Say Cheese Photo BoothRent the Fun…Keep the Memories

Say Cheese photo booths are known for quality construction, very fast printing, and superb image quality. There are some fundamental factors that affect the image quality of our photo booths and distinguish us as the premier photo booth rental company.

First,  your pictures will be printed on true photo stock paper. As you shop around and look at different photo booth rental companies, we encourage you to ask each vendor for hard copy samples because it’s a good litmus test for the quality of product you are receiving. True photo stock paper will be thicker and glossy on both sides of the paper. Just think of the lab quality paper you get from Kodak, HP, or Fuji at your local photo lab. Our paper is manufactured by Mitsubishi and is the highest grade paper you get get

Second, notice that we only used a white backdrop to our pictures in order to maintain a natural contrast.  This insures that people with different skin tones and folks who may be wearing darker clothes do not get lost with a black background.

Third, our photo booths focus on the shoulder up, which means the faces of your guests will be much closer to the camera, bringing out more personality in the pictures for your scrapbook. Often the faces found in our pictures will be the same size if not larger than the whole body of someone who took a picture in another photo booth. This is key.

Finally, we use only commercial grade, dye-sublimation printers to produce high resolution DPI (“dots per inch”)  that cannot smudge or fade over time. Plus our printers automatically cut two identical strips (so your photo booth attendant does not have to do it on the spot). We do not offer a grid or 4×6 format because we want both you and your guests to get a copy to take home.

Photo booths are still considered a new service relative to the wedding industry and many consumers do not know the difference amongst the various machines to get the job done. There is a difference and we hope you are a little more educated as you shop around. Happy planning!

Props? Yeah, we’ve got ‘em. They are available with our “Cheesier” and “Cheesiest” packages.  Who doesn’t chuckle at the picture of a grown man wearing the pink boa with giant glasses, or the beautiful blond woman with the Groucho Marx mustache? These are just a few of the many examples that come to mind when you are looking for a laugh and that next priceless picture your friend or family member will never live down. Props are (and always will be) fun.

Props are a matter of personal taste, so here are some guidelines to help you decide whether or not you want to offer them to your guests along with the photo booth. Some brides want more of a “black tie affair” atmosphere to their celebration, whereas others want rip-roarin’ fun with an emphasis on crazy but not quite regrettable pictures for their scrapbook. But for those brides who are stuck in the middle, first decide what scrapbook you want to be looking at several years from your reception. Those brides who desired a formal, more elegant affair opted for black and white pictures only. As you would expect, they did not want any props in any of the pictures for their scrapbook. It makes for a very classy, uniform looking scrapbook.

Second, realize that props have the potential to slow down the picture-taking process. Some of our brides wanted to supply their own props and supply they did! They bought a plethora of props, enough to give everyone their own mask, and a Halloween makeover. Offering too many choices can cause your guests to get too focused on picking the perfect prop and slow things down. Speaking of masks, be aware that you may not know who some of the people are in your scrapbook because you can’t recognize them. Consider your scrapbook to be a visual guest book. Thanks to photo booths, you now have faces and messages instead of just signatures in a small white book.

With all this said, props help to kick start the party and break the ice for people to start taking pictures. And by the end of the night, it’s common for people to argue who has bragging rights to the goofiest,  most off-the-wall, “I had a few too many drinks” photo strips at your reception. Regardless, your guests will have fun and cherish their pictures for years to come.

Photo booths: they’re universally appealing because all of us, young and old, love pictures. Pictures remind us of places we have been to and experiences we have shared with various people in our lives. Pictures literally document our lives. Now imagine having a photo booth at your wedding, easily one of the most important days of your life. It is a day for which dozens of hours are logged in preparation to create the “perfect day” full of memories with those who merit the invitation. Much of this preparation is spent on entertaining and feeding your guests, as everything from the food to the song list undergoes scrutiny. You want to be proud of your wedding. You want to “show off” in a sense, and give your guests a time to remember. Renting a photo booth covers all your bases and best of all… you get the credit!

