Smile and say ‘Cheese’

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Go to a party these days and everyone's taking pictures on digital cameras and cell phones. The thing is, the images tend to stay inside the cameras and phones. If you're lucky, maybe a shot will make the rounds via e-mail. In some ways the old days of Polaroids were better -- at least people got images they could hold in their hands.

Marvin and Sandra Williams see the need, and have introduced the Blue Cheese photo booth, a portable picture-taking booth that they can deliver to parties to make instant mementos.

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Sit back, relax and say cheese!

A lot of that goes on inside the Blue Cheese photo booth, the latest in party accessories.

"It offers a little bit of nostalgia," said Christa Wittmier, who tried the booth at the SMART magazine launch party last month. "Everyone uses digital cameras. Photos are so virtual nowadays." The photo booth provides an instant memento that you can actually hold in your hand.

Wittmier said the booth would be fun to have in every club. "We got totally carried away. ... You can take as many photos as you want."

Marvin and Sandra Williams, the husband-wife co-owners of Blue Cheese, introduced the photo booth at the Bridal Expo a couple months ago as an attraction for weddings. But they've since had requests to set up the booth at proms, baby luaus and more.

They say photo booths are an established trend on the mainland, one that builds on a classic piece of pop culture. "The first photo booth was built in 1925," Marvin said. "You still see them all over town today. People love taking pictures of themselves knowing no one is behind the camera."

"We really enjoy watching people coming out of the booth laughing and having a good time," Sandra said. "Their reaction when the photo comes out is hilarious."

The two handle the booth setup themselves. "The booth is mobile and built on wheels. It can be loaded into most hotel service elevators or locations with a ramp," Marvin said.

Soon they will offer a "slim booth" designed to fit locations with narrow doors and smaller elevators. "We don't want to turn away people due to space limitations," Sandra said. "We want to be out there to capture the fun at all the parties."

They currently have one booth, with another one on the way, and are servicing one or two parties daily, only on Oahu.

SMART magazine editor Sarah Honda said Blue Cheese gave her guests the ultimate personalized party favor: "The best part of having the photo booth is that there is something for guests to take home with them to remember the night: their pictures."

Photo booth rental is $1,200 for four hours. A deluxe $1,500 package also includes customized banners on photos and a CD of all photos taken. Visit www.bluecheesehawaii.com.