooth will not make you money unless you know how you are going to acquire your customer base. First, draft a business plan on how you're going to sell your services. Then buy the best possible equipment you can afford and make sure there's a real company that stands behind it. Set your expectations high and make sure they offer marketing materials, coaching and training materials.
What significant changes have you seen in the photobooth business recently?
Since we offer four different models of photo booths, we know that the trend is moving from classic arcade style Photo Booth to a more open booth environment. Most people do not like cheesy looking pipe and drape rigs, they either want a totally open set-up or a classic booth but the trend is definitely towards open style.
What is the most challenging aspect of your business?
I love working with the owners of our photo booths and most of them work very hard to run their businesses professionally. The biggest challenge we face is when our clients hire part-time help and send them out with a booth and provide them with no training who then call us in a panic. Of course we are happy to help them and we have live, English-speaking tech support Monday through Saturday from 9 AM until midnight East Coast time.
What do you think the coming trends are in the photobooth business?
Social media is everything. One of Kingdom’s trademarks is “King of the Social Photo Booth Jungle”. It's the reason we spent $30,000 to develop our amazing iPad application that all of our clients enjoy for free. If you aren't offering a social media experience with your Photo Booth, you are already at a disadvantage behind your competition.
Stephen Lynch – Atlanta Photo Booth / Extreme Event Design
As one of the first of the portable event booth manufacturers, we helped to shape the current photo booth market by pushing the envelope to make photo booths more accessible to companies of all sizes. When we started, there were
Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis Page 111 only maybe one or two other companies making event photo booths, and we were often dismissed as a passing fad or "flash in the pan", but look at us now! Atlanta Photobooth has the largest user base of any of the photo units currently on the market. This is largely due to the relatively low cost of the equipment, the lack of proprietary media or software, and the scalability and upgrade-ability of our equipment. Whereas most companies sell a final product, we sell tools with an upgrade path, as well as longevity. We are the only manufacturer currently offering a unit that can be user repaired. Our company's philosophy has always been to offer a quality product at a decent price so that the customer can use the tools to make money. Lots of money! Because we have so many customers, we can sustain our business, and ensure that in another 7 years we will still be here. Our customer support is legendary. It's a simple fact that all photo booth units can do the same thing for the most part. The main factor becomes the presentation of the product to the customer. We understand that the customer doesn't care about anything other than whether it looks good, and whether it works reliably! There's always a new gimmick, but we tend to hold our course and continue with our original goal of not only staying the Industry Standard, but assuring that companies of all sizes can afford to utilize our industry standard equipment.
When did your interest in photobooths first begin?
My interest in photo booths began in the late 90's when I acquired several "dip and dunk" style mechanical photo booths from a storage facility auction. I was hooked!
How did you get your start in the photobooth business?
When I started investigating the possibility of outfitting older photo booths with digital equipment, there was neither software available to do so, not anyone else doing it. I met the author of a revolutionary software program that automated picture taking with a canon camera, and the rest was history. I was involved in the original development of the software, and shared my ideas freely online via several forums. Several photo booth companies got their start using ideas and methodologies that I developed and posted online. I originally had no intention of selling photo booths. As others in my industry saw my products, they would ask me to build them one. My wife actually was the one who got the whole Atlanta Photo booth thing rolling. She was frustrated that I was posting ideas online that others were taking and selling. She booked me a booth at an industry trade show, and bought me a plane ticket. I really didn't think anyone would be interested in my little product. When I came home with over 50 orders, I realized that maybe I was on to something. :)
What do you enjoy the most about the photobooth business?
Page 112 Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis Photobooths sell themselves. They make people happy. People like happy. They also make a lot of money. Making people happy while making money is a winner!
What separates your company from your competition?
Our presentation is far nicer than most of our competition. We also are fully committed to what we do. There are hundreds of individuals selling some photo unit or another. They come and go on a weekly basis. These are usually people trying to offset the cost of their own unit by selling things to other people. We are 8 years deep into the professional manufacturing side. We have a brick and mortar facility where Extreme Event Design and Atlanta Photo Booth cut, mill, weld, solder, draft every one of our products ourselves. No one has the longevity that we do. We also came up with a good deal of the technical innovations other employ these days, so who better to deal with when something goes wrong? Our products are professionally finished, perfectly manufactured, and technically sound.
