Photobooth Question

I am not sure where to post this since this is a question on a corporate event. A company had asked me to do their photobooth for their annual party. Now..they don't want onsite printing, but they will print it out themselves and distribute a small 4 x 6 photo for the couples/individuals/gr​oups that step into the booth.

I'm having an issue of how to keep track of the people and the files that will be associated to them. I'm also thinking what I should/could do for group shots if everyone in the group would want a copy of the photo. Any suggestions?

I did suggest i'll just upload them to a site and people can place their orders through that. Any suggestions on this as well? I'm not doing the printing but I'd like to help them make the process as easy as possible. The prints are definitely going to be free, as I'm not the one doing the printing. And I don't think employees would pay for a print from the company they are working for LOL.

If they said they're doing the printing, then presumably you'll just need to provide them the digital files, in a pixel dimension that will print nicely at 4x6. 1200x1800 is appropriate. Make sure to leave some safety space on the edges of the photo (read: don't crop too tight), so it can be placed in a frame. You may need to provide them with a print release; some local printers (Walgreens etc) might refuse to print professional-looking photos without proof that the photographer has given them permission/license to print.

It's somewhat unlikely that you'll need to keep track of who's who in the photos. If you're giving the company the files to print, presumably their representative will be able to figure that out, unless it's a REALLY large company. How many subjects we talkin' about here? If it's under 200 employees attending, their event planner will know how to distribute the photos to the right recipient... and it's up to the event planner to print multiple copies of the group photo, if they so desire.

If you feel you MUST keep track for yourself, here are two solutions:
1) Have a whiteboard on which the subject writes their name. Take two shots of each subject: one with them holding the whiteboard with their name on it; a second "regular" shot. Pros: No paper to lose; no way to get mixed up or out of order. Cons: gotta take two shots of each person, and the first shot kinda feels like a police line-up shot.
2) Have a piece of paper, write down the file number and the subject's name for each shot. Pros: Simple, easy to understand. Cons: Easy to get mixed up, accidentally skip people, etc. Easy to lose the paper.
DON'T just keep a paper list in numeric order without any reference to the file number. If you skip a person or take two shots of a person, or people get out of order in line, then your paper is worthless.


It's going to be tough for us to give you any more instruction; honestly, you'd be better off getting clarification from the person who's responsible for planning the event for the client. If they're doing the printing and distribution, it's all on them.

nathancarter wrote in post #15610171
If they said they're doing the printing, then presumably you'll just need to provide them the digital files, in a pixel dimension that will print nicely at 4x6. 1200x1800 is appropriate. Make sure to leave some safety space on the edges of the photo (read: don't crop too tight), so it can be placed in a frame. You may need to provide them with a print release; some local printers (Walgreens etc) might refuse to print professional-looking photos without proof that the photographer has given them permission/license to print.

It's somewhat unlikely that you'll need to keep track of who's who in the photos. If you're giving the company the files to print, presumably their representative will be able to figure that out, unless it's a REALLY large company. How many subjects we talkin' about here? If it's under 200 employees attending, their event planner will know how to distribute the photos to the right recipient... and it's up to the event planner to print multiple copies of the group photo, if they so desire.

If you feel you MUST keep track for yourself, here are two solutions:
1) Have a whiteboard on which the subject writes their name. Take two shots of each subject: one with them holding the whiteboard with their name on it; a second "regular" shot. Pros: No paper to lose; no way to get mixed up or out of order. Cons: gotta take two shots of each person, and the first shot kinda feels like a police line-up shot.
2) Have a piece of paper, write down the file number and the subject's name for each shot. Pros: Simple, easy to understand. Cons: Easy to get mixed up, accidentally skip people, etc. Easy to lose the paper.
DON'T just keep a paper list in numeric order without any reference to the file number. If you skip a person or take two shots of a person, or people get out of order in line, then your paper is worthless.


It's going to be tough for us to give you any more instruction; honestly, you'd be better off getting clarification from the person who's responsible for planning the event for the client. If they're doing the printing and distribution, it's all on them.

Thanks for the feedback. True..it's mostly on them. I'm working with the event planner pretty closely and we are discussing options. I was actually thinking about the second option just because like you said..the first option will feel like a police lineup. I'll have an assistant with me there anyways so it should be fine. There'll be around 400 to 500 in attendance including their +1's. Just have to make sure that everything stays organized.

If anyone else has any suggestions..please bring them forward. would like to hear different ideas.

You might even consider tethered shooting to a laptop, either with a long USB cable or with an Eye-Fi card. That way, your assistant can see the file number on the laptop screen and make notes as necessary; you don't have to keep reviewing the camera to keep track of your file numbers.

You could even have the assistant rename files on the fly; or if you're using something like Lightroom, type the subject name and details into the Comments box without changing the filename.

nathancarter wrote in post #15610588
You might even consider tethered shooting to a laptop.

This is what i did last time I was responsible for printing and sending images to individuals - I couldn't print there and then for some reason I can't remember. So I shot tethered to laptop and my assistant wrote file names against peoples name and addresses and took cash (it was a charity ball) If there was more than one image the clients picked the image they wanted there and then. Bit different to what you need but the principles the same...

Take the photos, give them to them on CD, stop worrying about it. If they want more they'll ask for it.

tim wrote in post #15613904
Take the photos, give them to them on CD, stop worrying about it. If they want more they'll ask for it.

I'm not worried about it, but if something like this came up again in the future, it would be beneficial to find out how things can and would work. If you got nothing helpful to say, stay out of the thread.