{"id":99192,"date":"2025-06-16T08:05:00","date_gmt":"2025-06-16T15:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.honeybook.com\/blog\/?p=99192"},"modified":"2025-10-16T10:30:17","modified_gmt":"2025-10-16T17:30:17","slug":"mirror-image-photo-booths","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.honeybook.com\/blog\/mirror-image-photo-booths","title":{"rendered":"How this photo booth business started landing Fortune 500 clients\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

HoneyBook automations helped Mirror Image Photo Booths go from side hustle to clients that include the NFL and Verizon Business<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Starting a small business takes guts, resilience, and creativity (to name a few), but when it comes to scale, that’s when strategy and systems become the difference between those that make it and those that don’t. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

HoneyBook Award winners Troy Barnes and Orlando Whigham of Mirror Image Photo Booths<\/a> embody those qualities\u2014they\u2019ve got the guts it takes to get started and the strategy to scale. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Learn how HoneyBook helped them go from scrappy side hustle to six-figure business with favorite HoneyBook features like automations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From side hustle to thriving partnership<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Orlando launched Mirror Image Photo Booths in New Orleans in 2021 out of practical necessity rather than grand ambitions. As a wedding photographer new to the city, he saw photo booths as an easy entry point into the local market without competing directly on photography pricing. “I thought, I\u2019m already there taking the pictures, so why not have a photo booth too,” Orlando reasoned. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After investing $20,000 and hours of YouTube research, Orlando’s two photo booths quickly transformed from side hustle to thriving business. The success prompted him to bring on his partner Troy as the operational backbone. Together, they focused on creating an elevated brand with tailored, custom experiences and cutting-edge technology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their strategic approach paid off immediately. However, the rapid growth presented a new challenge: they desperately needed a CRM system to manage their booming business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The HoneyBook difference <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When Troy came across HoneyBook, it was the look and feel that drew him to the platform. \u201cIt was incredibly user-friendly and reminded me of a small business version of Salesforce, which I’d used during my time at a call center in Atlanta.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He liked how HoneyBook<\/a> included all the key features he needed for the business. “Emails, templates, contracts, payments: it’s all managed under one roof.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“What I love most about HoneyBook is how it feels like it’s growing alongside us,”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Since adopting HoneyBook, they\u2019ve never looked back. “What I love most about HoneyBook is how it feels like it’s growing alongside us,” said Troy. “Over the years, [HoneyBook has] added features and programs like HoneyBook Capital that we didn’t even know we needed but turned out to be game-changing for our business.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Troy and Orlando, HoneyBook delivered exactly what they were looking for: an end-to-end business management platform that handles everything from email communication to payment processing<\/a>. As their business scaled over the years, one feature has proven crucial to their continued growth and success: HoneyBook automations.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

How HoneyBook automations powers their business growth<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As Mirror Image Photo Booth continued to grow, one thing became clear: keeping up with repetitive manual tasks was unsustainable. Enter the HoneyBook automations<\/a> feature. \u201cBefore automations, we were responding to every client manually,\u201d said Troy. \u201cEvery message from the moment they became a lead, all the way to the end of a project.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a result, Troy and Orlando found themselves tethered to their phones and inboxes as they responded meticulously to every single message. Questions as simple as \u201cWhat does your day look like?\u201d or \u201cAre you available?\u201d demanded timely and consistent communication, all of which was coming from Troy and Orlando personally. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And as their business grew, so too did the inbounds. Though grateful for the influx of leads, the sheer management was too much to handle and quickly became overwhelming. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following up after an initial consultation became one of the biggest pain points\u2014and one that started costing them business.  \u201cEarly on, we had situations where we didn’t respond, and then when we responded later, they had already moved on,\u201d Troy continues. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Qualifying leads was also a struggle. They\u2019d spend all this time engaged in ongoing back-and-forth with a prospect, only to discover their budget expectations weren\u2019t aligned. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was clear. Doing all of this manually was untenable for Troy and Orlando. So, when HoneyBook announced enhanced automation capabilities with the automations 2.0 release, they jumped on it. \u201cOnce we started building, it was super fun and easy. I loved just imagining us in the shoes of our clients and leads, and what they go through, and building an automation for it.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new automations allowed Troy and Orlando to set up actions that are triggered based on specific client behavior\u2014such as when someone inquires about availability. The new automations capabilities also gave them flexibility in terms of customization, such as what time the action would be performed, and different conditions and criteria they could add. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen it comes to the simple messages or consultation follow-ups, we set up the automations to respond in 10 minutes, so clients get the info that they need, and we don\u2019t have to be glued to our phones all day,\u201d said Troy. \u201cWe\u2019ve even designed it so that all the language feels natural based on who you initially started talking to, making our communication with our clients seamless.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“We save so much time by not having to draft individual replies, and we can rest easy knowing clients are getting the information they need.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

For vetting quality leads, they set up an automatic email that allows them to filter out folks who are truly interested and aligned in terms of cost and goals. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe now have an inquiry form, and once that\u2019s filled out, they get an automated email that details all additional information like pricing and other service information,\u201d said Troy. This approach ensures they only engage with genuinely interested clients who are aligned with them on the service and investment level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We save so much time by not having to draft individual replies, and we can rest easy knowing clients are getting the information they need without us being constantly involved. It takes a lot of the guesswork out and allows us to free up our time,” says Orlando. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scaling to the big leagues: creating real world impact<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u2714\ufe0fHandled over 400 inquiries in the last year as a team of two <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

\u2714\ufe0f8 hours saved per day <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

\u2714\ufe0fHelps them support a rapidly growing client base, including Verizon Business, the NFL, the New Orleans Saints, and Coca-Cola <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

\u2714\ufe0fKey to growing their business to 6-figures in revenue<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Since adopting HoneyBook and HoneyBook Automations,  Mirror Image Photo Booths has seen substantial growth\u2014beyond the anecdotal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A post shared by T R O Y \u2022 Barnes Jr (@troybarnesjr)<\/a><\/p><\/div><\/blockquote>\n