What advice would you give to someone just entering the photobooth business?
Do not under any circumstances get sucked into anything involving a franchise fee, proprietary media or recurring expenses, or any input from a third party. Photo booths are simple you do not need anyone's help. Allowing anyone access to your pocketbook beyond the point of purchase is simply put "Stupid.. Stupid... Stupid!" Don't be a sucker! No matter what they say, it's always a better deal for them than for you!
What significant changes have you seen in the photobooth business recently?
The market has become muddied by the many amateur booth builders with nice websites selling products they can not afford to properly support. I recommend anyone looking to buy a booth give me a call to check out the people they're looking at dealing with. You want to buy from someone who has intentions, and infrastructure in place to support you in the future. Unlike most other companies, I will actually tell someone if I think another company's product is quality. I'm in it to sell my products and make money, but on the flip side, the photo booth community has been so good to us for so long, there's more to this whole thing than "how much money can I bilk everyone for". I've actually helped another company make a sale only to find that that person returned a year later to buy one from me. It's good Karma. I'm no B.S. that type of business comes back to bite ya!
What is the most challenging aspect of your business?
Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis Page 113 Educating potential customers as to what is an actual money maker, and what is just another gimmick that really won't have any effect on your bottom line. People call me asking about the strangest features. We cannot chase down every new "must have" feature and implement it or we'd not be able to keep up with normal production. I always try to let customers know that when you first see a new idea, you're going to overpay for it. Wait a few months and see if it sticks. If it does, there will always be 4 more options available at that time. Social Media apps are a great example of this. Early adopters overpaid for inferior products, many of which are not even being actively developed. These days, there are even free apps that are more full featured.
What do you think the coming trends are in the photobooth business?
It's hard to say. What the end user wants is very different than what the person buying the photo booth wants. I find that most customers want to take photos and have fun. Photo Booths are here to stay, and while there will always be subtle variations on the main theme, I don't see any game changing things on the immediate horizon.
Tell a story. What is the funniest or most unusual incident you have experienced in your business dealings?
I do remote support with my customers, so when they buy a unit, we schedule a time to get together online, I take over their booth and train them on their actual unit. Often this happens at night. I've learned to let customers know that the camera will turn on and that I will be able to see them. Even after the warning, I've had customers remote with me naked. Let's just leave it at that!
What strategies and mediums have you found to be most effective in promoting your photobooths? Least effective?
Get people in the booth. People are vain. They love photos of themselves. Every opportunity to put customers in the booth is a sales opportunity. Don't buy into these optimization companies, online marketers, or companies offering "Turnkey Websites" they're almost always of little value to you and a huge profit maker for the company taking your money. Be smart. Like every other service based business you can start, there are always the companies that ride on the coat tails of the industry, leeching on to your business ready to suck your bank account dry. If they're contacting you, and it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Though I try to stay out of my customer's business, I see so many just throwing money away month after month. It makes me mad, but it's not my place to say anything. Be smart! Your business will not explode in 2 months. it takes time,
Page 114 Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis and effort. Nothing will get your more business than beating the streets and making sure everyone you encounter knows you have a photo booth.
Scott Cavanagh – Innovative Photo
Innovative FOTO has been a recognized international leader in photo booth manufacturing since 1995 and is currently the largest manufacturer of professional, commercial-grade photo booths in North America. Back in 2005, we started receiving rental inquiries from customers all over the country who had used one of our thousands of coin-operated photo booths found in malls, and we quickly realized a great market opportunity was at hand. So, we began designing booths exclusively for the rental industry so that this traditional and timeless entertainment experience could be enjoyed at family events, school functions, corporate events, and gatherings of all kinds. In 2007, we launched the “Eventure” Portable Photo Booth - the first commercially available portable photo booth. Since then, we’ve added new models and have continually improved our products with new features such as our “VIP” Technology which combines video messaging, web-access for both photo viewing and video playback, Facebook sharing right from your webpage, and the richest social media integration available, including Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, and Twitter.