The following are four very good reasons to consider renting a photo booth from Say Cheese:

1. FUN! - After over 300 weddings, we can virtually guarantee your guests will love this idea and give you a big thank you for letting them take pictures. Photo booths have an uncanny ability to elicit silliness out of even the most introverted of people. When the curtain closes, all bets are off, and people let loose with their friends and family.

2. Instant Results- Our photo booths print AND cut two identical photo strips in only 11 seconds. This means all of your guests will have opportunities to get into the booth and yuck it up and try to outdo one another and not have to wait for photos to be developed. Say goodbye to disposable cameras (and c pictures of water fountains and ceiling fans)!

3. Party Favors - Brides LOVE our fridge magnets. They fit nicely onto each photo strip, allowing your guests to put their memories on their fridge. We understand that getting the right party favor can be an expensive experiment at pleasing your guests. Our fridge magnets provide a cost effective solution to this common wedding planning problem by giving your guests a sentimental treasure that they won’t merely eat or throw away. You will find it on their fridge the next time you’re over!

4. Everyone Gets pictures - Since our photo booths print two identical copies, your guests will have something to take home without you being left out. All rentals come standard with a flash drive to capture all photos digitally. You can then upload your pictures onto your computer and Facebook. Plus, if you book our “cheesiest package”, you will receive a scrapbook filled with notes and signatures of your guests next to their picture.

Check out our web site by clicking the links above or give us a call 513-256-3460 or email deb@saycheesephotoboboth.com so we can help you create the “perfect” wedding with a Say Cheese photo booth.

Rent a quality photo booth

When you rent a photo booth from Say Cheese, rest assured you are renting the best equipment. Not all photo booths are created equal. When renting a photo booth, using commercial grade equipment is paramount. Why? Because the last thing you want is something to break down or not work properly. Take a photographer for example. Most brides, when shopping around for a photographer, automatically assume that photographers use state of the art technology. It’s probably not even a question they would ask. Renting a photo booth that doesn’t contain commercial grade equipment is like asking a photographer to capture the moments of your event using a digital camera you can buy at Target.

So, what is commercial grade equipment? Essentially it’s any kind of equipment used in a commercial setting (not at home) with some proprietary feature. In other words, commercial equipment is created for specific applications with demanding workloads. It’s equipment that you can’t buy “off the rack”. Think of it this way: If you ever had a job in which everyone shares a copier, that copier is considered a commercial piece of equipment. Compare that to the HP printer you might see on your desk at work or at home. One piece of machinery is designed to crank out hundreds of pages by the minute. Your standard HP printer at home doesn’t have that capability. So, how does this tie into renting a photo booth? Well, we use Mitsubishi medical imaging printers that print AND cut photo strips in a mere 17 seconds. It may take up to 30 seconds or more for our competitors to print their pictures using the technology at their disposal. This may not seem like a significant time gap, but it makes a huge difference. Over a five hour rental, it can mean the difference between 400 and 600 pictures. Also, a Say Cheese photo booth means your guests will not have to wait in line as long to receive their pictures. That means more pictures for your scrapbook and for guests to take home, as well as more opportunities for them to have fun in the booth.

At Say Cheese photo booth, we insist on using commercial grade equipment that can take a beating and still deliver high quality pictures time after time, week after week.

$100 Deposit

So, you want to rent a photo booth for your wedding or party, but also realize a deposit must be made. Did you know that Say Cheese Photo Booth requires only a $100 deposit to secure your date? It’s the lowest of any photo booth rental company, and one that we are proud to offer our customers. Our small deposit frees up hundreds of dollars that could be spent on other things such as flowers, your cake, or a DJ. Many photo booth rental companies will ask you to pay upwards of 50% of the total cost of rental. For example, if a rental company advertises a $1,000 rental, you must front $500 just to secure your date. That could be $500 down the drain should you change your date. Not so with Say Cheese. The remaining balance on a Say Cheese photo booth rental is payable up to seven days prior to your wedding, so you have plenty of time to delegate dollars. Oh, did we mention all the different ways you can pay for your rental? We take American Express, Discover, Visa, and Mastercard. You can also pay using Pay Pal, even if you don’t have your own account set up. Paying by check will never go out of style either. A small deposit and plenty of payment options – that’s the Say Cheese way to photo booth fun.

