May 8, 2017

Meet Rachael Morgan of XO Photo in Salem

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Rachael Morgan.

Rachael, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I was a business major who had always worked in sales. After I had a family, it became important to me to be happy with what I was doing and to have more time to spend with my children. I started my business with both of those objectives in mind, and by choosing to go into a business centered around two things I love; special events and photography.

I had rented a photo booth in the past and the first thing I did was make sure that everything I liked about the experience XO Photo would do better, and everything I didn’t like about it I would fix. For example, our customers get brand new props every time- not beat up, dirty props! Also, I would make sure that the work environment was positive for the employees; happy employees will stay longer and take better care of the clients. Our goal is exceptional customer care and that starts with the employees.

In the beginning I just had one booth and I worked all of the jobs personally. By the end of the first year we had four booths and almost a dozen employees. I encourage constant feedback from our staff, as well as our clients, and as a result we have a system that really creates an amazing experience for everyone involved! We now do approximately 300 events each year in New Hampshire and the Boston area. XO Photo has won The Knot Best of Weddings as well as Wedding Wire’s Couples’ Choice Awards for the last three years in a row.

I take a lot of pride in XO Photo, the product and service we deliver, our incredible employees, the amazing people and companies we get to work with. I started the company as a way to make my life and the life of my children a little bit happier, but it has become so much more than that!

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Sure, there are struggles with any journey. When the company began to grow it seemed like the next natural step was to get a big office space, an administrator, and start offering a bunch of new services. We lost some of our personal touch in the process. This year I made the decision to scale back, focus on the services that are at the core of what we do and get back to basics. By taking back the driver’s seat and going back to what made XO Photo the best to begin with I really think we have recaptured the spirit of what the company is really about.

XO Photo – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
XO Photo specializes in photo booths. We are definitely a step above the rest in this category. On the surface, most photo booth rentals appear fairly similar. In reality, there can be huge differences in quality, service, and what is included in your rental. We use a real DSLR camera and professional dye sublimation printers. This means customers get high-quality images and studio-quality, high-gloss prints instantly, and we give everyone a copy- not just one or two prints! We provide brand new props every time, the customer even gets to keep them. Some companies charge extra for a flash drive or text on your photo strip, we include these in your rental. XO Photo arrives early to set up and stays late to break down instead of using your service period. Our attendants stay with the booth the entire time to make sure that the guests are taken care of and the booth runs smoothly, as well as to create amazing scrapbooks for the hosts to take home.

Working in the events industry has connected us with some amazing professionals, so we are now able to offer event photography and DJ services as well. We also provide up lighting to create ambiance and a magical atmosphere at the events we attend.

One thing we really try to focus on is giving back to the community we serve. We provide steep discounts for charities, schools, non-profits, and fundraisers. Our photo booths help them to attract and entertain attendees. We also held and event to raise money for local kids in foster care; as a result we were able to provide 27 children with their own suitcases and personal care items. It was a really rewarding experience.

What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
I would really have to say that the proudest moment was being able to raise money for the children in foster care locally. Being able to use our industry connections to pull together an amazing event and bring people together for such an amazing cause was really fulfilling. I don’t know that I would have been able to do that without the people I’ve met since starting XO Photo.

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