APPEARANCE and SUPPORT MATTERS:
Whether you’re an established rental service, event location, mobile DJ, photographer, or an entrepreneur looking for a great source of revenue, you’ll find that Innovative FOTO has the perfect, professional, commercial-grade photo booth for your business and demanding clientele. Because of their appeal and interactive nature, photo booths naturally become the center of attention at events where they’re provided. So, the successful company needs an attractive, professional-looking photo booth that will shine in the spotlight and enhance each elegant event – and not detract from it with an ugly, home-made appearance. In addition, professional operators realize the
Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis Page 115 importance of ongoing service and support - and, Innovative FOTO has the industry-leading support program in place to keep you up and running!
One year full manufacturer’s warranty, Fully-staffed call center available seven days a week, Free lifetime support and software upgrades, Experienced customer service and technical support representatives, On-site engineering and R&D staff to ensure ongoing compatibility with new hardware, In-house graphic artists and creative service team, Online support forum and web-based training program, Webstore for secure, 24/7 ordering of media and supplies.
IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS:
To be successful, you’ll also need an engaging experience and unique printed outputs that will set your company apart from the competition. In this area, Innovative FOTO delivers like no other company. Since the photo booth market had grown tremendously over the past few years, we encourage all potential customers to do their research. The purchase of a photo booth is a significant business investment with many factors to consider, including:
• Entertainment Value • Visual Appeal • Manufacturing Quality • Advanced Technology (Video, Facebook integration, etc.) • Customer Service/Technical Support offered
When you consider these factors, we’re confident you’ll agree that Innovative FOTO offers the best overall value in the professional photo booth market. We deliver a traditional, entertaining experience using visually-appealing, performance-engineered components. All booths include a 1-year manufacturer’s warranty and a complete training, customer service, and technical support program.
Thank you for your interest in our company - we look forward to serving all of your photo booth needs.
Paul Culos – LA Photo Party / Photo Party Station
The Photo Party Stationis a super sleek alternative to a photo booth. A touchscreen mounted in a slick housing makes for an awesome photo booth experience open to the entire party. And it only occupies 1 square foot. With options to upload to social media sites,
Page 116 Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis create animated GIFs, instantly print, green screen live preview, and record video, this is a great solution for any tight space. Use your party as the background of the photos or setup a printed background or green screen.
The Photo Party Station is equipped with our custom built Photo Booth Upload software, built with input from hundreds of photo booth owners, and comes fully loaded with:
NEW! Animated GIFs - Create multi-frame photo animations with green screen backgrounds, custom logos, and instant uploading to Facebook, Twitter, and Email.
Green Screen - Load up to 8 custom backgrounds and let the guest select their own environment! And with our "Smart Placement Technology," every photo is picture perfect.
Photo Filters - Just like Instagram, our software allows the guest to add a photo filter to their photo using the touchscreen interface.
Page Designers - Design your page layouts from within our software. You can place as many photos as you want on your final layout and position them using intuitive drag and drop tools.
Social Media - Photo Party Station integrates with Photo Party Upload to allow instant uploading to Email, Facebook, and Twitter from the booth's touchscreen and/or wirelessly from your iPads. Additional features include: Data Capture, Facebook "Like" Buttons, Facebook Fan Page Uploading, Surveys, Graphic Overlays, Personalized Branding
Video - Pre-load a video or text questions that guests reply to and post instantly on social media sites. You have the option to attach a "promo-video" to the uploaded video reply that will be included on all posts.
When did your interest in photobooths first begin?
I stumbled upon the idea for The Photo Booth Without The Booth 7 years ago.
What do you enjoy the most about the photobooth business?
The creative process of making custom solutions for our clients.
What separates your company from your competition?
We develop our own hardware, software, and graphic concepts.
Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis Page 117 What advice would you give to someone just entering the photobooth business?
Be creative. Do something different than what already exsists.
What significant changes have you seen in the photobooth business recently?
Social media integration.
What is the most challenging aspect of your business?
Keeping things new and fresh. It is a fun and exciting challange.
What do you think the coming trends are in the photobooth business?
More video concepts being integrated into photo booth software.
Tell a story. What is the funniest or most unusual incident you have experienced in your business dealings?
