Are they looking for and actual booth that's self-operated? Do they want onsite printing? Is the 2X2 meter backdrop in line with what your clients want? How much working room will you have at the venue for the photo booth? How will you light the subjects...will you need access to a power outlet....is there a way to secure power cords so that they're not tripping hazzards.
These are all things you need to keep in mind when offering a photo booth.
We set up a studio backdrop (we have 4 to choose from)...away from any doors or high-traffic areas (ie. never near the bar or washrooms). We light the backdrop with a single Alien Bee 800 strobe. We generally open the photobooth when the dance floor opens and keep it running for about an hour....this is negotiated with the B&G.
I've been wondering about the economics of a booth. Sure, there's the cost of the computer and the dye sub printer (both of which we already have for other events), but it seems to me that if you deduct wages you have to do 60-80 weddings just to pay for the thing.
Anyone care to elaborate on if it's working or not working for them? I'm not looking for public figures (please, PM me if you have any you care to share!) but I'm interested in how viable they really are.
Dave_EP wrote:
I've been wondering about the economics of a booth. Sure, there's the cost of the computer and the dye sub printer (both of which we already have for other events), but it seems to me that if you deduct wages you have to do 60-80 weddings just to pay for the thing.
Really? Wow...definitely are not seeing the same thing. If you are buying everything from scratch, then it may take a while. The only thing we needed to buy was the printer (professional dye-sub), some props, and we are planning to buy a touchscreen monitor. If we do not take any profit from it, we will pay for the printer and monitor and props completely in 3 gigs.
Well, there's photo booths and photobooths I guess.
As I said, we already have a pro dye sub (Mitsubishi double deck) and can shoot and print on site.... but that's not a photo booth.
I looked around and the booths seem to be in the £8K (GBP) range, including the printers etc. They tell me I need to buy the printers that their software works with, so in essence the entire thing.
If you know a better and cheaper booth (in the UK) I'm all ears
What are you doing differently? I'd love to get in to this market but the cost of entry seems steep for the prices I see the competitors offering. ...Show more →
If we do not take any profit from it, we will pay for the printer and monitor and props completely in 3 gigs.
Sure, you could pay for it a lot quicker if you weren't taking any pay.... but that's kinda defeating the object of having one
Are they looking for and actual booth that's self-operated? Do they want onsite printing? Is the 2X2 meter backdrop in line with what your clients want? How much working room will you have at the venue for the photo booth? How will you light the subjects...will you need access to a power outlet....is there a way to secure power cords so that they're not tripping hazzards.
These are all things you need to keep in mind when offering a photo booth.
We set up a studio backdrop (we have 4 to choose from)...away from any doors or high-traffic areas (ie. never near the bar or washrooms). We light the backdrop with a single Alien Bee 800 strobe. We generally open the photobooth when the dance floor opens and keep it running for about an hour....this is negotiated with the B&G.
We use the booth as an inexpensive add-on ($250) without on-site printing. The only expenses were the props and light setup (AlienBees B800, stands, umbrella, etc.). As Joel said, those expenses were paid for with 3 gigs. We already had a spare Canon 50D and laptop and we use the best background we can find at the reception. In my opinion, props are what make the booth. People just want to have fun with it, nothing more.
I already have the strobe (an old one I never use) so I only need the 2x2 background with the stands which only costs like 150 Dollars (less than 200 Euros) of my own design but if the B&G wants a personalized one they will pay for it , so I will be paid-off with the very first couple which gets this add-on, I will not be charging more than 200 Euros or so for an hour time.
Dave_EP wrote:
Sure, you could pay for it a lot quicker if you weren't taking any pay.... but that's kinda defeating the object of having one
Well, taking no pay on 3 gigs and then (almost) pure profit after that is really no different than stretching it out in the financial sense. I just like to think of it that way because then I know that after the three times, we are raking it in.
As for a booth that costs 8k pounds, that has to be one insanely extreme booth. Why does it have to be so ellaborate? We do an "open air" style that has no actual booth, and people still love it. Plus, it provides MUCH more flexibility in different venues and what not.
joelconner wrote:
We do an "open air" style that has no actual booth, and people still love it. Plus, it provides MUCH more flexibility in different venues and what not.
Are your open-air booths user operated or are you taking the shots?
I've noticed a lot of people try to get way to elaborate with their photo booths... just find and open space, set up light/camera and photo monkey and you're set.
I've done a booth, been the photo monkey for another photographer.
It's insanely simple once you get your process set up. it's important that you use something like breeze that will shoot and send directly to the printer. It's also important to make sure if you are doing onsite prints, you explain the process well to the guests.
Also, it might be hard to do, but trying to stop the same few individuals from doing a billion different booth shots could be important. I just played the photo monkey for a local photographer a few weeks ago, and there was a set of tween girls who took probably 20 different shots, with prints every time...
