Kelly Prizel

Wedding Photobooth Fun

kp_admin — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 07:00:24 +0000

Overwhelmed. That’s the best way to describe how I feel when I come home from a wedding and start to look at the photobooth pictures. Overwhelmed by the goofiness, the fun, the interesting use of props and just how many people, all age ranges, have a go at the fun in the photobooth. Grandma may not dance all night, but she sure seems to love to take a few shots with her family in the booth. And is usually game for using the pirate hat. Or rainbow boa. It’s seriously my guilty pleasure to look at the photobooth pictures before anything else, exhausted and totally unable to edit a thing. I know even if my feet are screaming and my back is dying to get in bed after all that equipment I carried…I can sit for a few minutes as my cards upload all the wedding pictures and just laugh. Or, sometimes, get all happy and just plain feeling awesome seeing a few shots of a newborn baby and his or her family gathering together for a group shot for the first time.

I now offer the photobooth as an addition to any wedding I’m shooting. And woah. Almost every client adds it on to their wedding package ever since I started formally offering it. Because, sure you got your guestbook where some people will write ‘Congrats!’ or ‘I love you!!’ and that’s great. I had 5 guestbooks at my wedding (no judging, I minored in bookbinding in art school so I went a little nuts). But the photobooth is like a visual guestbook- it’s a great way to make sure you have pictures of most of your guests for you to enjoy and them enjoying themselves. And they are high quality images from a dslr with all professional lighting- but no cords!! Nothing to trip on or worry about.

Speaking of professional, I hemmed and hawed over making one myself. But honestly, I wanted something that looked well put together and wouldn’t distract from the wedding. The entire booth is made from commercial metal piping and even a metal lockbox (Al Gore anyone?) for my camera so that if someone had a bit too much to drink, they won’t be breaking my camera. AND the best part??? No one needs to man the booth. Yup. Guests can come up, read the instructions, press the giant red button and the LCD screen counts down 3, 2, 1! Boom.

Yes the photobooth is fun. But the main focus should always, always be on the wedding. With the professional look, the booth fades into the background. But I’m also super picky about where it’s setup and how the wedding will flow. I normally place the photobooth away from the dancing and main activity- after all, this isn’t the focus. I usually put it by the bar that’s tucked away in a corner. So as your guests feel a bit thirsty, they go on over to the bar, realize there is a bit of a line, but…there’s a photobooth! So said guest goes and plops on a few props, grabs a friend from the drink line, and takes a few pictures. They then return to get their drink and get back on the dance floor. They probably tell their friends about the photobooth and eventually, everyone gets a drink and a few shots in the booth. It’s all about the flow.

I guess you noticed the props. Ya, kinda hard not to. Lots n lots of props. I’m a bit of a prop addict. It adds a lot of fun to the booth. But say your incorporating some important traditions or a feel for your wedding- we can work together to add some props that will make your booth ‘yours’. Maybe it’s a viking hat or initials of the couple or a chalkboard or masks. Whatever. I’m game.

Warm Winter Engagement

kp_admin — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 14:09:31 +0000

Despite a few snow storms up here in CT, it’s been unusually warm. So much so, that a lot of my ‘winter’ engagement sessions have turned into shoots very much like a cool spring day. Cute bulky sweaters. Or fake fur trimmed jackets. But for the most part? We’ve left the ski gloves and frozen noses behind. Here’s a bit of a sneak peak of some winter engagement shoots coming to the blog soon:

Shave and a Hair Cut

kp_admin — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 12:00:46 +0000

So our newest rabbit, London, is our first long-haired rabbit. We love him but he came to use with tons and tons of mats. I finally threw in the towel this weekend and got him shaved. I don’t think his dignity was left intact though….

Want to see more pictures of London getting shaved and looking, well, like a sheared lamb? Check out my facebook page.

