Adding new SmugMug features to a London photo booth service which takes sets and costumes to an outrageous level
SmugMug had upgraded their platform and required all their clients to switch over. Those with a lot of customization found themselves in a mind and reached out for help. One of those was Phototheatre, who wanted to use the opportunity to add action to the site.
The biggest challenge was how to get across the amazing complexity of their more than 150 photo sets, and what a fun experience they provide. Testimonials get that across, and they’re lucky enough to have some from top name personalities. A graphic with logos of some of their clients also get across the point that this is a company at the pinnacle of their craft.
A main slideshow intersperses images with the testimonials featured, along with other photos from their events. I’m not usually a fan of slideshows. The exception is mixing images and text to tell a story. Just don’t make the story linear, as it’s too much to expect a majority of site visitors to watch enough to get to the message.
SmugMug’s filmstrip feature is a nice alternative to slideshows, moving more quickly across the page, and allowing you to see multiple images at once.
In addition, Phototheatre have several professionally shot videos on the site, including a couple on their about page which shows how the process works, not just the finished images. They employ a professional stylist, have a wide variety of costumes to choose from and professional quality photography. The result is an image which is comparable to magazine photography.
In short, Phototheatre puts a lot of work into creation action and motion in their events, and their site brings multiple elements together to reflect that.
Being the life of the party is a grueling task, and I spoke to the client on a couple of occasions to finding him sleeping in the van, catching a couple hours sleep between tearing down from one event and setting up the next. It’s a pleasure working with them to keep the party going.
View the site at http://www.photobooth-out-of-order.com.
