having a real, old fashioned photo booth was one of my priorities (after venue, food, music and regular photography). i really wanted a black and white booth that would spit out at least one copy of photos (preferably two). unfortunately, renting such a contraption here in LA was out of our budget. like, waaaaay out of our budget! we could have rented a digital booth for about half the price, but that just didn't sit well with me. i don't like the typical 2x2 print style - if I cant have an old fashioned photo strip, i don't want anything!
after pouting over the cost for a while, i started noticing really cool DIY photo booths. set up a tripod, hang up a sheet, grab a couple of props and you are good to go. i didn't want to take on the entire project, however, so i contacted our photographer to see if she could set something up for us. luckily, she could! check out an awesome example of jordana's photo booth skills here.
since we can't afford the real deal, this is a seriously awesome substitute. in some ways i feel like you can be much more creative with your own photo booth setup! i am trying to personalize it as much as possible. we have an assortment of props, and a chalkboard/whiteboard. i am trying to construct a background that can easily be changed. i want to have a few fabrics hanging (like in a real photo booth) so that guests can choose. maybe one printed background and one plain. i really like these fabrics from ikea:
(Photo: Ikea)
i hope that our guests spare a minute to have their photo taken, and that the kids aren't too shy to pop in! i am making table signs to remind people where the booth is located, and to help encourage them to check it out and get creative!
did you have a DIY (or rented!) photo booth or are you planning one out now? what unique props and ideas did you come up with?
