My Salon Suite Grand Opening Event Photography

This event photography gig involved working with Andrew and Jen, the owners of the first two franchises of My Salon Suite in the Greater Philadelphia area. My Salon Suites are fully furnished, spacious salon rooms that stylists, beauticians and spa operators can rent on a monthly basis. It’s a great way for style entrepreneurs to open their own location in an accessible area without the overhead often associated with a shopping center. You can learn more here: mysalonsuite.com

Having arrived before the official ribbon cutting, I worked with a few of the stylists to photograph them in their individual spaces. It’s great to work with people who are doing it on their own and to have the opportunity to photograph their event. I try to convey the sense of pride and accomplishment they feel through the images I make in situations like this.

Next, I photographed the stylists cutting the ribbons to their suites. The joy that these new business owners expressed upon closing those comically big scissors and making their grand opening official was palpable. I largely coordinated this effort. Jen, the My Salon Suite franchisee, was going to work with me on this but, due to the intensity of an opening, quickly got drawn away. I was happy to take the reigns and make it happen. You’ve gotta go with the flow during these events. Timing on these photos was difficult. I tried to capture the action of the ribbon being cut and the excitement on the stylist’s face, but these two things didn’t always happen at the exact same moment. Regardless, it was a lot of fun and I’m glad I was able to capture the excitement in a photo.

The store-front ribbon cutting was quite an event in itself! Everyone, at each location, crammed onto the sidewalk to watch it happen. There was quite the turnout.

Lastly, I made sure to get a few images of the individual suites for Jen and Andrew’s marketing needs. I also took some candid photos of the crowd. The stylists are able to use these images on their own social media sites too.

Every event I photograph is different and requires a different approach. Beyond creating images, I really enjoy interacting with the attendees. And “going with the flow” is never an issue. My many years of customer service experience really comes in handy during the ebb and flow of photographing an event and guiding people in such a busy environment, like an grand opening.