Tips for Creating a Fun Photo Booth

When it comes to wedding reception activities, photo booths are as popular as ever! DIY photo booths are perfect for couples on a tighter budget. We’ll show you how to create a seriously fun photo booth that will encourage your guests to strike a pose and fit in seamlessly with your design aesthetic!

Get Creative With The Backdrop

The backdrop is the focal point of your photo booth, so you want to make sure it’s eye-catching without being too distracting. Think ribbons, curtains, banners, balloons, flower walls with cute phrases in neon. You can keep it as simple or get as fancy as you’d like; you just need to give guests a designated area that will look cute in photos — and on its own when guests aren’t using it!

Light It Up

When you’re putting together the lighting plan for your wedding reception, don’t forget to include lighting in and around the photo booth. This can be anything from clever neon signs to curtains lined with twinkle lights. If you’re hanging lights in the background, make sure to also place lights in front of the camera — pointed toward the booth, placed at average nose level — so that your guests’ faces are completely visible in the photos. A selfie ring light would be the perfect choice to add direct, high-quality lighting!

Provide Plenty Props

The best parts of any photo booth are the props. Make sure to provide a wide variety if your photo booth provider doesn’t already include them. You can find hats, wigs, glasses, jewelry, and other accessories at thrift stores, The Dollar Store, costume shops, Party City, or even your own closet. Our favorite place for themed props, which really bring your booth to the next level is The Kits and Pieces.  They provide signs, cutouts, themed props and masks that would be perfect for your photo booth. Keep in mind, The sillier and more outrageous the better!

Set Up In A Highly Visible Location

The whole point of a photo booth is to capture all of your guests in a totally informal, seriously fun way, so you’ll want to make sure all your guests can see it no matter where they are at the reception. If possible, don’t shove your photo booth in a corner or set up in a separate room. There will be so many other things happening at your reception and, if guests don’t see it, they’ll simply forget about it. Think of this as another focal point for your design and set it up in an area that everyone can see but still gives people plenty of space to take individual, small group, or large group photos. Also, don’t forget to set up a directional sign pointing guests straight to the booth!

Provide Polaroids

If you’re looking for an easy way to get your guests’ snaps, Polaroid cameras are the way to go! The best part? All of your guests, regardless of age, will know how to use it. Encourage everyone to take a couple so they can keep one and they can leave one for you in either an album or in a simple box. Just be sure to stock up on extra film to last all night.

Make It A Selfie Station

Keep your photo booth even more simple. Let your guests use their phones to snap selfies with fun props in front of a fab backdrop! We highly recommend providing at least one selfie stick to help capture large group shots. You could even take it one step further with a selfie stick stand to give guests a little more room to play and pose! Worried how you will collect all these fab shots? Don’t worry! We’ve got that covered.

Share Your Snaps

Whether you decide to provide Polaroid cameras or ask guests to use their phones, you’re going to want to collect these memories. Be sure to include a sign with clear instructions on how you want guests to share their photos. For a Polaroid photo booth, provide an album, glue sticks or washi tape, and pens so guests can secure their photo with a personal message into a book. For a selfie station, ask guests to upload to a shared photostream. Our favorite free photo sharing site is Memento. It’s super easy to use…and did we mention FREE?!

Don’t be afraid to be thorough with your instructions so you get exactly what you want!