Say Cheese! How to Set Up Your Very Own DIY Photobooth

Image via The Glitter Guide.

While the nostalgia of the old-school photo booth—the one where the 4 flashes take you completely off guard and you end up with your eyes closed or mid-sneeze—is still alive and well, brides, party planners, and holiday revelers are obsessed with setting up creative photo booths at weddings, birthday parties, holiday parties and charity events.

Believe it or not, you don’t have to be an expert DIY’er, photographer, or set designer to make one of your very own. Here is everything you need to know to build, design, and plan your unique DIY photo booth!

THE BOOTH BACKDROP

The placement of your booth within your event is crucial. You want it to feel central in order to create the excitement and energy around it.

If your party is outside, in a huge room, gym, or warehouse, you may have trouble figuring out how to situate the backdrop. While you might think that nature would make a lovely setting, it doesn’t offer a contained focal point like a backdrop does. Plus, if you aren’t a shutterbug, getting that perfectly lit, soft-background isn’t such a snap.

Avoid cutting wood and dealing with an unwieldy, heavy frame by using PVC piping. It’s lightweight, easy to construct, plus you can hide the frame pretty easily with props and fabric. Check out this how-to for an easy-to-follow set-up.

Image via Fun on a Stick on Etsy.

If you’re lucky enough to have trees near the nucleus of your party, then using a clothesline is a great way to create a photo booth backdrop. Toss fabrics or pretty sheets over the line or tie on ribbons or streamers to create a more festive look.

Image via Once Wed.

THE PROPS

Even with our selfie-obsessed culture, most people are not entirely comfortable in front of the camera, so you need to give them some props to play with. Costumes, masks on a stick, chairs, frames…all of these things give your guests something to “play” with. You’ll be amazed at the personality that props (and a few cocktails, of course) bring out!

Props: Accessories on a Stick

These printable and customizable props on a stick allow you to create bow ties, glasses, and ‘staches to match your party decor.

Image via Celebrations.

Props: Costumes

A suitcase full of costumes is also a great ice-breaking trick for your DIY photo booth.

Image via J&J Weddings

Props: Seating

Both for composition and for the subjects’ comfort, seating options are a good idea in a photo booth. Have stools, chairs, even hay bails “on set” for people to relax on. These help especially if the shots contain more than 2 people where you’ll want to see faces at different levels.

Image via Wedding Chicks

Props: Frames

Image via With Lovely.

Image via DIY Louisville.

Frames, either store-bought or homemade, offer a nice framing element for your photo booth. When you have the photos all lined up in your album, that repetition will make for a fun constant.

THE PRINTS

Image via Zink.

While you selfishly want all the photos for yourself, guests also like to walk away with prints of their photo-booth shenanigans. This Zink hAppy printer is amazing…it works wirelessly from your smart phone or tablet. So (A) you don’t need professional cameras and (B) you don’t need some crazy printer set up! You can design the prints in the free app that you download to you device.

CLEVER PHOTO BOOTH EXAMPLES!

And now, for the best part! Here are some amazingly creative photo booths to get you inspired for your next shindig!

These hexagons are painted cardboard boxes and lids.

Image via A Practical Wedding.

No harm was done to these records in the making of this photo booth.

Image via Lovely Indeed.

For those that hate the measuring tape but love the washi tape, this flower wall is right up their alley.

Image via Project Wedding. Photo by Ali Harper.

There are so many ways to doll up some wooden pallets and this “living wall” look is a stunning one.

Image via Colin Cowie Weddings.

For a Halloween party, this blood-splattered, police line-up background is genius.

Image via The City Sage.