So, you have been planning a wedding for months now and you have done a lot of research to find the right vendors. By now, you have checked off important items such as your reception site, photographer, DJ, limo service, and all the other components that make your dream day a success. Now it comes down to the icing on the cake – a photo booth. Maybe you have experienced one at someone’s wedding or at a bridal show. Either way, it seems apparent that renting a photo booth is a novel and worthwhile way to spend your wedding dollars and treat your guests to a night of memorable fun. Fortunately for you, there aren’t too many of us around. We photo booth companies are still somewhat a rarity within the wedding industry. That means you don’t have to search high and low to find the right vendor amongst dozens of choices like you would for say, a photographer. With that said, here are some aspects to consider when renting a photo booth.

Get Samples!

Believe it or not, there is a distinction in paper quality. True photo stock paper is thicker and glossier than less expensive varieties. Compare the sample paper to pictures you may have had developed at Walgreens or Target, which use the highest grade papers from Fuji or Kodak. Second, find out HOW the pictures are printed. Dye sublimation is the key work here. In basic terms, a picture that is printed through dye sublimation will not fade over time because color is thermally absorbed INTO the paper rather than “spread” on the surface. Here is a good litmus test: Hold the picture sample up to sunlight. If you can see  blotches in the ink, that’s most likely a laser jet printer at work. Why is this important? Your photo booth pictures better stand the test of time, as your wedding day is a very important day in your life. You assume the photographer you hired will deliver quality prints to last a lifetime. Why should you expect anything different from a photo booth scrapbook? This will be your visual guest book after all!

Can the photo booth get into your reception venue?

Photo booths vary in size, so make sure the machine can gain access into your venue. For example, check to see that your venue has a handicap ramp and that doorways are wide and tall enough for the machine to pass through. The “pipe and drape” variety of photo booths do not encounter this problem because they can be set up on site. However, set up requires time, and that may add to the cost of rental. Assuming the photo booth can fit into the room, consider how much space it will require. Understand that you may need a table dedicated to making a scrapbook and that a line of people will likely form throughout the night. Combined, these factors can lead to a crowded space, so make sure your floor plan will properly accommodate this reality.

How is the booth constructed?

Camera and printer technology are important. There are photo booth rental companies out there using “off the rack” components to keep costs low. However, a commercial grade printer can handle a more demanding workload, printing pictures faster with higher resolutions and hold more film. Also, it helps if your photos will come out pre-cut, so the attendant on hand does not have to do so manually. All of this adds up to more pictures taken with less wait for your guests. A Say Cheese photo booth prints and cuts two identical copies in only 11 seconds, allowing hundreds of pictures to be taken during the allotted rental time.

Also consider the mobility of your photo booth. For example, can the booth be moved for a cocktail hour? If the booth requires assembly, then the answer is likely to be no.

How far away are the people in the picture?

This is important to consider because the closer the face, the more “personality” you will see in your guests’ pictures. Otherwise, it can look more like a posed picture with a digital camera. It’s important to control how far away people are from the camera. Otherwise, you can have pictures with minuscule heads and bodies. The magic of a photo booth lies in its uncanny ability to elicit silliness, romance, and unique faces from your guests. This is the “fun factor” of renting a photo booth, so you want to maximize what that looks like. In other words, it’s all about the face. That is where the personality of your guests shines.

Read the contract.

Do your homework and look at the details before you commit to any one company. Some companies advertise a low rate and add on charges for items such as set up, idle time, extra prints, CD’s, scrapbooks, and travel. Also, pay attention to the deposit. Some companies may require a 50% deposit upfront to secure your date. This can affect your budget by taking hundreds of dollars away that were meant for other items. We only require a flat $200 deposit to secure your date, not a percentage of your total rental cost.

Seek references.

Experience and reputation for quality service are vital when choosing any vendor. Speaking for ourselves, we have serviced hundreds of weddings and other events like corporate parties, mitzvahs, proms, and the like. This is our sole focus and we have gained a lot of experience over the years. Therefore, we can give competent advice and tell you what to expect. We provide quick correspondence to emails and phone calls. Also, we have 14 photo booths to provide greater availability for your rental date.Do your homework, and happy planning!