Covering a Grand Opening
Let's get the important stuff out of the way. The images used in this blog post were all taken on my cell phone. I saved the high-resolution images taken on my camera for the restaurant owner.
Sometime in the middle of October I was contacted by the owner of Champagne and Blue Jeans, LLC. She was recently hired to provide professional balloons for the grand opening of a new fast-food restaurant in Duluth, MN. She informed me that I was one of the photographers names she provided to the owner's wife. After reaching out to the wife and discussing all my services with her, I was elated to learn I was selected as the photographer for the new Chick-fil-A in Duluth, MN. Ultimately, I was hired to provide freelance photography services over three days of the events. This included the days leading up to opener, along with real estate and aerial photography.
My story starts two days before opener. The restaurant held a ribbon cutting ceremony and lunch for those in attendance. It was great being in attendance witnessing that large of a crowd for the ribbon cutting. One aspect about a large crowd is that someone needs to own it, control it. For the sake of photos, there was a few times I found myself talking very loudly over the crowd asking people to step back. You only get one ribbon cutting. There is not re-do when the ribbon is cut. Luckily this is Duluth, this is Minnesota so no push-back (no pun intended) and the crowd cooperated and moved in unison.
I also snapped a few shots of the owner quietly gifting two local agencies in the area with restaurant gift cards for their staff as a thank-you for their work. The expressions were priceless, anyone could tell that this meant a lot to them and how appreciative they were about it.
One day before opener, I was there in the evening covering the private dedication dinner. The owner and his wife had most members of their extended family in attendance along with many cooperate office executives. Being present at this event was incredible. I wish everyone could experience that type of insight of what it takes to get to this point in your career to owning a restaurant with that company and how much support was provided by their entire family and close friends for years. So happy for this couple.
The Culling/Editing Process
At the end of each day I uploaded my pictures and started the culling process. I use a program called Photo Mechanic. It shows each picture and you can quickly zoom in and out and "tag" the pictures you want to keep. This program is fast. I previously used Lightroom to view my photos and delete the ones I didn't want. After using both software programs, Photo Mechanic is hands down the fastest for culling through the pictures.. It does not allow you to edit, it is designed to view large quantities of pictures quickly for the purpose of keeping or deleting.
My workstation. I use both PC and Mac. I tend to travel with my Mac and leave my PC plugged into the docking station with my large monitor attached to it.
A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words
When someone asks you to take a picture of them and someone else, it is intentional. There is usually a story about them and how they got to wherever they are at. Be it a picture of two friends at a Taylor Swift concert, a couple atop of high mountain or buddies on spring break. Each picture has a story. This is true for any grand opener. There were several pictures I took of the owner and different individuals. Each picture told a different story of their path, but one that had the same ending: the opening of a restaurant. As a freelance photographer, I know this. I know these pictures are important. It wasn't until I was going through the photos in the evening did I see just how big the smiles were on the faces and the amount of pride and sheer joy that was being displayed.
The Ribbon Cutting
I have attended a few ribbon cutting ceremonies over the years, but none as large as this one. ( I made sure to tell the owners that as well!) I did not count, but my guess is well over 50. Duluth and Hermantown Chambers of Commerce, Duluth City Council members, St. Louis County Rescue Squad, Chum and other community members were all in attendance.
Ribbon Cutting Celebration
After the ribbon cutting, the restaurant offered free menu items for those in attendance. It was fun to be hearing all the positive things the community leaders were saying about the food and the day.
Opening Day
Zero judgement on this, but I am likely one of the few who didn't know that the restaurant is open for breakfast. I arrived at 6:08am and there was already this line outside for the 6:30am opening. What makes this more impressive is that its middle of November in Duluth, Minnesota and the wind was cold!
Sometime after 7:30am there was a brief period with no lines of customers. I've heard only good things about the breakfast food there so had to try it. I am officially sold on the sausage burrito. YUM!
The Juggle of Freelancing
The week prior to the grand opening, I had been down in Tucson, AZ taking pictures at Cynosport, a dog agility competition. Gone a full week. I just got back the evening before all the grand opening events were scheduled to start. Enough time to get myself situated for the upcoming week of gigs.
I covered three days of events for this restaurant. In the midst of ribbon cuttings, celebration dinners and customers, I also had other freelance photography gigs. On Tuesday after the ribbon cutting, I went to a local high school and shot pictures for basketball banners and later that night covered a local hockey game for the newspaper. On Thursday after finishing up the opening day and aerial photos, I shot youth hockey pictures for three teams.
Traveling for a week and in combination with working evenings can take a toll. I had only seen my husband 2 nights out of 10 in the last 10 days. This led me to ask my husband something I had never asked before, if he wanted to come with me to take youth hockey pictures. He didn't even hesitate, he willingly agreed. After we wrapped up that job, I took him out for a nightcap to debrief on all of the events over the last 1.5 weeks. One major shift in my work from a 8-5 job is the hours I keep and the traveling that occurs. I couldn't be more thankful for a supportive spouse.
The Publicity
Before I knew I was covering the grand opening, I was excited about the Chick-fil-A. A new restaurant in Duluth was BIG news and one that the press was not missing out on. Getting the behind the scene shots of interviews was a fun little extra that I included into the mix of photos.
Real Estate Photos
When first discussing the services I provide, I not only discussed the organic opening day and ribbon cutting pictures, I also discussed real estate and drone photos. There will never be another time other than the grand opening or a remodel when a business is camera ready. Check out this pic on their FB site to see my drone pic of opening day.
I take my real estate pictures on my Nikon Z6ii using a 14-24 lens mounted on a Manfrotto tripod. The cord hanging down is a trigger. When doing real estate photos, it is important not to touch the camera in any way when snapping the picture. The trigger allows me to take the picture without touching the traditional shutter.
The Decorations
There were several local touches that went into the decor of opening day. One that could not be missed was the professional balloons by Champagne and Blue Jeans, LLC. Be sure to check out her site if you are not familiar with her work! What impressed me the most was the balloon arch as pictured above. It was in a high traffic area. When the store opened there was a solid line for over a hour. Many people brushed the balloons when they were walking by. The balloons did more than survive, they thrived!
End of the Whirlwind
Being from northern Minnesota, with no Chick-fil-A's in my area (until now) I am guessing I have only eaten at them a handful of times. I went into this past week of grand opening events excited to be the photographer for such a great addition to the Duluth, Minnesota community. But my main take away was what genuinely nice people the owner and his family are. Truly good people that you want to see good things happen to. I am grateful and proud to be part of this grand opening.
The Selfie
Opening morning was complete with the Denfeld band and choir performing the national anthem. They stuck around to perform a handful of other songs and entertained the cars in the drive-through. The Chick-fil-A cow made an appearance and danced along to several of the songs. Could not resist the selfie!
Planning a Grand Opening?
If you found this blog and are planning a grand opening, regardless of size, consider hiring a professional photographer to be there for all of the important steps along the way. Owners work too hard to get to this point in their careers not to capture it. Reach out and let's discuss what I can do for you during this exciting time!
