I don’t have a clue about Photo Booths!

You’ve been in a photo booth, it was fun and you want one for your wedding, party or event but you don’t have a clue about Photo Booths in terms of choosing the best company or photo booth itself! Here is Booths4You’s guide on what to look for.

Picture Quality

To ensure you get the best quality pictures you should ensure the photo booth you book has the following:

  • DSLR CAMERA – It’s all about the pictures so please don’t skimp on quality. No webcams and no cameras that aren’t DSLR and HD Ready.
  • SUB DYE PRINTER – Just as important as the camera, this is the only printer you want! This will print the pictures in under 10 seconds in amazing quality.
  • PHOTOGRAPH TEMPLATE – What type of picture templates can be created for you? Can they put on a message and a border that matches your colour theme? Check their Facebook page or website gallery, this usually demonstrates if they put their heart or soul into it, or just churn out the bookings.
  • TOUCH SCREEN – Is the photo booth touch screen or is it a person with a camera?
  • GREEN SCREEN – Allows the computer to superimpose backgrounds into pictures just like at the movies. A green curtain is put up at the back of the booth and then the guests choose from the touch screen what background they want – Hollywood, Las Vegas, the Pyramids, Celebrities etc. This is loads of fun and gives a different experience in the booth, which is great as some people are in it all night! Ask if you get this as part of the package or do you have to pay for it?
  • USB– At the end of the night you should receive a USB with all the photos on it. Do not pay extra for this, this should come as standard. Make sure it is a USB, some companies try to give discs but very few of us have DVD players anymore and a lot of laptops don’t have them either. Everything electrical has a USB port on it, perfect for putting them onto your tv screen in the living room.
  • GUEST BOOK – Normally an added extra but worth it. The photo booth company would bring a guest book along and print out a 2nd photo of everyone that is taken in the booth, then they stick the photo in the book and ask your guests to add a message. Make sure a) the guest book is good quality and b) that the booth company glue in the pictures. Usually £50 extra but if it’s a wedding, pay it!

At Booths4You we only use the best quality products, check out our Photo Booths to see what we have to offer your event or party.

Props

Major importance must be put on this, these are the wigs, hats and glasses you and your guests will be wearing!

  • RENEW – Ask how often their props are replaced, nothing worse than broken glasses and smelly wigs!
  • FACEBOOK/GALLERY – Check pictures to see what the props look like, including how they are laid out on the night. Are they just dumped in a box for your guests to rummage through or do they lay them out and take care throughout the night to make sure they are neat and tidy?

Set Up

It’s your special day, party or event; please make sure you know about set up.

  • HIRE TIME – The time you have hired; 2, 3 or 4 hours must be out with the set-up and dismantling time. Please ensure you are getting the full hire time you have paid for.
  • IDLE TIME – Do they charge for the booth lying idle? Sometimes the best time to set up is in the afternoon, this ensures they the photo booth company are not clunking around whilst your guest arrive or the party is on. But watch out, some companies charge you for the time that the booth sits unused.
  • BOOTH ATTENDANT – 99% of companies have a booth attendant on site throughout your night, make sure this is the case as they will know how to fix something if it goes wrong. They will also help your guests get used to the booth and make sure the props stay in good order. Are there any comments about the attendant on Facebook posts or reviews? If they are mentioned in a positive way excellent!  There is nothing worse than someone standing at a booth looking at their watch all night or on their phone, they need to be having fun with the booth and with the guests as well!

Final Tips

Saving £30 or £50? Why risk having an inferior product that you will only look back on with regret?  Hopefully after this blog “I don’t have a clue about Photo Booths” is a phrase no longer in your vocabulary, ask some / all of the  questions above and make sure you get value for money but also something that your guests and you will love!

Check Facebook! 99% of us use it everyday and so do the photo booth companies, or they should! The best companies will post pictures of their set-up, allowing you to see their photo booth in action. How do the props look? What are their picture templates like? These are all questions that can be answered through good Facebook content. Check ours out to see what we mean – @booths4you.

Hope this helped, ” I don’t have a clue about Photo Booths” is hopefully no longer an issue with the information given above an informed decision can be made.

brian