How to Use a Photo Booth at Wedding Reception

By eHow Weddings Editor

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Photo booths are a great way to entertain guests and capture priceless memories at your wedding reception. You'll get great pictures that will give you a cool behind-the-scenes look at your own wedding, or you can use the photos as favors that your guests can take home. You can either rent a photo booth from a rental company, hire a photographer to man one for you, or set up an easy DIY photo booth that your guests can operate themselves.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

Photo booth rental
Large sheet or tapestry
Clothesline
Curtain clips
Camera
Tripod
Remote shutter release

Step 1

Decide whether you'd like to just rent a photo booth from a local rental company, or set one up yourself. Photo booths available for rent are the easiest solution, and allow the guests to print out their pictures instantly and take them home. They can be expensive, so you may want to consider setting up your own photo booth as described in Steps 4 through 8 below.
Step 2

Find out about any limitations to the photo booth rental. Many companies have a limit for the amount of pictures that can be taken or the number of hours you can have the booth on site. Ask about the delivery and pick-up details.
Step 3

Place the photo booth in an area of the reception where it will not interfere with other events. For example, you may not want it in the background while you and your new spouse are being photographed cutting the cake or dancing. It should be easily accessible, but out of the way of the way of most of the action and the service staff.
Step 4

Set up your own photo booth by stringing a clothesline between nearby trees or poles. Attach curtain clips to the top of a large piece of fabric in a color that complements your wedding color scheme, and string the clip loops onto the clothesline. If there's a free wall available, you could just nail the cloth onto the wall.
Step 5

Set up a tripod 8 to 10 feet in front of the fabric background and attach the camera to it. Test the angle to make sure the subjects and fabric background are the only things that appear in the viewfinder. You may need to move the tripod closer or further away from the subjects.
Step 6

Choose a high quality camera with a flash. If it's in your budget, you may want to hire a photographer to set up the equipment and man the camera. Even if you choose to do this, however, you should make the photo booth as self-serve as possible so your guests will feel uninhibited to pose as they wish. A photographer can also hook a printer up to the camera so the guests can take their pictures home.
Step 7

Attach a remote cord or shutter release to the camera so guests can take the photos themselves without actually touching the camera.

Comments

ShutterBox said

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on 4/19/2009 If you're looking to rent a photo booth, make sure you go with a reputable company who has references and proof of vendor insurance. With that said, another great addition to the wedding photo booth is the 'Photo Guest Book', which is like a scrapbook station set up right next to the booth. The booth prints 1 for the guest and 1 for the book. The guests love the book too since they can check out everyone else's photos and leave their own spunky message. If you're thinking of DIY, the materials needed for a 'Photo Guest Book' station are: small table, archival scrapbook, cardstock pages, markers, embellishments and scrapbook adhesive. My company is ShutterBox Photo Booth (www.shutterboxphotobooth.com).

robertrr said

on 3/1/2009 If you're in Washington or Oregon use Paparazzi Tonight. I'm with Kaiser and they are by far the best photobooth/photo booth/event photographers in the NW. They're live photographers and the photos are FANTASTIC! They print unlimited on the spot. www.paparazzitonight.com

kathrynthegreat said

on 2/19/2009 We had the most fantastic company in Las Vegas bring a photo booth to our reception. I could not have asked for better entertainment and memories. They were the greatest, and we loved our attendant and guestbook they made us! They were a bit more expensive then the other companies, but worth it! If you want to check them out:www.vegasphotobooths.com

jeffhalsch said

on 2/15/2009 Hi all,I'm Jeff H regional director at Party Booths.We rent photo booths starting at $895.00 (no travel fees inside the continental US.). I have been a part of numerous events with photo booths as you may have gathered.Here are my top tips for using a photo booth.1.Repose/move around a lot durring the session2.Be impulsive go with what ever pose ideas you have3.you can create props out of anything, Ive seen napkins become bandit masks and pumpkins become...well you get my drift.4.DO NOT USE THE PHOTO BOOTH DURING TOASTS, PRAYERS, SPEACHS or ANYTIME THE BRIDE AND GROOM WANT YOUR ATTENTION. Jeff Halsch jeff[a]partybooths.comwww.partybooths.com