Why We Started A Calgary Photo Booth Company
Hi! We're Erin and Andrew and we've been running Flash Co. photo booth since 2014. We started our Calgary photo booth company because we saw a major gap in the industry. Like, a serious gap. The photo booths we had seen were, let's just say, a little lack lustre. Either the lighting was awful, the print quality was poor or there was no quick and easy way to share the photos. Additionally, the photo booths themselves were a bit of an eyesore. There just didn't seem to be a great product or service offering out there and we tried everything. We really did. That's when we created Flash Co. Photo Booth. It's sleek, stylish and gives your wedding guests the experience you imagined.
What Sets Us Apart
How are we different from the photo booth offered by your DJ or wedding photographer? Well, actually quite a bit. We know because we've done our research. We have made it our goal to provide a photo booth that looks great in any space, has impeccable photo quality and delivers the fun your guests are hoping for. After all, your wedding photographer is there to photograph your wedding, not babysit a photo booth. The same goes for your DJ. When a vendor is juggling too much, they are sure to drop the ball on something. We just wanted to make sure you get the experience you paid for - a hilarious time at your wedding reception and the photos to prove it. Here's why we started Flash Co Photo Booth and what sets us apart.
We are Wedding Photographers Who Care
We've been wedding photographers since 2010. During that time we've photographed over 150 weddings. We've seen just about everything. Mostly, we noticed how important it is to give your wedding guests an amazing experience. It broke our hearts to see an empty dance floor and guests leaving the party before 11pm. Yes, that really does happen sometimes. What makes a great party is a well thought out schedule of events and enough entertainment to keep your wedding guests interested. This means catering to every age group who might be attending your wedding. From toddlers to grandparents, you need to think of ways to entertain them than just an open bar and some music. After all your wedding is probably the biggest party you'll ever throw. Don't you want it to be as amazing as you imagined? We saw photo booths as a great way to do that. Kids love them, adults have a great time in them and if grandma gets in there, we've hit a home run.
What Didn't Work
In the early days we set up a cheap white backdrop and just stood there with a camera during the reception. Two things were wrong with this picture. First of all, we spent more time during the reception tending to the photo booth than we did photographing the reception. We were supposed to be in two places at once and it just wasn't possible. As photographers, were missing important reception moments AND we were under servicing the photo booth. It sucked.Secondly, there was no quick and reliable way to get wedding guests the photos. We had no way of printing the photos aside from lugging our computers with us and a clunky, slow moving home printer. It was awful. Furthermore, the only way to get wedding guests the photos was to upload the pictures to facebook a few days after the wedding. By that time, nobody cared about the photos and very few people downloaded them, including the bride and groom! Why get a photo booth if you aren't actually getting the photos?With the photo booth haphazardly thrown together and in was an inferior product. We wanted to make sure wedding guests got a great quality photo right away and the ability to have the digital file. It was going to be hard but there was hope ...
All-in-one-System
It was time to invest in a photo booth system that fit out needs. Our photo booth has the camera, professional lighting, printer and WIFI built into one unit. No more carrying around a laptop and printer with a million cords for people to trip on. Everything is contained and synced up so the process from snapping the photo to printing is automatic. Additionally, the photo booth is compact and elegantly designed. It gets set up in 20 minutes and looks great in any space. We didn't want to bring a photo booth that looked clunky or outdated to a beautifully designed wedding reception. It would just look out of place.
A Better Product
As photographers the quality of the photos is super important. Thats' why our photo booth has a professional lighting system built in. The photo booth has a strobe which is powerful to light the darkest of reception locations. The strobe is coupled with an umbrella for soft and diffused light. With this kind of lighting, the image quality is outstanding and the photos are flattering. It's so much better than using the direct light from an on camera flash, which was the look we were getting before. We also noticed that DJs that offer photo booths don't have the slightest clue what they were doing when it came to lighting. We knew we could take our experience as wedding photographers and offer a photo booth with good quality lighting.This photo showcases what bad lighting and image quality looks like:
Here's an example of the lighting in our photo booth. It's so much more flattering, don't you think? The digital image is top quality and the print looks exactly the same.
Providing Better Service
When we started Flash Co. Photo Booth we knew we needed help. So, we hired photo booth attendants to free us up to photograph the wedding reception while they ran the photo booth. When you hire a dedicated photo booth company instead of your wedding photographer, you don't lose out on those important reception moments. After your dinner has been eaten and the toasts have been given you finally have a chance to mingle with your guests. Some of the best moments happen during this time. As wedding photographers, we are able to concentrate on these moments instead of running a photo booth. That's why our photo booth attendants are our greatest asset. We train them to set up and take down the photo booth, make sure your guests are having a great time and trouble shoot any printing problems. This saves us about 4 hours of time at a wedding reception. As wedding photographers, that precious time is important. It means we can concentrate on what we were hired to do (which is photograph your wedding) and our photo booth attendants do the rest.
The Details Are important
One of the little details we are sure gets over looked far too often is the cleanliness of photo booth props. Have you ever put on a photo booth prop and wondered where it's been? We have. That's why we wipe down the props after each event with disinfectant wipes. You'd be surprised how many rum and cokes get splashed around in the photo booth or how many of the props end up on the floor. We take the time and effort to spot clean our props at the event with grab and go wipes. Once a month all of our props either get a deep clean in the washing machine or with a good old bucket of warm water and household cleaner. We use Young Living's Thieves cleaner made from natural products and essential oils. That way the props are squeaky clean AND they smell fantastic.
Running a photo booth is so much more than just taking photos. We pride ourselves in running a solid business based on client experience and customer care. It's about making sure we're using the latest software to get your photos to your guests as quickly as possible. It's about bringing our own WIFI to your event so we don't have to rely on your venue's spotty service. We make sure our clients are cared for from the first email to delivering the online gallery of digital files after the event. It's all important to us.Thanks for taking the time to read our origin story! We truly love what we do.