If we can only give you one tip for a successful event it’s this: test your event ahead of time.

Sounds simple, but it’s also the easiest part of an event to overlook, especially once you become a Curator pro and get a little too comfortable with setting up events. Even we make sure to test out events every time before running them.

Set Up and Download

Perform your initial event setup and tests at home. Check for everything from proper design to experience flow. Go through each experience for function and fashion, sending yourself test emails and texts. Make sure it all looks right from top to bottom. The last thing you want is to be at an event making changes against the countdown to event’s start on unreliable wifi.

Check for Wifi Strength

Wifi at a venue is the main reason we recommend testing ahead of time. Each venue is different resulting in different wifi speeds and strengths. If you’re able, test on the same wifi as the event to assure performance. This way you know what to expect and what to tell your guests about when they can expect photos to arrive in their mailbox.

Adjust Lighting for Brighter Photos

Once you’ve set up your booth at the venue, take a picture to adjust the camera for quality. Darker venues may require you to increase the iPad’s brightness or outside venues tend to call for just the opposite. You can do this from PixBooth’s secret settings menu feature.

How to access PixBooth’s secret settings menu:

• Run your selected event on PixBooth
• Tap the upper right corner of the screen
• The secret menu will appear in the bottom quarter of the screen
• Navigate to ‘Camera Settings’
• By default, PixBooth is set to ‘Auto’ which automatically adjusts for lighting, temperature and shutter speed. By turning off the auto settings, you can manually adjust shutter, ISO and white balance as needed.

Another tip is to invest in a ring light or some sort of booth lighting. Not only will pictures come out brighter and clearer, but the light also acts as an attention-getter to attract people to your booth.

Greenscreen and Magic

If you’re using magic or the greenscreen experiences, you may need to make some additional adjustments to make sure all is working in tip-top shape. If using magic, the booth must be set against a background where people won’t be in the background. A solid wall of any sort is highly recommended. If using greenscreen, the shade of the screen may need to be selected. This can be accessed from the secret settings menu under ‘green screen’.

While testing ahead requires a few more minutes of prep work on your behalf, it will save you much more time and stress in the long run and increases the chances of having a flawless event. We say, worth it.