Tips for the Best Photo Booth Rental – Photo booth rentals have become a must-have for weddings, events, quinceaneras, and parties. Photo booths are a great way to keep your guests entertained for hours on end. Guests love being able to take their photos home with them or being able to share the photos on social media, at the event.
With such a huge demand, there are many companies that are trying to keep up, and even more companies are popping up every month! There are a lot of choices for photo booths, as well as wedding or event entertainment in general. Choosing between companies for the best photo booth rental can be difficult and sometimes, overwhelming.
It seems like they may all say the exact same thing. It almost seems as if they copy and paste the exact same emails and website info. 🙁 It may seem impossible to find the best photo booth rental company for your needs, but we’re here to help!
Fortunately, we’re here to help you figure out how to find the best photo booth rental company that best meets your needs. Note: this is an objective article and by no means are we simply trying to sell you our products or services.
We are here to help you and not sell anything. Here are the top 7 tips to help you decide which photo booth company provides the best photo booth rental for your needs.
Top 9 Best Photo Booth Rental Tips
1. Company Reputation – In the service business, reputation is everything! Be sure to do your homework and research the companies on your top 3-5 list. Look at the reviews and be sure to look for recent reviews. If the company hasn’t had a review in several months, you have to wonder why.
The most recent 3 months of reviews are going to tell you how the company is doing, now. If you see one bad review, don’t lose all hope. Find out what the complaint was and more importantly how did the company respond to the review? This will easily help you narrow down the search for the best photo booth rental!
2. Photo Print Quality – Find out what type of printer the photo booth company uses. The brand should not matter too much, so long as it is a dye-sub printer. Be sure to specifically ask if this is what they use. If not, then the photo quality may not be as good as you should expect it to be. If you’re going for a vintage style, do they offer black and white photos?
3. Space Considerations – Check with your venue manager to determine the best space for the photo booth. Find out where they normally have the photo booth setup. We generally ask for an 8X8 foot space.
Also, the photo booth should be set up as close as possible to where the guests are. If it’s set up in an area that’s not easily visible to your guests, many guests will not see the photo booth and therefore, not use it.
If possible, have the photo booth in the same room as the DJ or band. Sometimes venues are limited and the photo booth must be in a different room or outside, which may limit the number of guests that use it.
If the photo booth has to be in a different area, be sure to have the DJ or band announce when the photo booth is open and where it is located, throughout the evening.
4. Photo Sharing & Printing Options – Find out what type of printouts you’ll get. Will you get the usual 2X6 strips or a 4X6 photo? Are the printouts unlimited? If not, how much extra will it be for unlimited printouts?
Find out if you or your guests are able to text or email the photos to their phones or share them to social media. If this is an option, is it an extra charge? Will you have regular photos, or are you able to also have GIFs?
The ability to produce GIFs is also a nice touch! Guests love being able to add these GIFs to their social media. Not all companies offer this. So using this as a filter will help you narrow down your search for the best photo booth rental for your wedding or event.
5. Photo Booth Lighting – What type of lighting will you have at the photo booth? How many lights will be provided? Be sure not to have the photo booth too close to the DJ or band, since they often have dance floor lighting that may shine on the guests at the photo booth. No one wants to take home pictures with green and red dots on their face.
6. Props – Find out if your company will include props. If they do, how many will be included? What kind of props? If you have a special theme, will they be able to provide props similar to your theme? If they do not include props, how much extra will it cost?
If you’re looking for specific props, perhaps to fit with your theme, be sure to ask your photo booth provider if they are able to include custom props. There’s usually a fee if they have to order custom props. We’ve provided Hawaiian Luau party props, masquerade ball props, roaring 20’s theme props, 50’s theme party props, and more.
Be sure to ask about a custom photo booth frame, as well. Your photo booth company may be able to provide a custom photo booth frame for your event, which includes your name, date, your hashtag, or whatever you’d like. We also offer this if our clients want to add it! We recently wrote a blog about custom photo booth frames, so be sure to read that for more information.
7. Backdrop Options – For the open-air photo booth rentals, backdrops are used. Many companies offer both an open-air photo booth rental, and the traditional, enclosed photo booth.
Enclosed Photo Booth
The traditional, enclosed style photo booth, is similar to the ones you’ve seen at the movie theater or the mall. These walk-in style booths are more compact, and generally, fit about 2-4 people in each picture. There are usually not backdrop options for this style of booths.