We made a custom solution so that people could get brain scans done at an event then upload them instantly to social media.
Rey Borja - EZ Photobooths, LLC
We always prioritize our customers' needs. That is why we do not only provide good quality products but the most affordable ones in the market. We always find ways to cater to their needs and minimizing their worries and obstacles. MONEY is an inevitable obstacle when setting up a business. That is why other than providing the most affordable photo booth systems, we also provide FINANCING, RENT A BOOTH Accommodation and DIY Photo Booth Systems. These are great LOW COST Photobooth ideas especially for new photo booth entrepreneurs out there whose greatest problem is MONEY.
Page 118 Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis And yet, we do not stop from designing and producing new photo booth systems. We also provide TECH SUPPORT to our customers. Again, CUSTOMERS FIRST. From our experience, we still bump into lots of problems along the way especially for a growing business (even the mature ones). We experience problems on our software, camera equipment, business marketing and publicity, and of course template that goes with every occasion. With that, we develop a 24/7 tech support fro our customers who have technical problems. We also share our ideas to our customers on how to improve their business and how to promote their business to gain publicity and bookings. Other than that, we realized the demand of templates. We saw that other businesses sells their templates so we decided to offer our templates to our customers for FREE and we also offer customized template.
When did your interest in photobooths first begin?
Our first interest began in 2009 when the growing demand for custom portable Photobooth was barely reaching its trends. We saw the need for a convenient, easy to use portable Photobooth system that would go with every events' needs. A photo booth that would cater convenience to the owner and provide fun-feel for his customers. A memorabilia for the people to take with them. Something that will relive their enchanting moments that they had from the event.
How did you get your start in the photobooth business?
In 2003 we manufactured our very first photo station for a company Picture Marketing. We continue to make more for them and thus has spread out through the entire United States region. We began to see our photo station in our local malls during Christmas. In the main center of the mall you will find till this day the same photo station which is utilized to take pictures of kids on Santa's lap. Since then, we have been asked to design different style and shapes of photo stations or as it is called now portable photo booths. From there, we did not stop from producing photo booths but we also provide continuous support to our customers and dealer through coming up with new photo booth ideas and designs, tech support and consultancy.
What do you enjoy the most about the photobooth business?
I love the concept of providing a long lasting memories for the event. To know that the event does not end on the night the music stop. To be able to take a picture that is simply catered to that specific event and to remember the celebrants special day. A big event must not be left without something to remind us of the good memories we had on the event. A great souvenir and a memorabilia for an unforgettable event is a CAPTURED memory------PHOTOS. We love the various
Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis Page 119 feedback we get from our customers---- how they had a great time with our sessions and that they were able to keep the memory through the photos we take. How they are able to relive the most precious moment in their entire lives through the photos.
What separates your company from your competition?
We don't really look at our competitors as direct competitors. EZ Photobooths focus on our customers needs to enhance the nature of their rental business. A lot of our competitors not only sells the booth, but also competes with their clients, therefore the focus of their company as a manufacturer is divided. We truly feel that every business has a specialty which ultimately makes your business special. Instead, we focus on catering our customers' needs than worrying on our competition and consider our supposed competition as challenge for us to excel more. With that, we are able to garner loyal customers who frequently come back to us and purchase more products. Through our dedicated customer service, we are able to attract more new potential customers. By prioritizing on producing good quality photo booth systems, our customers can trust our products. From there, we let our customers do the talking for us.
What advice would you give to someone just entering the photobooth business?
Most of the time, people make irrational decisions and not just on personal matters but business as well. My advice to someone entering the Photobooth business is to make sure that they are Absolutely sure about the business. They don't necessary have to be a Dj or photographer to be successful in the business, but rather passionate and dedicated to the industry. They should also make sure that the equipment they purchased are of good quality and that the owner is able to provide a good customer service. A customer trusts you and your service will not think twice of booking a reservation with you more than once and would not hesitate on referring you to his/her friends.
What significant changes have you seen in the photobooth business recently?
I have seen a rapid growth within the Photobooth market within the last couple of years. ATA Photobooth are seen more than your average classy and fancy booth. A lot has to do with the DJ market infiltrating the Photobooth industry. Thus, a more familiar look of Photobooth such as road cases are commonly utilized.
