Every year since 2007 Chris MacAskill has been hosting a Halloween photo booth in his garage. He is the cofounder of SmugMug. It started out simple and has evolved over time. He started out with one light and is now using a three light set up. He added an industrial smoke machine and, this year he’ll be trying out the new ProPhoto TTL strobes.
It really sounds like a genius move especially considering that I’m a family and children’s portrait photographer. I’m sure it would be a great way for me to drum up business. However, parents were leery at first.
You don’t want to be the creepy guy trying to lure children into your garage to take photographs. His wife stands outside in the driveway to explain to parents what they’re doing. That seems to take some of the fear away for them. Now that people know about it they come from all over.
“I wear knee pads and shoot from my knees because they are mostly children and I like to get to their level, ” MacAskill said. “Many parents drive their kids for miles to get these shots every year and they pass the word around at their schools. I wear out those knee pads.”
Some parents were wary at first of the photo booth. MacAskill’s wife volunteers for sidewalk duty to explain to passersby what they are doing. Last year, they upped the ante by adding an industrial smoke machine to the booth. It created more drama and everyone went crazy for it!
Go to borrowlenses.com to see the article with images and exactly how he does it.
Source: Borrow Lenses
Image Source: Kevin Dooley
