Obxbrides.com live chat archive with Neal Zipser, owner of ShutterBooth
Neal at ShutterBooth: Hi everyone. It’s Neal here with ShutterBooth. For those of you who haven’t
heard of us, ShutterBooth is a photo booth rental company, but we are very different from many booths
out there. How are we different? First, instead of the old school booths where two people would cram in
to get their headshots taken, the ShutterBooth allows you to stand up and get as many as 10-12 people inat one time. Very crazy! Plus, our prints are super high quality, we post your photos on-line for a year at no cost, each photo strip is personalized with a very cool logo with the bride and groom’s name and in the colors of the wedding.
Question: Can you tell us a little about the booth, sizes it takes up, top features, etc. It's a new item on
the Outer Banks so some general info would be great!
Neal at ShutterBooth: The booth itself is about 3 feet wide and 7 feet long. Not too bad. We can use it
indoors or outdoors.
Neal at ShutterBooth: Why a photo booth? First, this acts as your wedding favor. The guests take home a print which pops out of the machine in about 30 seconds. Second, our scrapbooks act as a very
memorable guestbook. And it’s something you get that night so you can take it with you on your
honeymoon and look through it (if there will be any “free” time).
Question: How long does it take to get a photo?
Neal at ShutterBooth: The photo normally prints in 30-40 seconds. If a second print is desired for the
wedding scrapbook, we set up a second printer so it doesn't take any longer.
Question: Can I choose color or black and white?
Neal at ShutterBooth: You can have the guests choose black and white or color OR many brides simply
want everyone to have a color or black and white so the guest wouldn't have a choice. I'd say black and
white is very HOT right now.
Question: The guests get to keep a strip for their favor? Then I could use the other in a guest register
book? Do you help with the book?
Neal at ShutterBooth: Yes, the guest keeps their strip. If they want more than one, we direct them to the website and they can download or print as many as they want. A second print goes in the scrapbook.
We put the scrapbook together and actually design it before the wedding in the colors of the wedding. It's
REALLY sweet.
Neal at ShutterBooth: Props are also pretty cool. If you want it to be a big party, we bring out the boas
and silly hats. If you want the wedding reception more formal -- keep the props in the trunk. And
another point, no offense to florists – but most guests won’t remember what flowers you had at your
wedding in a week or two. They will remember the photo strip as it will be on their fridge or they’ll use it
as a bookmark.
Question: I wanted to know if you could do a save the date kind of photo strip with our photos, to "hint" that we will be using the photo booth at our wedding? I saw one in a magazine that was a photo strip save the date and also a magnet. It was really cool.
Neal at ShutterBooth: Our save the dates are very popular. We typically get the bride/groom in the booth to do four different poses -- one may be him proposing, another of her showing off the ring, celebrating, etc. They take about two weeks for us to produce and look awesome.
Question: Can you talk about the cost, what's included, any extras?
Neal at ShutterBooth: The Basic package is $995 and includes four hours of unlimited photos, the logo
design, a full-time host, the on-line photo gallery, a frame that allows you to loop photos on the booth and a CD of all the photos. The most popular extra is the scrapbook ($165), thank you cards ($1 each) and save the date magnets ($1.75 each). The thank you cards are cool because your guests will receive them with the four photos of the bride and groom and remember that "oh yeah -- that was the wedding with the kick butt photobooth.
Comment: I like that!!!
Neal at ShutterBooth: Please check us out at www.shutterbooth.com. You can see a lot of what we offer.
We also have some very cool new products coming out over the summer that we haven't released
yet...you'll have to check obxbrides.com's facebook page to see what those will be...
Question: Does that pricing include travel, set up, breakdown, etc.?
Neal at ShutterBooth: Yes, although I am typing away in Raleigh, we will soon have a booth full time
in the OBX. This means no delivery costs, a local host who knows the market and importantly knows the
contacts at all the venues. The booth is draped in all black and looks very nice. Some country clubs have
standards on what you can bring in, for example, and everyone has been very pleased with the
professional look of our booth.
Question: I was at the wedding show on the Outer Banks but didn't get my photo taken. Now I wish I had.
Neal at ShutterBooth: You missed out! All the photos from that event can be seen at
www.ShutterYou.com. You can see some of the fun you missed. Since the January show, we've booked
about 10 weddings and have a bunch of folks looking for more info. I really think this trend will take the
OBX by storm. The ones who have it early will be very happy.
Question: What kind of power source do you need to hook it all up? And what about lighting at night if
it's outside?
Neal at ShutterBooth: Good question. We require your typical 110 volt source -- your standard wall
outlet. That works just fine. As for lighting, we don't need any. We use a powerful flash in the inside of
our booth which provides all the light we need. Of course, you'd want lighting by the scrapbook. If the
event is during the day, we cannot have direct sunlight over us, but we normally go under a tent anyway.
Question: The booth sounds like a good option for our casual rehearsal dinner. I want a plated dinner
and maybe a little more formality for the wedding reception. Have you ever seen it "steal" the attention
from the wedding events? Hahahaha, not that I have to have ALL the attention but it is a concern.
Neal at ShutterBooth: I just had a bride ask me about that this morning. Quite honestly, there will be a
few folks (the ones doing the majority of the drinking) who may hang around the booth more than others.
I wouldn't say we steal the show though. Typically, the guest is intrigued, gives it a try, loves it, and
comes back 2-3 times later in the night with different people. The brides do love the booth because they
can get in the booth with all their bridesmaids at once and get some photos. Of course it helps if you are not claustrophobic!
Comment: That's good to hear. I didn't want it to be like "shots" at the bar scene. God, I sound like a
prude. I'm really a lot of fun.
Neal at ShutterBooth: Believe me, you're not a prude -- but we do have a saying -- "what happens in the photo booth, stays in the photo booth!" There are no rules except you can't bring a lit cigarette into the
booth.
Comment: That's funny!
Neal at ShutterBooth: And we only post the photos on-line that are appropriate. Every now and then wemay see the middle finger or too much skin (if you know what I mean) and those get put on your CD for blackmail" purposes. They don’t get put on-line.
Question: Does it or how does it compete with wedding photographers. Do photographers like it?
Neal at ShutterBooth: We do not compete against photographers. Most photographers like the fact they
do not have to go around taking candid shots of the friends and guests. Instead, they focus on the first
dance, cake cutting, etc. All brides and grooms typically get their photo taken a few times in the booth --
and the photographer is right there documenting it all. Very cool!
Question: What if our guests want more of the photos or reprints of them. Sorry if you already answered
this, but it’s hard to read all the way down to the bottom.
Neal at ShutterBooth: If there is time (meaning no line at the booth) we can print extras there on the spot.
We typically only do it for the bridal party and the bride and groom's families. However, we do tell
everyone to go on-line to your wedding and print or download as many as they want. We put our website
address on the back of all the strips so they will remember the following day.
Question: Will you travel to the 4 x 4 off road areas north of Corolla?
Neal at ShutterBooth: If our host's vehicle can get to it and there is a power supply, we can make it
happen.
Question: Where does the booth generally go? Near the bar? At the main entrance? How will I know the
best place to put it?
Neal at ShutterBooth: A lot of times, we're by the front entrance...sometimes near the bar. Really,
wherever it is most convenient. I recommend not to put us real close to a doorway as it will get cluttered.
We want to stay out of the way of the food being delivered and all that.
Neal at ShutterBooth: You can reach me at nc@shutterbooth.com if you have any other questions or call
me at 919-255-2556. And friend us on facebook to see all the latest things happening. Good luck with all your planning!