What is the most challenging aspect of your business?
Manufacturing a portable Photobooth to specifically catered to our
Page 120 Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis customers demand has always been a challenge.
What do you think the coming trends are in the photobooth business?
Personally, I believe that sooner than later, events are going to demand something more personal. For instance, on a wedding, they may want the bride and the grooms pictures on the Photobooth or on corporate events such as Pepsi or Farmers insurance, they may want their logo on the Photobooth. Easy to do if you have can afford many Photobooths for each brand. What if you can't afford that many? This is why we created the branding booth. The branding booth is the future of the Photobooth rental business.
Tell a story. What is the funniest or most unusual incident you have experienced in your business dealings?
I think the most unusual experience for us is when we manufactured a branding Photobooth for a movie called "Horny Ghost". We all assumed it was adult, only to find out that it was an actual film out on theater.
Oliver Vasilopoulos - Photo Box Interactive
The Photo Box Interactive V3 is the lightest full sized complete Photo Solution in the industry. Starting with its elegant and contemporary all aluminum construction, the V3 is perfect blend of form and function. The tough and resilient powder coated exterior finish is built to look good for many years of use. The attention to detail doesn't stop on the outside, it boasts a clean and simple interior layout as well.
The V3 is a portable powerhouse that can be easily transported in a mid sized car or small SUV. Its compact and modular design requires only one person for an easy setup that takes less than 10 minutes. The entire booth including your printer, props, curtains and bench all fit on one medium sized cart or dolly.
The Photo Box is powered by a robust business class computer, and features a Canon DSLR camera for high resolution quality photos. Another great feature is our built in dimmable, high output LED lighting source for constant even light regardless of
Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis Page 121 your surroundings. The center of attention in the front of the V3 is in our massive 21.5" fully customizable touch screen interface that allows your guests to preview their images in high definition. All this is tied together with the the top industry standard photo booth software solutions available. Best of all you save money by selecting the printer of your choice as there is no proprietary media purchase required when you buy your photo booth from us.
These are just a few of the Key advantages as to why you should choose Photo Box Interactive as your next photo booth company. Your customers demand the best and so should you.
When did your interest in photobooths first begin?
From DJing weddings and seeing the trend in popularity start about 2008. There is nothing like the added level of fun that people have when they are in a photo booth.
How did you get your start in the photobooth business?
The demand in clients asking it this was a service that we offered pushed us to build our own booths instead of giving the business away to other companies.
What do you enjoy the most about the photobooth business?
The smiles and the laughter captured on film. Creating an atmosphere of fun.
What separates your company from your competition?
Attention to detail, impeccable customer service and value for the money.
What advice would you give to someone just entering the photobooth business?
Do it for the right reasons. Have the mindset that you have a there to make a difference and provide a service that allows people to have fun and cut loose.
It takes a lot of hard work and patience, and persistence to get and keep customers.
What significant changes have you seen in the photobooth business recently?
There are a lot of people starting photo booth businesses, so its more competitive now than its ever been. The good and bad news is that
Page 122 Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis many of them are homemade and not very attractive so it makes the pros look even better.
What is the most challenging aspect of your business?
Getting Customers and then keeping them. Part of this involves educating consumers to make good decisions, and creating the value proposition that makes them want to do business with you and to not shop solely based on price.
What do you think the coming trends are in the photobooth business?
Smaller booths, & more creative designs. The popular demands from guests center around the social media tie in to upload instantly and the hash tag printing options.
Tell a story. What is the funniest or most unusual incident you have experienced in your business dealings?
Guests at most events tend to get a bit intoxicated and sometimes do things they wouldn't normally do. Aside from the spontaneous wardrobe malfunctions which are always an eye opener, we at times have received phone calls from people who realize the pics get posted online. Of course in good taste we never post the racy or provocative photos. We recently received one of these calls from a panic stricken gentleman that stated he took some pics in the booth of him and a beautiful woman kissing and making out being very touchy feely with one another. He asked me to take the pics down, I said well they were pretty innocent it was just the two of you and nothing was exposed, but yes I can take them down if you like, to which he replied its not that the photos are explicit, its that if my wife sees me with my girlfriend I am going to be in big trouble.
