Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Brad Priest. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Brad, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you walk us through some of the key steps that allowed you move beyond an idea and actually launch?

The concept for my business originated from my wife, who is an amazing photographer. She would come home from photographing weddings and tell me about them – usually beginning with the downlow on the desserts at the reception, and then about other key details like how good the DJ was (or wasn’t). Over time we both began to realize that photo booths were becoming a major trend at weddings, and how it would make a lot of sense for us to run our own photo booth to take advantage of the foot she already had in the door of the world of weddings. We sat on that idea for a while while we focused on raising our baby daughter.

Jump forward two or three years and I began to find myself with an opportunity to carve out time to create a photo booth business of some sort. I knew upfront that I wanted to do something a little different than the standard camera and backdrop setup that is so common – I have always been a creative, big idea type of person and I knew I couldn’t settle for doing something I didn’t feel invested in creatively. I began to do some more serious research online and started seeing these mobile photo booths that people had built into renovated vintage campers. That lit a fire for me, and, despite the fact that this wasn’t some new original idea, I felt like it had the potential to be something that I could put my own stamp on and that could reflect who I am.

So I went out and bought an old 1965 camper that seemed to have been cared for well enough to salvage into something worthwhile. Luckily for me the previous owner had done some of the restoration work already, so I could primarily focus on making it look good and figuring out how to make it function as a photo booth. I did plenty of research on restoring old campers and how all of the components of the photo booth work, and was able to create a plan of action to turn the thing into something cool.

Well, at step one of the plan I found out that stripping the original paint off a 1965 camper ain’t easy. After many hours and days in the sweltering summer heat, lots of angle grinding, hand sanding, sore backs and knees, I officially learned that lesson. I honestly had moments where I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to get that part done! But I got past it and the rest of the camper renovation actually came together nicely without too much trouble. And it turned out even better than I had expected! Not only did the camper itself look great, but the functionality of the photo booth part worked out perfectly and was super fun to use.

At that point, all I had left to do was jump through all of the red tape to get the business officially set up and begin marketing and figuring out how to get my name out to the public. I actually started a lot of this during the renovation process, but now I was ready to hit it full steam ahead and consider myself a real business owner. Since then I have come to realize I have no idea what I’m doing, but every day I inch a little closer to getting a handle on things.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

HIPSHOT! is a photo booth rental company, serving the Birmingham, AL area and beyond. But we are not your run of the mill photo booth company; there’s more to our story.

Fundamentally there isn’t a lot that makes up a photo booth – a camera, a backdrop, some lighting. The classic photo booth has been around for more than a century in its most basic form. At HIPSHOT! we take the concept of the classic photo booth to the next level by focusing on the overall experience – setting a HIP vibe, and delivering a professional quality SHOT, time after time.
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The name HIPSHOT! actually has a few interpretations, all involving artlessly convoluted double meanings. However, our mission at HIPSHOT! is simple and straightforward: to help our clients document their celebrations in style, beautifully capturing the candid and the contrived, along with all the other priceless moments that you won’t want to let fade!

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What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

For me, when I have a creative idea in my head that I feel passionate about, it almost feels like some kind of instinctual urge to bring it out of my head and into reality. Most of the time the idea falls apart somewhere in between, and my wife would be the first to tell you the ones that wind up coming to full fruition are rare. But for those that I am able to bring to life, there is a deep satisfaction that I get from seeing it there in front of me. Most of the time I wind up wishing I did things a little differently, but that only leads me to want to create more and to refine my creative skills even further.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

I think that many people who don’t necessarily consider themselves to be creative actually have plenty of untapped potential, but the fear of failure, rejection or not living up to expectations stifles their desire to explore that part of their mind. The bottom line is, you simply have to choose to put fear or hesitation aside, take the leap and see where it leads you. Maybe you fail or aren’t able to produce something particularly special, but so what? Take that as a learning experience and build from there – keep trying things and don’t be afraid to be you!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.hipshotphotos.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hipshotphotobooth/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hipshot.photobooth/

Image Credits
Fossil Photography