Our Vintage Photo Booth with the Iconic Polaroid
Posted 11/14/14 in: New Jersey New York
At a recent holiday party in Rye, NY, we set-up our vintage photo booth at a fundraising event based on the movie, American Hustle. Aside from the fabulous costumes (check out this blog post on fashion from the film http://www.onestyleatatime.com/2013/12/fashion-on-film-american-hustle-70s.html) and retro-style Casino set-up (www.acedeucecasinos.com), we found several Polaroid Pic-300 Instant cameras (http://www.polaroid.com/products/pic-300-instant-camera) floating around the room to compliment our vintage photo booth. I had a ton of fun playing with this camera, and I was able to photo graph people jumping in and out of our photo booth throughout the course of the evening. I started researching some of the reasons why the Polaroid cameras are making a huge comeback and came across two main reasons.
1) According to a recent article from the Guardian by Tess Reidy (http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2014/nov/08/why-stars-love-polaroid-no-embarrassing-uploads), celebs are loving the retro-chic Polaroid because it offers something extremely valuable for famous people: privacy. In the wake of recent photo hacking scandals, celebs and others are apparently gravitating to the instant prints to enjoy photos without fears of having digital files plastered all over the internet without their consent.
2) Another reason is a public shift for tangible, physical photographs. In this digital world, there is an important sub-culture of nostalgic folks looking to revive the more classic technologies like vinyl records and polaroid cameras (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2400059/Return-Polaroid-Fujifilm-resurrects-iconic-camera-print-card-sized-photos-instantly.html). Having a tangible, high-quality photo offers a different experience altogether than capturing photos digitally. The Polaroid not only captures the moment, but offers a meaningful and personalized take away.
Our classic photo booth attempts to do both things. We love our photo booth and the classic experience of sitting down, closing a curtain, and pressing a button. Simple, fun, elegant, and private. We also love watching people wait for their photos to print and the reaction when they reach into the slot and grab their instant photo! Sheer joy! While are vintage photo booth uses digital technology, we certainly have a deep appreciation for the classic Polaroid and its contribution to the world of photography.
Holiday Party? Perfect Place for a Photo Booth
Posted 10/31/14 in: New Jersey New York
Photobooth rentals are hugely popular for weddings, but why not have it at your next holiday party? Here are three reasons why a photobooth rental would be a fantastic addition to your next corporate holiday party:
1) Your company is growing: time to celebrate! Holiday parties are usually pretty festive atmosphere – maybe too festive at times! Either way, holiday parties are to celebrate the progress your company has made over the year. A photobooth rental at your holiday party is a great opportunity to celebrate your awesome employees and their hard work in making your company great! Giving your employees a physical photo strip from the photobooth is a small, tangible way of showing your appreciation for their commitment to the company.
2) Great alternative to dancing. We love busting a move on the dance floor, especially when there’s a great DJ or band. But for some holiday parties, it might not be the best place to showcase your most up-to-date dance moves. Last year at a holiday party in New Brunswick, New Jersey (NJ), we were hired by a highly professional pharmaceutical company for their holiday party. Our photobooth rental offered a bit of privacy (close the curtain and smile for the camera), and an opportunity to maintain a certain element of professionalism while having a bit of fun. You can also practice a few of your dance moves inside the photo booth, in case you’re a bit shy and want to test a few things out behind a closed curtain.
3) Creating company culture. A previous corporate client from a legal firm in New York City (NYC) mentioned that the photobooth rental at their holiday party actually drew their co-workers together. Photo strips from our photobooth rental end up plastered all over employee work spaces, computers, offices, etc…It’s amazing when you’ve been working hard with your co-workers, how easily you forget to enjoy and appreciate your time with them. Hiring a photobooth for your holiday party gives your employees and co-workers the opportunity to capture these professional relationships. It’s easy to forget that you’re on the same team, you’re working for the same goal. Taking photos together at a holiday party is reminder that you’re co-workers and employees are on the same team, and aiming for the same goals: to make your company great!
Photo Booth Ideas: Props or No Props?
Posted 10/21/14 in: New Jersey New York
At a recent Fall wedding in Queens, NY, the client decided to opt out altogether on props for our photo booth. Their primary reason: they wanted to capture their guests, the facial expressions, the joy in its simplest form. Made sense to me. This is the second consecutive wedding I’ve done in which the client requested not to use props. I thought it would be helpful to write a brief blog post on it: photo booth ideas: props or no props?
Props certainly add a fun dimension to the photo booth rental experience. Who doesn’t love changing into a silly disguise, or putting on a large mustache, or wearing bunny ears in a photo booth? One of my favorite photo booth memories is of an elderly couple, one wearing bunny ears, the other wearing a pirates eye patch, having a terrific time in the photo booth taking photos. I think it was a combination of them enjoying the photo booth again (reminded them of their childhood), and the sheer enjoyment they received from dressing up in silly costumes. Either way, they ended up going into and out of the photo booth for most of the evening.
I have noticed at some events guests that having too many props lead to redundant photos of people wearing the same sunglasses, hats making it difficult to distinguish the people behind the props. My suggestion for photo booth ideas: go light with the props. A few mustaches-on-a-stick and a dry-erase board should do the trick. Once people get into the photo booth and close the curtain, the creative ideas begin to flow on their own. It’s fun to see people figuring out photo booth ideas while sitting in the booth. Most recently, a couple used their newborn baby as their prop – it was hilarious!
At our most recent event at the Museum of the Moving Image in Queens (http://www.movingimage.us), the guests tapped into their own creativity, producing some wonderful photos and designing an amazing photo guest book. It so happened that the clients themselves were exceptionally talented (author/illustrator whose book was adapted into Martin Scorcese’s film Hugo). Naturally, his guests shared in his creativity. The photo guest book was a work of art in itself!