These photo booths are better for smaller events, with fewer than 100 people. You can certainly rent it for larger events, as well, but you’ll most likely need more hours, since each photo session (3 different poses) takes about 1 minute, from start to the final printout (the printouts take about 10-15 seconds).
Open-Air Photo Booth
The open-air photo booth is a stand-alone photo booth with a backdrop. The open-air photo booth takes up about an 8X8 foot area, so if space is a consideration and you have a really small area, think about where the best placement will be for your photo booth.
The open-air photo booths can fit about 10-12 people in the pictures. Although we’ve seen as many as 18 people fit into a picture. This is always fun to watch! 🙂 The open-air booths are more popular for weddings and events since more people can take photos at one time. These booths are often the best photo booth rental choice for weddings & large quinceaneras, or events.
Regarding booking time, we recommend 2 hours for events with about 120 people or fewer. You can always add more time if needed.
Ask About Backdrop Options
Find out what type of backdrops your company offers. Do they include any particular backdrops with your rental or are they extra? What colors do they offer? Are colored backdrops an extra charge? Many companies will claim they are the best photo booth rental simply due to their backdrops.
Some weddings and company events have provided their own banner, as well as no backdrop (such as using a brick wall or a wooden fence). Usually, corporate events use their own banners, with the company logos.
For weddings and events, you should consider your theme colors, if possible. Also, you should consider your colors that people will wear, such as the bridesmaids, groomsmen, or your court members (for quinceaneras). Stay away from colors too similar to what your guests will be wearing.
Green Screen Photo Booth
Another fun option is to have a green screen. A green screen is a fun option since you can create your custom backdrop. For example, your guests could be taking their photos in front of the Eiffel Tower!
8. Custom Photobook Options
Whether you call it a “photobook,” a photo album, photo booth scrapbook, or whatever you refer to it as a photobook is a great addition to your photo booth rental! You can order a custom photo book from us, or you can easily find one on places such as Etsy.
You can usually customize it with your name, date, or text you’d like to add. The inside pages can have slots to add your photo strips (2X6), and you can also make it a fun scrapbook, by simply adding markers, glue sticks, or whatever else you can think of. We’ll be happy to facilitate the scrapbook process if you choose to add this. Just let us know.
9.”Cheap” vs. Expensive “Luxury” Photo Booth Rentals
This is also one of the most important of the photo booth tips (which is why it’s larger). When it comes to getting the best photo booth rental or hiring/buying from any business, going cheap may or may not be the way to go, depending on your needs and how you make decisions.
Do you automatically buy the cheapest product available? Probably not, especially if it’s very important to you. If you’re like me, you take your time, compare prices, read reviews, and find out what you get for the price. With cheap photo booth rentals, you also have to consider the value for your money. Consider the following photo booth rental tips:
- What is included with the price of the photo booth rental?
- How much experience does the company have, or how long have they been in business?
- Do they have social proof, such as recent reviews, recommendations on Social Media, or other websites?
- What is the main difference between the “top companies” and this business?
How to Compare Photo Booth Rental Companies
If you’ve answered the above questions and you’re satisfied with the company’s answers, then it’s time to compare this company versus the other companies. This will help you choose the best photo booth rental for your event. Consider the following things:
1. What type of equipment will this company use, versus its competitors?
2. Do they offer the same services, such as on-site printing, social media uploads, text on the photo strips, etc.?
3. If they offer the same things, are they included in the price? If not, how much will they cost?
4. Do they offer different types of photo booths, such as an open-air photo booth rental, or a traditional, enclosed photo booth?
5. If they have the open-air, do they offer different backdrops? What colors and types do they offer? What is included in the price?
Bonus Tip: If you’re still not satisfied with the answers to the above questions, simply ask, flat out: “why are you the best photo booth rental company for our needs?” Their response should tell you what you need to know.
Book the Best Company for Your Needs
Overall, just remember that you are in charge of your entertainment. Remember, there are numerous companies that provide photo booths for nearly every budget. Be sure to book with the best photo booth rental company that best fits your needs and budget.
Remember, not everyone is a dancer, so having a photo booth or other entertainment options is always a great idea! By the way, not to brag, but we do offer one of the best photo booth rental experiences in Austin, TX! 🙂 As always, contact us for any questions and we’ll be happy to help!
– Austin’s Best DJs & Photo Booths
