Best Photography Business in Australia
By Gavin Lawrence
And the winner is…Blue Steel Photo and Video Booths. Announced at the 2017 Australian Small Business Champion Awards by Natarsha Belling, we embraced then took to the stage in front of the 1000+ guests at Westin Sydney to receive our trophy and make our acceptance speech.
Very few people outside the business know the hard work and commitment that we put in as a team, every day and night. Although we weren’t expecting the prize, it filled us with massive amounts of joy and satisfaction to be acknowledged as a leader in the photography industry. We always knew Blue Steel has the best photo booths in Australia and the best video booths in Australia, but the best photography business in Australia is next-level and we’re so proud of it.
This is the first award we’ve received in our 3 year history and for it to be on a national scale, it adds even more weight to this great achievement. I would like to personally thank everyone that has contributed to get us where we are today. Sarah Atkinson, Tim Dodd, Jamie Malone, Lachie Thomas, Leon and Laene Metahaere, Robert Worthington, Lisa Bloomfield, Greg Hoare, Liam Campbell, Kylie Beaufoy, Andrew Williams and Gerry and Heather Lawrence…thank you a thousand times over.
We couldn’t do it without our amazing clients either. Nobby Beach SLSC where it all began. SCENTRE GROUP for giving us our first big break for LEGO. As well as Red Bull, DON, Pandora, Toyota, ZARA, Team Event plus all our other clients, private and corporate, that have invited Blue Steel into their world.
Through humbled beginnings and many a free booth just to get us out there, we look back on the history of Blue Steel and highlight some of our treasured memories…
- 10/2013 – Office opens at Mermaid Beach, Gold Coast with 1 Classic Booth
- 12/2013 – First paid job for Nobby Beach SLSC (Photo booth)
- 04/2014 – Booth of Truth for Luxottica (Sunglass Hut, OPSM) through Staging Connections (Video booth)
- 06/2014 – Gold Coast Exhibition and Convention Centre 10 Yr Anniversary (Photo Booth)
- 06/2014 – First booth donation for Perry Cross Spinal Research Foundation charity gala (Photo booth)
- 11/2014 – Melbourne Cup for Toyota (Photo booth)
- 12/2014 – Greg and Becky Bird wedding (Photo and video booth)
- 02/2015 – Party for 92.5 Gold FM. Multiple green screens (Photo booth)
- 04/2015 – Expanded to Sydney
- 07/2015 – Ryan and Ana James wedding (Photo and video booth)
- 09/2015 – First national activation for LEGO through Scentre Group (Photo booth)
- 12/2015 – V8 Supercars for Coates Hire (Photo booth)
- 01/2016 – Built KIISing Booth for KIIS 101.1 with smart TV app. World First. 28 Melb locations (Video booth)
- 02/2016 – Launch of Open Air Booths
- 03/2016 – Model search for Witchery (Photo Booth)
- 04/2016 – Dance Booth for Coors and Pedestrian TV. 2 states (Video booth)
- 08/2016 – Vogue Fashions Night Out for ZARA. 2 states (Photo booth)
- 08/2016 – Fan Booth for Melbourne City FC through Noisy Beast (Video booth)
- 10/2016 – Vaalia 20 overlay animation GIF through XPO Brands. World First. 3 states (GIF booth)
- 12/2016 – Xmas parties for Pandora, Foxtel, Perpetual, Chemist Warehouse. 3 states (GIF booth)
- 01/2017 – Australia Day Booth for Red Bull. World First. (Video booth)
- 02/2017 – National activation for V Energy Drink through Campus Group. 5 states (GIF booth)
- 04/2017 – Win Best Photography Business at the Australian Small Business Champions Awards