How it works

Four things happen. Two of them are yours to decide.

One

You choose the installation

It gets matched to your event by you or your designer, and it is quoted separately so it stays yours to control. If you would rather we supplied one, we can, though ours is kept simple.

Two

We light it properly

Studio lighting. This is the difference people see instantly and cannot name.

Three

We photograph every guest

Someone is there to pose them, direct them, and make them comfortable. Nobody is left facing a camera on a stick.

Four

Then you choose the finish

Delivered after the event, edited live on site, or printed and framed before your guests go home.

The finish

Three ways to run it.

Included as standard

Photographed and delivered

We photograph on the installation through the night. Everything is edited afterwards and delivered to a gallery with facial recognition, so each guest is told when their own images are ready.

Add a live editor

Edited on site

Images move to a dedicated editor working beside us in real time. Guests see finished frames the same night, and anything going out to a brand or a press desk is ready to send before the event ends.

Add printing and framing

Printed, framed, on shelves

Prints come off the printer on site and they are included. Frames can come from us, or from your designer or host, whichever you prefer. The shelving is not ours to supply, but we arrange the framed portraits on it through the night so guests can find theirs and take it home.

Where we have built it

Five events. Five installations. One product.

Three of these installations came from the event's own designers. Two were ours. If you bring the design, the ceiling is wherever your vision is. If we supply it, it looks like the sage panels or the champagne drape.

A private party, in hot pink

Installation by Birch and East Olivia
Photographed on the installation
Delivered after the event

A guest in a pale pink suit standing beside the navy velvet sofa in the hot pink draped installation

Two guests in red and pink suits, one standing and one kneeling by the velvet sofa

A guest in an orange dress reclining along the navy velvet sofa against the pink drape

Two guests on the velvet sofa together, one in hot pink with her legs up over the arm

A guest in a pink floral gown lying full length across the navy velvet sofa, flowers above her

An engagement party at Halo 28, by candlelight

Installation by Chandelier Events
Live editor on site
Printed and framed the same night

Two guests in the candlelit corridor at Halo, one in a black dress and one in a cream beaded gown

Two guests in black leaning together between the rows of candles at Halo

Two guests standing side by side in the candlelit draped corridor, one in a cream beaded gown

Two guests laughing and holding each other in the candlelit corridor, one in olive and one in cream

A brand activation at Summit Events

Installation by Chandelier Events
Live editor on site
Delivered the same day

A guest at the barre in a red top against the branded backdrop, the Manhattan skyline behind her

A guest in red posed at the barre with the Empire State Building visible through the glass

Three guests in red posed together along the barre on the rooftop set

The full team gathered on the red carpet in front of the branded rooftop installation

A non-profit evening, kept simple

Installation supplied by us
Photographed on the installation
Delivered after the event

The champagne draped portrait installation standing empty on a wood floor before guests arrived

A guest in a white blouse and black trousers photographed full length against the champagne drape

A guest in a black blazer over an orange top standing against the champagne drape

A guest in yellow trousers and a cream jacket photographed against the champagne drape

An outdoor afternoon, in sage

Installation supplied by us
Photographed on the installation
Delivered after the event

A guest in a black dress and yellow boots against sheer sage drape panels outdoors

Three guests standing together in front of the outdoor sage drape panels in daylight

Two guests in patterned dresses photographed together against the sage drape

Two guests in sunglasses with straw bags posed at the outdoor sage installation

Before you quote it

What planners ask us first.

Who comes

A photographer as standard. A dedicated editor is added when you want the images edited live, and a framer when you want them printed and framed.

Delivery

Instant delivery by text on site, plus a gallery with facial recognition so guests are notified when their own images are ready.

The installation

Not included. You or your designer build it to the event, and the shelving comes from your side too. We can supply a simple installation, and frames, if you would rather not source them.

Footprint

There isn't a fixed one. The installation is designed to the space and the floor plan, worked out with you and your designer, rather than the other way round.

Power and internet

We bring both if the space doesn't have them. It is not something you need to solve for us.

Where we work

New York City, Philadelphia, the Tri-State area and South Florida. Anywhere else, ask us.

Investment

What it costs, in the three ways people book it.

Added to event coverageFrom $4,000

The lowest way to run it. Our team, the lighting and the crew are already with you, so the build costs less.

A standalone eventFrom $5,000

Prints included. Frames can be added or supplied by your side. The installation and the shelving come from you or your designer.

A brand activation or corporate eventQuoted

Custom quote depending on the scope. Guest count, timing and what you need on site all change the build. Send us those and you will have a number the same day.

Printing is optional. Without it the price comes down by just under a thousand, and guests receive the digital gallery instead.

Who runs it

Julian and Evgenia.

We are a husband and wife studio in New York, and we have been photographing weddings and events for close to twenty years. Both of us are lead photographers and both of us are partners in the business.

We built the Portrait Cabinet because guests kept telling us the same thing at the end of the night. The photograph they were still holding was the one somebody had taken the time to make properly.

We build a photography studio inside your event.