Santa Session with Prints
Santa and Mrs. Claus
Getting a photo with Santa Claus is a right of passage for most children. I remember dressing up, going to the mall, and waiting in a long line to get my picture with Santa. My parents would buy the photo, and I’d get a candy cane after telling him what I wanted for Christmas.
I did the same thing for my children throughout the years. Although, I don’t remember them getting a candy cane. As the years went on, Santa’s hours at the mall dwindled. Each time we went, he wasn’t there- probably busy at the North Pole.
I believe every child needs a photo with Santa.
Ho ho ho
I was recently a vendor for a Christmas market in Hesperia. I set up a a table to display my photography business and everything I offer. I also created a festive backdrop for Santa photos.
Part of my booth offer was “Getting a Printed Photo with Santa.”
I used my portable printer that connects to my camera to print out the image. I bought festive frames to slip the photos into. Wah-la! A fun printed Santa photo, just like you’d get at the mall. These were a paid option, but parents were able to take free photos with their phones, as well.
The little faces lit up as they watched their photo with Santa, print out. They smiled as they walked away.
Looking forward to next year, already. If you’re interested, sign up for my mailing list (below) and follow me on Instagram to keep updated.
If you’re a photographer and want to know how the tech side went down, keep reading. If not, thanks for popping by, happy Santa season, and hope to see you next year!
Tech Side of in-person Prints
The rest of this post is for the photographers.
Dear Photographer,
Are you planning on running a booth and want to know more about printing out your photos in-person? No, not a “Photobooth,” where you step inside a box, and a machine takes your photo, then prints out a strip of 2” photos.
This is for the photographer who wants to take a photo and then give a printed 4x6 image to the client to walk away with. This is more of an experience than a regular booth.
When I first had the idea of taking photos at a local event, I didn’t know portable printers even existed.
So, my thought process was this:
Take the photo and get a mailing address.
Go home after the event, lightly edit (emphasis on lightly) the photo, and send it to my professional printing company I use.
Once I received the photos back, I’d mail them to the customers.
Hustling, this process took a total of 2.5 weeks. Which, in October, was completely fine. (I assume they all loved their photos, I never heard back from anyone.)
However, this Santa event was going to be in the middle of December. There had to be an easier and quicker way.
As I was in bed one night, wide awake at 3 am, I did a quick online search to see if portable printers were a thing. THEY WERE!!! And, are!
So, my new thought process was:
Take the photo of the child with Santa on my camera.
Send photo from my camera to the mini printer.
Print the photo and hand it to the child or parent.
Easy-peasy. Lemon-squeezy.
So, after a bit of research, I decided on the Canon Selphy printer. It has many print options to choose from, but I went with the 4x6.
My new portable printer.
Once it arrived, I played. I tried tethering to my laptop, and it worked. But, it took a little time. It comes with a sample kit- ink and paper for 6 prints.
You can take a photo with your phone and prints within seconds, using the app. This seems to be the quickest option. Dare I say, I even liked the quality of the photo. Ahhh!!
My first test print, you can see her eyelashes.
However, I wanted to use my camera; it takes about 15-20 seconds to scroll through the menus and send it to print. I have the Canon 5d Mk iiii, but perhaps the mirrorless ones will connect faster.
In our digital era- phones are prevalent. The user guide only tells you how to use the printer with your phone. I had to download the advanced user guide to figure out how to connect to my camera. Aside from that hassle, I got it figured out, eventually.
I gave them a print to take home. They were the sweetest!
If you have a long line of people, this isn’t exactly a quick workflow. Having an assistant would be essential. They could guide the next person in line where to sit, pose, etc., while you’re printing out the photo from your camera.
I was able to stall a little by having the client pick out their photo frame, while I waited for it to connect.
In a pinch, you could queue up the photos and then send them to print when you get a break. Tell the customers to come back in 30 minutes to find their photo. I did not edit the photos at all. They were straight from camera. So, be sure to dial in your settings and print a test image before you get started.
I did have a photo that printed too dark, and I had a couple that were too bright. I simply offered to retake their photo.
I didn’t get a chance to do this, but it would have been nice to send the photos to the Canon connect app so I could do light editing. And, then print from my phone. You have to shoot in Jpeg to print from the camera so, it added some coloring. But, the reds were bright and over saturated for my taste.
Final Thoughts
Overall, it went smoothly.
I do recommend using OCF or setting up at least one strobe, if needed. The event took place inside a church, and it was very dark. I took a softbox and light stand but forgot my transmitter. Face-palm! I used my speed light and it worked well enough. However, I had to keep changing the settings throughout the day, and a few printed out too dark or too bright. It was a learning experience- such is the life of a photographer, amiright?
Take an assistant to help with long lines, if this will be an issue. It can be a friend, your child, or perhaps ask a booth neighbor if they look bored. This will ease your stress. You could always use your phone if it gets crazy. (I say that with a cringe-believe me.)
Get excited about printing! Nobody has printed photos in their homes anymore, so this is a fun experience.
Have fun! They won’t realize it’s taking a little time. I think I was more conscious of the time it took for my camera to send the info to the printer, than they were. I told each client this takes a few seconds and they didn’t seem to mind. They’re just as excited to recieve a print as you are.
Make sure to have a wide enough backdrop for larger families. There was a family of eight, and they didn’t quite fit within the backdrop size. It was fine, but that’s good to know for next time.
Keep your F-stop at a 4 or higher. You don’t want any blurry faces. And, Santa needs to be in focus too.
Other events you could advertise this type of service for: birthday parties, bridal showers, holidays, small backyard events, school events, a wedding, trade shows, corporate events, etc. I have a photographer friend who charges a flat fee to the event coordinator, and she gives the “free photos” to the attendees.
Do you have any other tips or ideas you’d like to share in the comments? More questions I can hopefully answer? Ask away in the comment section.
I hope you give this a try and print photos in person at your next event. This was a lot of fun for me. And, it’s always fun to learn something new.
Thanks for hanging out!
Cheers,
Annette