Other London related posts: London with a hat on for Halloween

Lake Champlain Vermont Wedding Northern Lights Cruise

kp_admin — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 08:00:27 +0000

With rain starting to come down, Lake Champlain is even more of a majestic backdrop for a wedding. There was a bit of fog and the colors of the sky, trees and lake became even richer. Sure, it meant we had to dance the night away inside the boat, but let me tell you, rain did not stop that party. Imagine you’re on a boat (yeah! I’m on a boat, ya…) for a wedding. There are probably 20 guests max. And 85% of them are lesbians. Oooooh you BET that was an awesome party. When Lady Gaga came on, we were even treated to a solo performance by one of the guests. I was laughing so hard at all of Ellie and Janet’s antics, I was laugh/crying by the end. And then actually crying when I had to say goodbye to Ellie and Janet…they were going back to Georgia. I was a blubbering mess, but so was Ellie, so we hugged and realized how awesome a time we all had had.
Let me reverse a bit because, as you can see from the skipping down the aisle of Ellie and badass dance moves of Janet, these are two creative, funny women. We plotted over skype about the wedding. Me in New Haven. Them in Georgia. But as I was shooting on the boat, I suddenly wanted to stow away in their suitcase. Here was an amazing LGBT community who all flew up from Georgia to support Ellie and Janet. I wanted to be best friends with everyone on the boat. And I almost was going to live in Georgia because that’s the other PhD program Natalie wanted to go to. Yale or Emory. If it had been Emory, these ladies would have been practically neighbors. Going through their images, I sometimes wish to move right on in with them. I mean, damn, that joy is impossible to ignore. So I got to document it and use my creativity to give them a gift I truly am blessed to give them. Documenting all that fun, that bond between their friends and family, and those vows (legal vows!!) they made.

// Venue Northern Lights Lake Champlain //

Other Vermont weddings: Hubbell Homestead Wedding Part 1, 2, and 3

Snowy CT

kp_admin — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 09:00:24 +0000

I grew up in Virginia in the exact same town my mom did. I went to the same high school she did. And while, Virginia may not be Puerto Rico in warmth, it’s still a pretty mild area. I can remember small flurries shutting down school. A whole inch of snow and people flipped out. Where to go!!! What to do!!! And let me say, Virginia drivers are not the best, but when snow comes down, well….you might want to avoid roads at all costs. I think snowflakes block the blood to the brain of Virginians and the accidents are a great testimony to that.

So when Natalie and I moved up here to Connecticut, I had maybe shoveled 2-3 inches of snow in my life. I didn’t own *real* gloves. I owned pretty H&M, not-really-made-to-hold-snow, gloves. And my coat was lackluster in the keeping me warm department. First year went like this:

Me: OMG, there’s snow!! Yay!
Two hours later
Me:It’s still snowing. And…it’s sticking
Four hours later
Me: We don’t own a shovel! Or salt!!! Or the snow blower our neighbors are currently using!! Holy crap. I hate snow. I haaaaaaaaate snow. We can’t even leave our house because our car is stuck *SOB*

The second year went like this:

Me: I got a shovel. Oh yeah. And I even have a northface jacket. I’m sooooo ready for this. Bring it.
Commence 25 inches of snow falling in one day
Me: *SOB*

So snow and I have a very love/hate relationship. I think it’s pretty. Until I have to shovel it. Or faceplant in the snow for the 34667 time trying to push our car out of the snow. But Friday and Saturday we got 8 inches of snow. So I decided it would be fun to take a walk in the snow. At the time, it was snowing so hard we couldn’t look up. Thankfully, Natalie wore a ridiculous elephant hat so I never lost her. Half-way through our walk we decided to extended it and walk to our local cafe.

Hot coco in cute mugs and just watching the snow come down from inside was wonderful.

P.S. Most of the snowy shots were taken with my new Fuji x100. This camera is so perfect for throwing in my purse and has actually made me just take photos I *want* to take.

Other CT Winter Posts: New Englander 101