DIY Photo Booth Tips

If you’re tossing around the idea of a DIY photo booth, you’re not alone! It makes sense to look where you can cut costs when event budgets get tight. We often have customers reach out to us about hiring part of a photo booth. For example, just a camera or printer. It is flattering that customers notice the results we achieve with our booths and want to emulate them with a DIY version. Unfortunately, these requests are ones we always decline. At In the Booth, we offer an all-inclusive service. This isn’t just referring to our inclusions either. It means quite simply; our customers don’t have to worry about a thing.

DIY isn’t exclusive to photo booths! You could of course make your own wedding cake to save money. Alternatively, you may play music from Spotify instead of hiring a band or DJ. Perhaps you are considering a self-cater option. All these are awesome budget friendly options. They’re just not stress friendly options.

DIY of any nature requires an army of helpers. Usually this would consist of close friends and family. The problem with that is that your nearest and dearest are going to want to be enjoying just being with you on your day. The ideal special event is one free from responsibility and remembering little details!

We’ve put together a collection of items to consider if a DIY photo booth is on your list of things to explore.

To print or not to print

It’s our experience that every guest wants an instant print. Instant prints and photo booth go hand and hand! Every digital experience in the world can’t make up for a stack of photo booth prints in your guests’ pocket. A home printer is not up to the task of printing photo booth sessions. Our industry leading equipment is custom built for photo booths. Ink jet printers are designed for printing documents, not treasured photographs. In addition, they are not fast enough to keep up with guests using the booth. Instant cameras may be an option but don’t forget to price check. The going rate for an instant camera print is over $2 per print!

Backdrop

Another consideration is what your guests are going to stand in front of for their photos. A budget friendly option would be a beautiful garden as a natural backdrop. Perhaps your venue has a funky wall you can use. Just keep in mind a hidden cost may be hiring a separate backdrop if needed. Don’t forget not every backdrop is ideal for photography. Reflective surfaces can be problematic. Another key point is to make sure the backdrop fills the entirety of your photo booth camera frame for a neat result.

Lighting

One reason we only offer enclosed photo booths is because it offers a controlled environment for high quality photos and video. Have you ever had a professional studio photo taken? There would have been big lights in a blacked-out room. This is so the photographer has full control over the image quality. This may be challenging to create this environment with a DIY photo booth.

DIY Photo Booth Camera Options

How guests will capture and ‘trigger’ your photo booth is of utmost importance. A camera on a remote is one option. Trust us when we say to have the remote on a bungee cord! These things have a habit of ‘going missing’ with guests. The fun of a photo booth is the quick pause and then posing again for the next shot! Most DIY options will only include a single shot at a time. Multiple photo booth prints require professional software. Above all, make sure you have plenty of charged spare batteries for any device you decide to use. There’s nothing worse than the memories you couldn’t capture!

Digital Copies

A digital only photo booth is much easier DIY photo booth to manage yourself. What you will need to figure out is how guests will get their digital copies. If there aren’t instant prints guests will obviously want their digital copies for sharing. Will they email themselves the photos? Will you have Wifi at your venue?

Photo Booth Attendant

Lastly, you’re going to need to ask a friend or family member to oversee the photo booth for you. Trust us – you’ll be much too busy! Another idea would be to pay someone to look after the equipment for you to make sure everything runs smoothly. You’re going to want someone who knows how to fix things if there’s a technical hitch. An attendant is so important in our book that we include a super friendly one in every one of our packages.