True story.
What strategies and mediums have you found to be most effective in promoting your photobooths? Least effective?
Word of Mouth, doing a great job at every event and getting leads and business from each event. Print ads and mailers don't seem to work much these days. Everything is computer and email based now
Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis Page 123 APPENDIX 3 : HINTS AND TIPS WHEN TRAVELLING
If you do a lot of travelling in the course of your business activities as many of us do, you can choose to either pay top dollar for your hotels and motels, or in my case I am always looking for a bargain.
Online I always look first at www.kayak.com
If travelling in the US I always look for the coupon books at rest stops and information centers:
www.hotelcoupons.com
www.thetravelersfriend.com
www.freehotelcoupons.com
www.travelcoupons.com
Page 124 Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis APPENDIX 4 : FRANCHISE, NETWORKS OR DO IT YOURSELF
This is a very difficult question to answer. There is no absolute right or wrong answer and ultimately you must decide what is right for you based on your own circumstances.
In some businesses such as food and lodging, being a part of a recognized national chain is a huge huge plus. As a consumer when I travel to different cities as I do on a regular basis, unless someone has personally recommended a particular eating establishment I will tend to frequent McDonalds or my favorite restaurant chain of all time Texas Roadhouse or 5 Guys hamburgers as opposed to Ma and Pa's Greasy Spoon. Similarly I feel more comfortable in a Holiday Inn than I do at Ted's Motel.
In all these cases, the national brands have a certain standard that 99 percent of the time is met. When it comes to service industries especially in the wedding business it is much more difficult to maintain a franchise standard because so much of the work is based on individual talent. Much as DaVinci would find it hard to duplicate himself in the art world, so too is it hard to establish a consistent standard in either photobooth or DJ related industries.
Now certainly there have been some franchises that have been very successful, but they are the exception and not the rule.
There are 2 main things in this industry that you get if the buy a franchise as opposed to doing it yourself:
1) A DEVELOPED MARKETING PROGRAM – hopefully the franchise has a logo and materials that are superior to what you could develop. If not, then you definitely don't want to go with them.
2) AN ESTABLISHED BUSINESS MODEL WITH THE BUGS WORKED OUT – if you are new to the business it may take you years to work out all the bugs yourself. If someone can show you a system that is tried and tested then you can save perhaps years of your own work.
So why would anyone NOT want to be a part of a franchise system.
Well, in the wedding industry, the main reason would be price.
All these wonderful marketing materials you receive, as well as the knowledge you gain in many cases is NOT CHEAP.
I have seen some companies ask upwards of forty thousand dollars plus a hefty (15 percent I read in one case) royalty on your sales. OUCH.
Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis Page 125 This is a competitive business. Yes you can make money but you must do things efficiently. Either you will have to give up a substantial portion of your profits to the franchisor or you will have to raise your prices to account for their cut. I looked at a number of these franchise opportunities, and well, if I thought it made sense to me I would be right there.
To me what makes a lot more sense is licensing a business model. This goes half way between full fledged franchising and doing it completely on your own. As I have said to a few people “although you are still in business for yourself, you are not in business by yourself.”
Though there are standards that must be maintained, the licensing model is less restrictive than the franchise model. It is less expensive and you still get the majority of the marketing benefit.
I am currently in the process of working with some industry experts to develop a licensing program. While there is still much work to be done, here is an insight into what I have planned so far.
BEST ENTERTAINMENT NETWORK
The Entertainment Exchange (BEN is to the Entertainment industry what companies like Hotwire, Expedia or Travelocity are to the Lodging Business)
Why Best Entertainment Network?
BENEFITS FOR THE ENTERTAINER
You are no longer in business by yourself and will have access to new business you would not otherwise have, but you are still in business for yourself.
BENEFITS FOR THE CLIENT
You receive the personalized attention of directly working with your entertainer while receiving the service and support of a much larger company.
