I see the most beautiful photos of brilliant photographers exhibiting their wares at bride shows with spectacular backdrops, interior design props, huge prints and fresh flowers.

I am feeling the "I haven't received my tax return" pinch and I would love your ideas on how to have a great booth at a bride show without tons of lumber and furniture purchases. Trust me, my personal living room furniture has too much kid/cat wear and tear.

Can't I keep it simple and have albums and a slideshow on a nice screen?

If I won a lottery, I could be a great wedding photographer!

i sooooo get the 'if i won lotto' thing I did my first wedding expo last year and this was my setup...

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all it was was a couple of IKEA tables covered in black tablecloths, with a laptop attached to a sceen for the slideshow, 3 albums and 2 proof albums, and a couple of famed prints on the wall. certainly nothing spectacular, and definately NOTHING like what ive seen some people do... but i was told by a number of people mine were the best images in the show, and they liked my setup.

best thing was, I went from a wedding photographer having only done about 5 weddings...to booking about 20 weddings just from this expo! I was absolutley STOKED.

Next year im going bigger and better, because i will have the funds to go the zazazoom approach, but you dont have to spend a fortune to make an impact.

The last one I went to (not exhibiting) back in January, there were plenty of photographers, but none had furniture. Just your standard booth with info, sample albums, big prints.

Yeah, I went to a bridal fair with my old job at a restaurant/venue for the experience.... and NO ONE had booths that in any way compared to the pictures people post here. A few were pretty good... for a really expensive venue mansion... and a caterer that spread out... but seriously, most people had a table of STUFF laying out, often with some shelves under a cloth to give some height at the end so it was all visible. One gown store had a cardboard science fair board with info and pics glued to it. Most of it looked pretty tacky all the way around, including the photographers' booths. Maybe that's because I'm in Cleveland, TN

I think these photographers showing up with the type of stuff we've seen here are likely really blowing everyone else at the fair out of the water in a good way. I've seen some people say that other vendors were approaching them saying they would recommend them just based on their booth, and that is part of the goal in going so fancy-- to impress all the other vendors there and get more referrals going from them

Showing up with something on a budget can still look *great* and will likely be the same or better than a lot of people there!

We have never done a booth like the kind of stuff I have seen posted on here.

We usually use the table that is included with the booth, with a nice table cloth over it. If there is room, we bring another table. We have a couple of large, freestanding easels that we put some framed pieces on. We have used our backdrop stands, with an eye catching backdrop on it to hang our large framed pieces on. I think having something up high helps since there are usually a lot of crowds and people can't always see what is on the tables. We hang 2 to 4 pieces, depending on the size of the booth. You could even just show one large piece. We use picture hanging wire and hang them from some funky looking shower curtain hooks that we hang over the rod of the backdrop stand. Sometimes we just hang them over the curtain that is provided by the show and don't even use the backdrop stand.

We usually keep it simple with the albums and just have two laid out on the table (we show one matted and one zookbook, since that is what we offer). Sometimes we have a slideshow going.

One thing that I think can really make a difference in your booth is light. We bought some very inexpensive clip on lights from Lowes that we use to light up our booth. It makes a huge difference. Bring lots of gaffers tape, and tape them if you can't get them to stay where you want them to. This can be done without the tape even being noticeable.

Pretty much we use what we have and come up with a simple, nice looking design for our booth.

You don't need to spend a lot of money on a booth for it to look good, but I do think you should invest in some large pictures to draw the eye to you and to show your work. Also, make sure you include signage of some type the shows your business name.

I bought a small love seat from IKEA for booth use only - very inexpensive and lightweight so it's easy to use in a booth. I use it to give people a place to sit down and relax. It has been very effective for me and it gives me the opportunity to have a small consultation with them right at the fair. I've had some really great conversations with clients, other photographers, aunts and moms of the brides on that couch. I bought some small padded "cubes" to use as a "coffee table" and extra seating (and there have been times that all cubes and the sofa are full of people sitting and looking at books and talking, etc.) I also bought a very inexpensive set of nesting tables from IKEA and set up the larger one at the front of my booth with a couple of sample books that people can just browse through as they walk by. This is a photo I quickly snapped at the last bridal fair I did on Saturday.




Not too fancy but it works for me.

However, a lot of photographers here will simply place a table along the front of their booth with sample albums on it and some easels behind them to display a few larger, framed or gallery wrapped, prints. They seem to do pretty good too.

Mine was way cheap, IMO, excluding samples and the actual price for the show.



The "wall" is actually 3 door slabs at $23 each = $69
Can of blue paint - around $20
molding on wall - approx. $10
small tables in front of wall - free, brought in from patio and cleaned
white shelf - $3, clearance at Wal-Mart
blue vases - clearance at Target, $4 each = $8
orange flowers - $4
small easels - $5 each = $15
small table - free, end table from home
white cloth covering small table - free, found in my box o' stuff from my wedding
large ottoman - free, in my living room
blue fabric on ottoman - $12, stapled on, lol
box for e-session giveaway - $5, clearance at Target
sheer blue fabric for table - $7

So I spent around $150, not including prints, sample albums, and promo cards.

Hi Jenn!!

Have your hubby build all of your stuff like mine did! If you weren't two states away I'd ship you my stuff and let you use it. We should've planned ahead and had Sam and Peggy take it with them on the plane! Actually, my hubby really did build it all and it only took him a week. I think it cost us around $600 and half a right thumb. If you want detailed info let me know and I'll send it to you. I thought it looked super nice and everyone seemed to love it.

Colleen

brideshows are received differently all over the country. some are intense and some are laid back. in my area, there used to be one, now we are saturated.

here's my take on a bridshow and the booth...
we did one bride show. we had shot exactly 1 wedding and had exactly 0 samples. some people say 'go big or go home' - with that philosophy, i shouldn't have even gotten out of bed. nothing and i mean NOTHING about our booth was eyecatching. we did have something no one else had.... me and my biz partner, brenda.

imho, you are selling YOU! yes, the booth catches someone's eye, but so what? the brides all have to go past the booth! we handed out a biz card cd, one of those cd's that is the size of a biz card, with a slideshow on it - and our biz card. we were friendly and had a few prints to show. and when we handed them our CD card, they were perplexed and we explained that it was a cd with a slideshow. and we told them how to use it - or to just go to our website. the investment on the front end was minimal because the plan was to spend on the back end...

a brideshow is merely a vehicle for building a database of potential clients. what you are paying for is that mailing (or contact list) THAT is what you need to focus on. what will you do with that info??

just be friendly and someone that the brides would want at their wedding! imho, you do not have to spend much at all to be successful.

just my $0.02.


btw - we booked 2 at the show, and from that word of mouth started. and others followed from the show. i had done brideshows for another biz, and i never expect sales AT the show. i am looking for those quality clients that will come after.

Wow! I used doors as well for a (non-bridal)show, but I like the way you have yours arranged much better. Plus, I put the molding across the top of my doors--yours looks much better. I was just thinking of tossing that stuff, but now I think I will just rearrange it--thanks!