The PhotoBooth Kid
Posted 10/15/14 in: Connecticut Featured Martha’s Vineyard Massachusetts New Hampshire / Northern MA / Southern ME New Jersey New York Rhode Island Sidebar Vermont / Upstate NY
Check out this kid who took full advantage of our Classic Booth at a recent wedding.
Kids love photobooths and often are the ones who kick off the evening, flashing grins, grimaces, tongues, squints, props and crazy expressions. Soon, they start pulling the older generations into the booth, and then the adults take over – posing, cramming with friends, displaying facial contortions and laughing through the night. The inter-generational photos in the booth become treasures to keep for years to come. It doesn’t matter how old one is; all ages enjoy a good session in the photo booth!
Bergen Performing Arts Center Englewood New Jersey – Photo booth
Posted 10/04/14 in: New Jersey New York
Recently, we partnered with the Women’s Rights Information Center in Englewood, NJ for a photo booth fundraising event at the Bergen Performing Arts Center (BergenPAC). The WRIC’s is “a place for women in transition to gain career, life and resource-building skills that can change the direction of their economic futures. A great organization!
Check out there website: www.womensrights.org
We invited guests to take free photos from our photobooth rental and make donations to the WRIC afterward. Guests jumped into our photo booth rental throughout the evening as part of the Ladies Night Out event hosted by the Englewood, NJ Chamber of Commerce. It was a pleasure hanging out with the staff of the WRIC and we plan to bring our photo booth rental to their winter fundraiser later this year!
Creative photo booth pictures
Posted 9/12/14 in: New Jersey New York
As a lover of both dogs and photo booths, I came across this creative photo series by Lynn Terry Photography in St. Louis, MO (http://www.lynnterry.com). Check out the website – some really great photos. It’s just interesting to see what dogs will do in a photo booth once the curtain is closed. To see the full set of photos, check out the website below.
http://www.inquisitr.com/1399630/what-happens-when-you-put-two-rescue-pit-bulls-in-a-photo-booth-something-beautiful-photos/
Nice review from a great couple!
Posted 9/10/14 in: New Jersey New York
Recent review from this wonderful New York Bride and Groom:
I am extremely happy with the services I received from Tony at Photobooth Planet for my wedding in June. Tony was very responsive in the weeks leading up to the event and was very flexible (I changed the start and end time of my rental close to the day of my actual wedding!). Tony was also the one to operate the booth on the day of my wedding. He was extremely professional and a pleasure to deal with. The booth itself looks classy and is not very obtrusive. Now for the photos! The picture quality was excellent. The booth prints out two strips of 3 pictures each – one for the guests to take home and one for a keepsake book that the couple takes home. Tony helped arrange the keepsake book and made sure to have everyone sign it or write us a cute message. My husband and I actually read all of the messages the night of our wedding – really cute and funny! All of our guests loved the photobooth and kept coming up to us and telling us what a great idea it was. It really was a hit! If you are thinking of getting a photo booth for your event, I would highly reccomend using Tony and Photobooth Planet!
New York Restoration Project and New Leaf Restaurant
Posted 8/18/14 in: New Jersey New York
Photobooth Planet joined up with the team at New Leaf Restaurant last weekend for a beautiful wedding in Fort Tryon Park. Neglected in the 1980s and 1990s, the New York Restoration Project (NYRP) targeted Fort Tryon Park, cleaning up and restoring several of the gardens, removing debris, and repairing walking paths. New Leaf Restaurant is a restored, 1930s stone building, home to a world-class bar and restaurant, with all net proceeds supporting NYRP’s mission to continue restoring green spaces throughout NYC. Read more at www.nyrp.org.
In addition to the staff at New Leaf, I also really enjoyed working with two other vendors at the event:
Photographer: Lisa Hancock Photography – www.lisahancockphotography.com
DJ: Steven Diaz – www.djdiaz4.com
Our portable photo booth with Flik Catering Services in NYC
Posted 8/07/14 in: New Jersey New York
Had a ton of fun collaborating with Flik International (www.flik-usa.com) at a recent pop-up photo booth lunch event in New York City. We love our portable photo booth and its ability to cross NYC streets, weaving through down town Manhattan traffic, and finding itself in the middle of a Law Firm in NYC. We also love Flik International and their commitment to sustainability, healthy food choices, and high quality foods for their corporate dining services. Healthy foods leads to healthy and productive work environments. Makes sense to me! Plus, this team was a pleasure to work with! #foodbyflik #photoboothrentals #sustainablefoods #photoboothfun
The team helped me out with my portable photo booth and fed me some amazing food as well. In exchange, they had a fabulous time jumping in and out our portable photo booth – so glad to work with this group!
Photobooth rental out in East Hampton
Posted 7/10/14 in: New Jersey New York
Early in the summer, we brought our classic, vintage photobooth to a private home out in East Hampton, Long Island. I got there several hours before the event and I watched as we transformed this beautiful yard into an extravagant wedding venue. I loved being part of this intimate, personal wedding, in which the hosts were close friends with the bride and groom. Beautiful weather, fun guests, and a really well done event. I connected with Brent (@empanadamn), a great DJ based out of Brooklyn, NY, who ended spinning a bunch of old-school classics that I loved. Guests loved jumping in and out of our original photobooth. For some, it was pure nostalgia to enter into our traditional photobooth, close the curtain, press the button, and pose for photos. It was a fun and personal affair! Our elegantly designed photobooth is available for rental for your next event in New York, NY and New Jersey, NJ areas!
