This week I’m celebrating the incredible job our team has done in hosting Camp Rock . . . our two week, two location arts and media camp. I’m so proud of what our team has done I thought I’d let you in on some “small” stuff that made a big difference!
People like seeing pictures of themselves . . . parents like seeing pictures of their kids . . . friends like to share pictures of each other.
Don’t believe me? Facebook has realized the importance of photos in developing community . . . and as a results photos are core to it’s strategy . . . the results are astonishing!
There are an estimated 100 billion photos on facebook . . . The average facebook user has 345 friends . . . with an average of 282 photos each . . . that’s over 97,000 photos just within your friends! [Facebook photos infographic]
At Camp we’re integrating photos in a few different ways to help “plus” the event!
- Photo Wall – As parents arrive to drop off their kids in the morning there are photos from the day before that they are encouraged to take with them.
- Facebook – At the end of the every day our team uploads a small set of “highlight photos” from the day . . . we encourage our friends to tag people they know. [Example 1] [Example 2]
- Award Photos – Every day we give a handful of campers an award that is nominated by staff and other campers. We take a photo of them holding up a certificate and standing beside a statute . . . the next morning parents can pick that up in a nice frame.
- Slide Show – At the “closing program” every day . . . and before the “performance Sunday” we have simple iPhoto slideshows playing as people come in. [Click here to learn how to make a slideshow.]
- Releases – Make sure you find a way to get “consent” from people at the event to take the photo and use it for promotional use. I’m amazed at how many parents have not allowed us to take photos. We just have these kids name tags a different color.
- Frames – A great way to class up a photo is to get a custom frame made up. The extra expense of the frame makes the photo feel like those ones they sell for crazy prices at theme parks. [The vendor we use for frames.]
- More than one Team Member! – It’s going to take more than one volunteer photographer to capture even a modest event. For Camp Rock we’ve had at least two photographers on at any given moment. For larger events, like the 5k we run, we’ve had as many as 10 photographers going!
Thanks Rich!
http://www.animoto.com is another great quick photo presentation resource