"For decades, companies have used the home as a comfortable, social way to conduct business. From candles, to home décor, to purses, people all over the country invite their friends and friends of friends to their home to eat, drink and buy various products all in a fun, relaxing environment. Why not portraits?

My assistant and I had heard of the concept so we quickly began laying out exactly how a Home Portrait Party would work by taking the basic premise of all the other home parties we have been to over the years and wrapping it around a portrait sitting. As is the standard with most home-based functions, we established the host would be compensated based on the level of participation. A target attendance of five friends and their families was set as the minimum requirement. We, Kristina Gwynn Photography, would set up a studio on-site at the home or meet at a park location. As a part of the invitation, each family is scheduled for a 20-minute portrait session. While each family is being photographed, the rest of the guests are relaxing and enjoying the overall event. In an effort to maintain a fun, relaxing function, there is no high pressure sales pitch during the event. A printed proof book is presented to each guest within a week of the event, and thanks to Collages.net, we also present the event online.

We convinced a mutual friend to host the first event to see if the concept would work. Our target five invites quickly turned into fifteen families. People were excited for the opportunity to have their kids’ portraits taken in a calm, enjoyable environment without all the hassles of traditional portrait sittings and without having to spend a fortune just to show up. On the day of the event, everyone scheduled was in attendance, and we had an incredible day. As great as the day was, the success of the event is ultimately measured with orders placed. Every participating family placed an order.

Collages.net’s hosting services was critical to the success of the party. The ability to easily present the entire event online, neatly and organized by family, allowed us to keep the event fun and relaxing. Guests could spend time after the event viewing and purchasing their pictures instead of having to deal with a high pressure sales pitch during the event. The user-friendly experience provided by Collages.net makes a huge difference with reprint orders. We received several compliments regarding the ease and simplicity of viewing and ordering reprints from the website.

The event was obviously a huge success, but it doesn’t stop there. In addition to the orders received from the day, we booked additional Home Portrait Parties, large in-studio family sittings, and a couple of weddings. The Parties themselves have evolved with the addition of various themes, such as Christmas, where Christmas card orders went through the roof. The Home Portrait Parties have become an essential part of the growth of my business both in hard dollar sales and the associated viral marketing side-effect. Collages.net hosting plays a critical part of the success and I am looking forward to the additional services soon to be offered."


Tina Gwynn
Kristina Gwynn Photography
Newark, DE
www.kgwynnphoto.com