Idea 001 - Cherry Blossom Profile Photo Booths

This post is part of the 100 project ideas project. #The100DayProject. I am looking for feedback. Comment below or DM me via social media Instagram, Twitter.

One Line Pitch

Set up a photo booth in a park when the cherry blossoms are blooming, offer to take free portrait photos to the public and use the experience to get better at portrait photography.

Full description

I have been really enjoying photography over the last few years. I have primarily been taking photos of birds, insects and landscapes. I turned some of the bird photos into a deck of playing cards from Vancouver.

I have been wanting to learn how to do portrait photography, but I don’t feel comfortable taking photos of people in crowds or “street photography” because if I ask for consent before taking the photo it removes the spontaneity of the photo. People act differently when they know their photo is about to be taken. I really want consent from people before taking their photo.

My partner has been very patient with me while I practice. Her limit is 10-15 shots per day per trip. I am thankful that she lets me take as many photos as she does. My friends also have their limits to the amount that they are willing to indulge me.

To get better at portrait photography I will need a lot of practice with a lot of different people, faces, looks, sizes and shapes. I could hire a model but that would be prohibitively expensive.

There is a park near my house that is filled with cherry trees, and looks amazing when they are in bloom and hundreds of people come from all over the city to take photos in this park.

I could buy a nice portrait lens for my camera. 85mm F1.4 DG HSM Set up a fixed scene with as many variables locked down as possible. A tripod, bounce lighting or rented lighting gear. Tape a X on the ground for the person to know where to stand at the right focal length. Set up the shot to have some nice Bokeh, foreground and background elements. Set up a sandwich board that advertising “Free portrait photos”, “Full resolution digital downloads”, “I am learning, help me”.

Then I would set up in the park and wait for people to come to me and get their portrait photos taken. Tell them the story of how I want to get better at portrait photography and I am looking for people to take photos of. Make them part of the story.

After each session, take a photo of a tablet with a random password on it. Tell the models that they can use the password to download their raw and edited photos, full resolution in 48 hours

After the day ends, do a light edit on the photos to clean up any of the issues. Then upload the photos to the private gallery so that people can download their photos using the password. You can only view the photos if you have the password to your gallery. Not fully public.

I get practice with portrait photography, people get semi-professional photos of themselves during the blooming of the cherry blossoms.

Below is an example hand held cell phone camera from 2022.

Who is the market

People who want a semi-professional photo of themselves during the blooming of the cherry blossoms. I don’t expect everyone to want this but there will be a few.

How do you make money

I don’t want to charge money for this as I am still learning and I am bound to make mistakes along the way. I feel that getting better at portrait photography will help me in my life as I will be able to take better memory photos for the rest of my life.

I figure this saves me money as I don’t have to hire professional models.