On Being Different at ImagingUSA!

(See the photobooth galleries HERE)

 

Earlier this week was the big BIG photographers conference ImagingUSA! Nearly 11,000 photographers from all over the country (and world!) were in Atlanta to attend workshops, buy gear AND SEE US!

Okay – they didn’t know they were there to see us – but they soon found out that we had the MOST AWESOME PHOTOBOOTHS EVER. I say Photobooth(s) because we had two! A different one for each of the two days that we were there. Actually – it was a little bit odd being the only booth there that was really just a collection of photographers being kind of awesome and goofy. We weren’t selling anything, we weren’t being informative. We were just running our crazy looking photobooths.

Ha. And we were definitely NOT the most polished group of folks there! Of course there were other ‘photobooth’ companies selling their super slick boxed setups – and then there was our photobooths with crazy wires snaking everywhere, high powered wind fans, and overhead cameras! We didn’t even have a ‘sign’ the first day because I was too busy shooting a wedding the day before and I forgot to make one. It’s a tricky thing though. Being at a conference like this you don’t want to look embarrassing… especially since our group is kind of a ragtag team of photographers that do… sort of weird stuff. You know. Like a blood wedding. Or we make Wedding Home Movies that aren’t ‘perfect’ like the other ‘Cinematic Wedding Filmmakers’. So it was kind of like being the freaks and geeks booth among the huge Canon and Nikon showrooms.

Yeah. And that’s okay!

I mean – remember – a little over 3 years ago Leah and I weren’t photographers. We didn’t attend photography school and we’ve just kind of hustled our way into the business. We don’t do things correctly but we have a knack for getting things done… somehow.

Actually – when the PPA hired us to do two different photobooths – off the top of my head I suggested an ‘overhead’ photobooth. At the time… I didn’t really know exactly what that would entail, but I figured that our team could definitely come up with whatever we needed. So that’s what I sold the PPA on – the idea of an overhead photobooth and then we just needed to execute that somehow…

You can barely see it there – but that’s our little photobooth where we made awesome NOT-Photobooth-like photos! Have you EVER seen photobooth pics like these?! No flat lighting here! On the first day we wanted it to kind of be like a… fashion booth – so we setup a roll of grey seamless paper, three lights, wind machines and let it go!

Then on the 2nd day – we brought in Alumni Intern Andre to help us out and build our overhead photobooth. THIS was awesome. Sure more than half the time is was just US in the photobooth because people didn’t want to lie down, or take their shoes off – whatever! We had an amazing time making crazy photos! (Although eventually LOTS of people did join us!)

Of course – there are MANY photobooth companies here in Atlanta and lots of photographers offering their own versions. I say this without being obnoxious but there is a reason that PPA hired us and our photobooths.

Not because we can do crazy things, but because we’re willing to do them when other people can’t or won’t be crazy. Or weird. Or even possibly fail. Because oh man – it seems simple now – but that overhead photobooth could’ve gone horribly wrong.

Fortunately we have a team of really amazing people and they all showed up to work and make Awesome.

(Thank you Joy, Elaine, Krisandra, Luiza, Andre, and of course Leah and BabyRoX!)