Photo booths are a great way to capture pictures of all the guests who came to celebrate your wedding and fill the downtime during the reception. But not all photo booths are the same. If you are thinking of adding a photo booth to your big day, here are some great tips, courtesy of Michael Stump, owner of Tip Top Photo Booths, to help you choose the right one:
GET A VISUAL: Make sure to see pictures of the photo booth that will actually be at your event. A visual not only allows you to see if your booth will match the aesthetics of your wedding, but also lets you know if its size is ideal for your event space.
MAKE SURE THE PHOTOS WILL LAST: Photo booths are designed to take advantage of space limitations, so lighting (both inside the booth as well as the type of flash) and printer’s DPI (dots per inch), along with the quality of the camera, are very important. Ask if the photo booth can provide professional, lab quality photo prints and how fast is the printing process. The speed of the printer allows guests to take more pictures in the booth, determines the length of the line which forms outside the booth and allows more overall photos during the course of your event.
PERSONALIZE YOUR PHOTO BOOTH EXPERIENCE: Don’t be fooled by companies claiming to customize layouts/logos and then show you simple captions on print. Think about the wedding’s color scheme. Can the vendor change the color of customized designs? Can the company change the background color to meet your needs? The background color/material is very important as it will determine the quality of prints by allowing guests to really stand out in pictures. Can you customize the exterior of the booth?
YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR: Make sure the company you are dealing with is reputable. Check what is included in each price quote. Often vendors will try to lure you in with a low startup cost and then charge for extras such as a customized logo, customized design, or live display slide-shows of pictures taken during your event. Do you have to pay for set-up/tear down? Are there travel/delivery fees to your event’s location? Make sure you fully understand what you are getting. Some companies advertise that they will match or beat any competitor’s price. But are they matching the quality, reputation, experience and service of their competitors as well?
Editors Note: Tip Top has just added another state-of-the-art photo booth to their lineup. Packages include unlimited prints, props, customized photo strips and more. Want to share your photo booth pics in real time? You can have your images displayed on a 23" LCD screen atop the booth for everyone to see. To learn more, call 703.843.4658.