I am really anxious to talk to some brides about this and see what they think. Looking through the photos in the linked blog I am blown away by how much FUN people are having. I think this is a perfect way to spend that hour or so when the bride and groom are eating and no one wants a camera shoved in their face!
It's fairly common in NYC. My friends offer it and another friend does it. There are companies that do only this. It's great with a ringlight as a lot of people have never seen the look.
nate and jaclyn are amazing innovators - and clearly really fun people. they sell the manual for how to do the CRAZYBOOTH so you can learn the technical stuff.
their images aren;t fabulous because of the gear and set up - it's all bout the energy and expertise of the PEOPLE behind the camera.
PSremote by Breeze systems is a remote shooting software that has a photobooth function. I set one up a my wedding and automatically printed composites on site. I did it using a Canon s3is a laptop and a selphy photo printer. I think their website is http://www.breezesys.com
How would you get people to act like this I wonder? Some weddings I have been at, it wouldnt be a problem. Everyone is WELL lubricated with liquid courage. Others tho... people are stiff and uncomfortable.
Props? A slide show of previous crazybooths to give people ideas?
I find telling people to "make a silly pose!" ends up making them look really forced and unnatural.
liquid courage is the key, and props help a lot. We usually do ours without a background and we use a fisheye instead, makes it extra great because you get peoples reactions on the side and the people in the photos.
If anything the booth is a lot of fun and you definitely have to have the personality to pull it off. BTW, save your money (I love the Kaisers but if you can't figure out how to do one on your own...).
I've done this a few times. A whiteboard and markers, or just a stack of blank paper and markers, is a good and easy prop to have. I have only done it where the people in front of the camera have a remote, which makes them less self-conscious, though you don't have someone encouraging them if they need the encouragement. I've also found this best with a 40"+ TV or projector that displays the images as they happen; people like the immediate feedback, it entertains the other guests, and it gathers interest. So far I have not offered prints at the event, but that is something I will be adding soon.
Scott - yeah I am not paying $150 for a 12 page pdf on how to set up a basic studio backdrop and light. I am sure there is much more to it than that but I just cant see how its worth a benjamin and a half. Nothing against them for making money where they can but....
Brett - the idea of the camera and remote appeals to me, except I dont know that I trust semi-drunk (to completely wasted) people with my multi-thousand dollar cameras. Do you use an old clunker camera? It certainly wouldnt need to be a super high end model considering the pics are more about fun than photographic artistry.
ksmahgrts - yeah this is the one part that gives me pause. I am not sure I have the personality to get people really amped up for this. BUT... you never know till you try.
We did this at our first wedding after the had a bride and groom asked for unique pictures of all the guests (as their guestbook). With only 75 guests, it wasn't a problem. We set pictures up with an umbrella in front of a white fence. I can't even tell you how many people got crazy. No alcohol involved, either. If you want to see some examples, I can send you the password to the wedding on my smugmug account (it's still loading pictures- - it's been 2 days already).
What made it work? The people we started with were our friends and they were willing to do some uber crazy stuff. Also, Matt and I can be fairly fun to hang around. I'm pretty sure we're not as fun as the Kaisers, but we didn't seem to have a problem pulling it off. The craziest shots were of the 60+ year old women. We need to get some white seamless and that 17-50mm tamron, but otherwise we already have all the equipment. I have a guess about how they pull it off, but we have a few ideas about how to do it a tad differently.
scott shoemake wrote:
If anything the booth is a lot of fun and you definitely have to have the personality to pull it off. BTW, save your money (I love the Kaisers but if you can't figure out how to do one on your own...).
amen.
