Business for a Better World: CamMi Photo Booth
An interview with Cynthia Gamboa Morales, owner, and chief experience officer of CamMi Photo Booth.
Q: Describe your company.
A: We offer a luxury and customizable fun photo experience for every occasion. Our best clients are getting ready to walk down the aisle for their weddings and want to add a memorable keepsake commemorating new memories on their special day. We also work with fantastic corporate affiliates by helping them increase their brand visibility on branded photo postcards and social media engagement.
We also have a special service called Pop-of-Love, which refers to balloon garlands. These garlands can be customized to fit the theme of your event, delivered and installed right to a customer's front door.
Q: Do you plan to hire any additional staff or make any significant capital investments in your company in the next year?
A: While we do not plan to onboard new team members, we plan to invest in our current team member's skills and personal growth. Before COVID, we were experiencing an upward trend and demand for video renderings. A video rendering is a short clip of that includes freeze frames, slip screens and designed overlay.
During the COVID pandemic, we saw this solidify across all industries with the popular TikTok app, and in 2022 we experienced demand for our 360 Video FX booth experience. The renderings will be customizable, branded, and delivered on-site with a high-quality video and studio-grade equipment. Therefore, in 2023 we will be focusing on training and developing a section of our team responsible for providing branded Video FX and AI Segmentation renderings.
Q: What will your company's main challenges be in the next year?
A: Over the next year, our company and the industry will be experiencing competition across the events industry. In particular, we will see a high entry of new photo booths and 360 video booths from individuals who have purchased equipment from manufacturers who sell cheap and position our section of the events industry as low investment and high gains. We will also see established photographers and videographers.
Q: What's the hottest trend in your industry?
A: The hottest trend across the industry is short videos or boomerangs. A boomerang is a burst of photos stitched into a high-quality mini video that plays forward and backward. The 360 Video booth offers quick circular videos to guests with the event's branding or corporate clients.
Q: What does your company do to reduce the effects of climate change?
A: Our company offers an all-digital option: Our Halo Selfie Station offers still photos, boomerangs, and GIF images that can be downloaded directly from the kiosks via the guest's text or email. This easy and quick option offers our clients instant downloads that can be reshaped across all social media platforms and include suggested hashtags. A selfie station is an excellent option for our corporate clients looking to extend their digital reach beyond local events and potential client interaction.
Q: Is your company minority-owned? Woman-owned? If so, what are the challenges of being a minority- or woman-owned company?
A: Yes, CamMi Photo Booth is a minority-owned, woman-owned business. Some of the challenges are finding like-minded mentors to help me grow and reach new clientele. Many of our current clients come to us by word-of-mouth, and we have expanded our reach throughout the Chicago area because our clients trust us to deliver a high level of service.
Q: Does your company donate time or money to any philanthropic causes? If so, what causes?
A: I am happy to incorporate CamMi Photo Booth and Pop-of-Love services with my work at CUPS Bra Drive, a nonprofit event affiliated with the following nonprofit groups: Chesterton, Indiana-based Free the Girls Organization, and the Aurora-based Hesed House and Mutual Ground.
Commitment to Uplift with Purpose and Service (CUPS) exists to gift women living in shelters new or gently used bras, so they feel uplifted and filled with dignity.
Recently, we did our sixth year of doing our annual bra drive. We collected over 2,500 new and gently used bras.
By collecting bras for women and girls affected by homelessness, domestic violence, refugees, and victims of sex trafficking-my team and I provide a fun option at the annual event. This work encourages our past clients to donate bras, get involved and support the donation of bras to women and girls who need to feel confident in their bodies, preserve their dignity, and encourage them to thrive in adversity.
In addition to this collaboration, we have donated our services to local organizations like Oswego Junior Women's Club, Simply Destinee, Project 3:11, and My Daughters Dress Boutique.
Q: Does your company do anything else to make your community better?
A: Yes, we offer internships for high school students interested in the events industry. We introduce them to the importance of owning a small business and also teach techniques to help them understand sales, scheduling and marketing.
Q: What do you do to make your business a good place to work for your employees?
A: As a small business, our team is essential to us. We offer ongoing training and support. Support can mean a flexible schedule, cross-industry networking and quality pay.
Q: Do you have a business mantra?
A: We are small but mighty in delivering a high-quality, fun photo experience that will leave guests talking about our services for many years.
Q: What is one interesting fact about your company that most people may not know?
A: One interesting fact is that during the pandemic when events were canceled, we expanded our offerings to include balloon décor services. Now we now offer incredible balloon styling that global balloon brands have recognized. And we now offer balloon styling design classes in our local area.
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CamMi Photo Booth
(630) 636-1335
www.CamMiPhotoBooth.com
Industry: Wedding/Events
Number of employees: 4