Photo by Jason Peckovitch
Sunday's "Hot August Nights" car show in Fort Collins was by far the most successful one yet for myself and partner Jason Peckovitch of Illusive Dreams photography. Our photo booth was one of the most popular at this inaugural event, and I certainly hope Jason and I can be apart of it for years to come.
Jason was able to secure three lovely ladies to be our models for the day. Their presence at the show was undeniable. They spent the first hour or so walking the show talking to car owners and asking them if they would like a photo of one of the models showcased near their vehicles. Having that one-to-one contact with the models got the ball rolling for us, but our exposure skyrocketed even more when the ladies participated in a bikini contest at the show. One of them even won a portion of the first place prize money! Plus, having printed and framed examples of shots Jason took at the last show available helped give people an idea of what to expect, as well as offered another potential revenue stream because several people wanted to make offers to purchase those framed images too.
Before long, we were overwhelmed with people coming up to the booth asking if they could get a shot with Steph, Mandy or Chastity. We had orders from 20 people with everyone spending on average $15 to $20. That's a heck of a lot more than the six orders we had at the last car show! I was editing right up until folks started taking their tents down. One of the keys to our success was Jason's ability to take extremely clean images from the get-go. That meant all I had to do was bump up the clarity and vibrance in Camera Raw, do some sharpening and quick curve adjustments, save and print. Plus, Jason always shot at least three different poses for each car and model combo, making it difficult for clients to just pick one image to print. It was far easier to say, "I'll just take one of each," which quickly boosted our sales.
If it weren't for one of the model's boyfriend's helping us take orders while I did the editing, we may not have made it! As a matter of fact, we may need to get assistance from another shooter too. Of course being at a car show makes it easier to find out about others that are happening around the metro area, so we are busy trying to fill up our schedules with more events to come. I was sitting and editing and staring at my laptop for so long that my eyes and my butt ached. But these photo booths are a ton of fun and I love being able to interact with our clients, shaking hands and handing out cards.
