Today we’d like to introduce you to Barbara Havard.
Hi Barbara, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
In 2019 I took the leap into the photo booth industry. (Leap…might not be the best verbiage, as it wasn’t an all of a sudden thing.) I had been a photographer for many, many years and after attending a wedding one time that had a photo booth, I was instantly intrigued! I loved the idea of entertainment and photography mixed together at a formal event! However, I did not like the quality of the photos, so I got a napkin at the table and started jotting down all I loved about the experience and all I didn’t and decided it would be my mission to find a photo booth that provided an awesome experience all the way around. That seemed way more difficult than I thought. I researched and tested countless photo booths and softwares for years and they always came up short. This was over about a 6-7 year span of time. Then a new photographer moved into my town and she had a photo booth! And not just a regular smegular photo booth, but one that checked off about 80% of what I wanted in mine! So I quizzed her on it and tested it out several times and decided it was sooooo close to what I was looking for (and she was moving and looking to sell) so I would purchase hers and tweek what I wanted. But then she decided she didn’t wanna sell, but pointed me in the direction of another boother from the Houston area! So I met up with this boother and made a contract to white label her booth til the end of the year when she planned to sell this particular booth. For about 6 months I learned the ins and outs of her photo booth equipment and software and set up. I knew this was going to be amazing!!! I branded, started a website and started booking for the 2020 calendar year! In November 2019 this boother backed out of the deal. I was shocked, heartbroken, and frazzled…my first gig as The Big Picture Events was less than a month on New Year’s Eve and I had already booked several events for the 2020 year. So I gave myself one day to completely panic and pity party and then the next I was back at finding how I could get the booth I wanted in less than a month. After more research and jumping into tons of photo booth groups on Facebook , I finally was led to a guy in the Houston area who could build me a custom shell for my open concept photo booth. I knew if I could get the shell made then I could build the inner parts up pretty quick with my camera gear and a computer of some sort. A few days before New Year’s Eve I drove to Houston and picked up my custom shell, went home and built up the inside and lighting and did my first event on New Year’s Eve 2019. 2020 started out slow, but steady and I was continuously booking more and more events for the year. Then March 2020 the world stopped. I had only a couple of bookings for the month of March…but for April/May with prom and graduation season I had a full book and all of sudden clients were canceling due to this unknown disease, Covid. As a small business owner this was devastating because I quickly had to make a decision on what I could offer to these clients…with the unknown, I didn’t know if this was something they could ever reschedule or not, but I also knew refunding all these clients with a brand new business could quickly drain me. So after much thought and prayer I decided to offer clients to keep their credits for up to 2 years or a refund of their retainer fees. Most of them, thank goodness, chose to keep a credit on the books. AND then it was time to pivot and figure out how I was going to keep this new business growing and going when the world was saying no to celebrations and large crowds…which is kinda needed for this type of business. So I decided to pop up anywhere and everywhere I could legally. Coffee shops, street corners, restaurants, micro weddings, small business openings, and even nursing homes for creating calendars with photos of residents in various greenscreen backgrounds! I started promoting Headshot Happy Hours, I add QR code starts to my booth and I just kept showing up to anything that was public and offered a space for me to gush about my photo booth. I would be lying if I said 2020 was easy or that I didn’t think about giving up a few million times, because the majority of those around me kept telling me to get out of it, sell it, put it away til the world gets figured out…but something in me knew this could be so great if I just pushed through. In July 2020 I I was diagnosed with cancer and as scary as that was, it was also fuel for me to throw all the excuses aside and go all in with this dream of mine! So I just kept showing up for myself, my business, my community, because I knew eventually people would be back to celebrate! I had surgery in September of 2020 and was down for a about a month, but I just kept the socials up and I am certain many never even knew I went through a cancer diagnosis, treatment or surgery, because I wanted all my energy to go into breathing life into this vision. 2020-2021 were rocky, but not enough to make me run away. I still was seeing interest and the buzz of the photo booth was really taking off toward the end of 2021. I added my first employee and another photo booth. I started having repeat clients! I started being known as the “photo booth lady” in my town! 2022 I add my 3rd booth and more employees, 2023 I added another booth and more employees and now in 2025 I have 7 booths, which include 3 DSLR booths, 1 green screen booth, 2 selfie booths and a 360 video booth. I have been awarded Newcomer of the Year and Business of the Year from my local Chamber of Commerce and I am currently getting ready to open my brick and mortar of The Big Picture Events which will house our booth rentals, as well as fun and funky party supplies and a balloon bar. The last 5 years have been filled with trials and tribulations, but I can say without a shadow of a doubt this is where I am supposed to be. It’s more than just a photo booth, it’s a memory capsule. How cool is it that I get the honor to capture a moment, that in return will trigger a memory years from now. Someone’s grandchild will see the photo they have from one of my booths and be told a story all from an image my photo booth caught!
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Nooooooo…but smooth is boring, right?! I started this business right before Covid…so that was huge kink in my plan. Then I was diagnosed with cancer. That wasn’t on my bingo card for that year. It just taught me to pivot and pour into what you value.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am an East Texas photographer who jumped into the photo booth business after over a quarter of century in the world of just photography. I was intrigued by the concept of fusing entertainment with photography. I believe that photography and fun married together are an awesome way to level up entertainment photography. I believe our photo booths are elite, not just for their quality, but also the entire experience you receive from booking to final product! I am most proud that we are known for our overall experience. I think this is why we have received Newcomer of the Year and Business of the Year through our Chamber because we make it a point to celebrate with you and yours while providing a top notch experience! Myself and our Booth Butlers are all trained about photography to ensure camera settings and lighting are best, we customise all of our templates per event, we ensure that you aren’t just a point and click situation…we are your ultimate hypemen!
Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
I love the melting pot of people in the Dallas area. I am not a fan of traffic, so guess that’s the only downside I could pick .
Contact Info:
- Instagram: tbpeventslufkin
- Facebook: tbpeventslufkin
- LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/TBPEventsLufkin
Image Credits
1104 Photography for promo photos with black backdrop