Members of the network can include and are not limited to:
Disc Jockeys Photobooths Casino Parties Live Entertainment / Bands Photographers Videographers
Page 126 Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis AV Contractors Wedding Planners Event Planners Comedians Magicians Face Painters Caricature Artists Clowns Jugglers Hypnotists Officiants
Participation is by invitation only.
To be a part of the network, a member company must agree to abide by the rules and regulations outlined on the BEST ENTERTAINMENT NETWORK website:
ETHICS and PROFESSIONALISM – As a member of the network you must commit to business excellence and operate your business with ethically sound standards and maintaining the highest possible standards of professional conduct.
SAFETY – Members must provide a safe work environment both for employees as well as clients and their guests.
INSURANCE – Members must maintain appropriate insurance coverage for their business activities. In many cases insurance is available through the BEST ENTERTAINMENT NEWTORK and its business partners and associates.
WRITTEN CONTRACT – Members must use a clear and concise written contract that states a essential information such as services provided, charges incurred as well as performance expectations. Sample contracts are available through the BEST ENTERTAINMENT NETWORK.
ABIDE BY LAWS – Members must use legal forms of music and other proprietary materials must be legally obtained in the conduct of providing entertainment services – Members must agree to abide by all laws and regulations governing their business activities.
HONESTY – Members must provide an honest and realistic description of their talent, ability and level of service to their clients and must deliver services and products as promised and to the best of their abilities.
Every entertainer gets a webpage at BEST ENTERTAINMENT NETWORK.COM
Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis Page 127 There is no charge in months of no activity from BEN
$14 charge on first booking
Member companies are eligible for benefits:
Monthly online newsletter Retailer Discounts Music Program (from a licensed music supplier) Discount Credit and Debit card processing
CHARGE FOR DJ AND PHOTOBOOOTH MEMBERS ONLY – all others free for now.
Option 2 - $29 BEN membership – (no charge in months of no activity) (if using the BEN name) a) use of BEN contracts b) use of BEN office space c) participation in trade shows d) use of the BEN booking system and calendar (only available to exclusive member firms) e) FREE BEN business cards
EXCLUSIVE BEN MEMBERS GET FIRST PRIORITY ON BOOKINGS
Option 3 - $49 membership if using your own name (no charge in months of no BEN activity)
BEN has suggested pricing but entertainers are free to go above or below this pricing. This pricing must be clearly stated on the entertainers webpage.
Contracts can be booked directly with BEN or individually with the member firm.
BEN will invoice the member firm where contracts are booked individually.
32 % fee goes to marketing.
Whoever brings the booking into BEN (paper contract must be signed) gets 15 %.
Bookings can be brought in by anyone 1) Halls 2) Wedding Consultants 3) ANY BEN MEMBERS 4) BEN MEMBERS IN OTHER TERRITORIES
Page 128 Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis EZ PHOTOBOOTHS MEMBERSHIP ($39/month)
Discounts on paper (15 %)
Up to one hour free support calls /month Additional support at half price ($55 /hour instead of $110) Training at half price ($55 /hour instead of $110) Monthly online newsletter
BRANDING MEMBERSHIP ($89/month per half million territory approximately – defined upon signing)
Members may do bookings in another's territory but may not advertise in that territory (or at least the home member gets the first right of refusal) All trade show participation must be logged with head office.
Use of the brands ($89/brand) – Exclusive Territory
GREEN SCREAM PHOTOBOOTH BEST ENTERTAINMENT NETWORK
As part of the branding membership you get access to: Marketing materials Training manuals Referral bookings
Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis Page 129 About The Author Rob Savickis
Rob has been involved in the entertainment industry for the last 27 years, starting as a DJ in 1987. In 1996 Rob opened up a store for DJs and has been selling the DJ Companion Book, collapsible limbo sticks and a variety of different items at DJ shows such as Mobile Beat throughout the United States and Canada. Since being introduced to photobooths in 2011 through his work for a major photobooth and DJ company as Operations Manager, and since becoming the Canadian representative for a major photobooth manufacturer in 2013 Rob has learned more about photobooths in a few short years than he would have expected to learn in a lifetime. In 2014 Rob is once again opening up a store, but this time both for DJs and photobooth operators.
Page 130 Start Your Own Photobooth Business by Rob Savickis