All in all, it worked out fine. I even took a laptop and downloaded the pictures, organizing as I went and sometimes allowing the kids a choice in poses when it was slow.
I thought about taking a printer and printing them there, but decided not to bother. For one thing, since it was a dance - the kids' wouldn't have been able to keep up with them.
We ended up needing some extra lighting once the sun set. (Camera flash not quite enough.) An overhead projector worked great as extra lighting.
Sam's deserves a BIG thank you. Somehow my camera ended up being used (instead of Journalism's) and red eye correction wasn't on. Plus there were a few where you could see the brick wall around the edges of the backdrop.
I have limited graphic skills but really didn't want to mess with correcting them myself. When I called Sam's Photo Center, the manager said since it was slow, she'd just do it for me and waive the normal $1 per picture customization fee. Once I got there, she also offered to crop the ones that needed it. We had 85 5x7's made (with enhancements) for a mere $38.00. I took them in at 11:00 and they were ready at 1:00.
One thing I would do differently is make the backdrop larger so it wasn't so difficult to frame the picture so edges didn't show. Also, a fabric backdrop (like a king-size sheet) would be better for the backrgound (before adding decorations) instead of the colored rolled paper.
One caution. The folks who bought the decorations found some cute stuff intended for the backdrop. But it was a panel designs on a clear plastic surface. The plastic picked up the flash like a mirror and caused glare. Luckily, we tested it when decorating so used some less shiny decorations.
Also, it was good I was organizing as I went. The numbering on my camera's display is not the same as the number on the image file. My daughter and her friends probably could have identified everyone, but some people came back 2 and 3 times, plus we were snapping candids in between. So it was probably good that we organized and re-named files as we went. (Of course, if the camera was used for no other purpose and the forms ordered in sequence, it would be pretty easy to figure out that way.)
All in all, it was very easy. The best part was the shock on the adults' faces (and some of the kids) at the low price. Being a dance, it was loud and busy, so they'd glance at our sign and assume it said $10. They just couldn't believe we really meant $1.
These kids paid $3 to attend a prom with free food, got pictures for $1, and had a great time. It was great!
[ 05-22-2006, 08:57 PM: Message edited by: JHB ]
