Perks of Adding a Headshot Booth to Your Event!
I have a interesting story to share with you today. Where we thought the event was lost due to the rain, but was actually a success because of this one thing. Let’s jump into it!
I was contacted by one of the leading housing companies in the US. They reached out, and in their email, they wrote:
“We’re a housing company and are having an event at our new community on October 5th. We’d like to invite realtors to come visit, and as an incentive for them, we’d like to engage a photographer such as yourself to take their headshots. Apparently, Realtors love having their headshots taken. The event hours are from 11-2, so either a day rate or a ½ day rate if available.”
Of course, I responded by calling the individual right away, and to my surprise, I discovered that the person on the phone was actually the vice president of a digital marketing company who was in charge of finding a photographer for the housing company. After a brief conversation, it was clear why they were interested in booking my photography services for this assignment. They needed a professional headshot photographer with amazing work to help attract realtors, and they needed us to generate a leads list for them so they could follow up after the event.
I was put in touch with the property manager and given the green light. They paid the retainer fee, and we confirmed the assignment details. The event was in San Antonio, they approved the travel fee from Austin, and with that, I was booked and ready to go!
Behind The Scenes: What clients don’t typically see
There’s a lot of work to be done behind the scenes to prepare for an assignment. For instance, we gather information and any digital assets from the client to build out their online gallery. This includes a company’s branding, their messaging, and any sponsors that they might want to highlight. This way, when anyone visits the gallery, it looks and feels like a professional and represents our client well.
On some assignments, we build a sign-up sheet and create a QR code option. This sign-up sheet gives us an early indication of how many people are interested in a headshot. The sign-up sheet also generates a leads list. We capture names and emails that we keep private and only share with the client. It’s one of our biggest value points when it comes to our services.
The last thing we do that the majority of our clients never see is the editing or post-processing part. This is done after we have created all of the images. We upload the files to our system, review every photo, selecting only the best ones. We’ll either send off the selections for retouching or, if retouching wasn’t purchased, we tweak the colors and lighting a little bit to give it our signature style on the images.
Oh No! It’s Thunder Storming!
Back to the event. Its the day of the event and it’s thunder storming! My client was worried about the number of people showing up to their open house. Who’s going to want to fight the rain to view a new model home? Well, apparently about 85% of the people who RSVP. I believe that shows just how powerful having a headshot station at your event really is. When we asked the realtors what brought them out, they all said they wanted the free headshot. Their responses normally included “I haven’t had one in a few years” or “the current one isn’t that good.”
Success!
The event was a success despite the rain. My client was able to generate a lot of buzz around their new model home, and we were able to capture a pretty solid list for my client to follow up with. If it wasn’t for our headshot booth being at this event, I doubt many people would have had a good enough incentive to come out in the rain. From a photographer’s point of view, I felt like we were also able to provide top-notch headshots for those who were wanting to update their image. They had fun in front of the camera and realized it wasn’t that scary after all.
In Conclusion
I know it's been said before, but it’s really worth repeating. For a small investment in our headshot services, we can really elevate your event and provide enough incentive to your guest to show up. At the end of the day, what we really provide is more than just headshots - it’s value. Attendees value a good headshot, a positive experience, and a friendly photographer whom they can trust, and the companies we work with value the email lists we generate, how easy it is to work with us, our professionalism, and making the entire process streamlined.
We would be happy to answer any questions you may have or book you for your next event. As mentioned above, a headshot station is packed with value and can really elevate your event and attendee’s overall experience.
