Options & Extras
There are countless options and extras to enhance your wedding, party, corporate event or function photo booth hire. Here are some of the most common additions:
Props
Props are a great way to add colour and fun to photo booth hire. They can also help people to get into the swing of things, giving them ideas for facial expressions or coaxing fellow guests into the photo booth. Props can be hired from most operators, but the cost, quality and quantity will vary. The most common items you can expect to find in a props box are hats, wigs, glasses, moustaches on sticks, feather boas, masks, chalkboards and empty picture frames. Make sure you ask for an inventory of what’s included, as you can’t expect all these wonderful things to arrive with the photo booth. If you want a really good selection, it's far cheaper to hire a box than to try and buy your own. Remember, if you break or lose some props, you may be charged a replacement fee. More info...
CD / USB of Images
Definitely one of the must have extra's and often included as standard. Particularly important to have as not everyone is willing to show or share their photostrips for one reason or another but having all the digital copies ensures the event holder doesn't miss a thing. Also allows extra copies to be printed post hire at home or at your local print shop.
Video Messaging
This can be a great way to capture footage of your guests, however, the additional feature will eat into the number of photostrips you receive from your photo booth hire. You must consider the environment surrounding your photo booth such as loud music, which may affect the sound quality.
Albums
Guestbook albums are a wonderful way for you to collect not only pictures but also written memories from your event. Most operators offer these but like all options, they can come in a variety of sizes, pages and materials. Most operators will let you provide your own if you prefer.
(Image: Flashback Photobooths)
Social Media
Some machines can send your picture directly to your Facebook or Instagram profile. This is done through asking you to sign into your account via the photo booth, after the session. Be mindful, this feature will eat into your photo booth hire time. Other photo booths will print with a QR code on the photo strip and by scanning the code with your phone you are automatically sent the picture. For these and other social media features, a good Wi-Fi or cable connection to the internet is required.
Logo/Theme
This is a personalised message or image printed as part of the photostrip. A logo is particularly worth considering for a wedding or special event to commemorate the occasion. For corporate photo booth hire it is especially good for branding (think gala dinners or tradeshows). The only downside is that the logo often replaces one of the frames meaning less pictures per strip, but potentially more photostrips overall as each session takes less time.
Canvas prints
The photostrip is blown up and printed on a canvas in any size. While they can be printed in colour, they look particularly great in black and white, especially when a bride and groom are featured.
Photostrip Frames
Frames come in a variety of materials including acrylic (normally in an L or T shape) and metal are the most common. They can also come with magnets to stick your favourite photostrips on the fridge. Photostrip frames make for a great bonbonniere for weddings and special events.
Backdrops/Curtains
Many photo booth hire operators will give the choice of different colours and styles of backdrops or curtains. This can be particularly useful if you have a theme, which the photo booth should enhance.
Branding
For corporate photo booth hire many photo booth hire operators offer the ability to cover the booth or parts of the booth with the client’s branding. The materials used vary from company to company, but the most common approaches are corflute, printed magnets or posters. For operators with internal or external screens, it may also be possible to have branding appear on the display. This branding is normally offered in conjunction with the logo appearing on the photostrip to maximise marketing potential. This works exceptionally well for shopping centre stalls, trade show and corporate events.
Coin Operation
Some operators of automated photo booths may hire their photo booths for use in “coin operation” mode. This means instead of prepaying for all the prints, you potentially only pay to have the photo booth delivered. This makes the upfront hiring cost less, but your guests pay for their own shots which is likely to make the hire more expensive overall. Coin operation works well for permanent installations at nightclubs and shopping centres, but can also be applied to fundraisers and fetes with both the hirer and operator agreeing to take a cut of the proceeds.
Red Carpet & Stanchions
For that extra glamourous look or if you're a corporate company holding a VIP event you might like to consider red carpet and/or stanchions to give your photo booth hire that extra special touch. You will however need to have quite a large space to accommodate such a setup so it's really advisable to check with your venue whether or not it's suitable for the space you have.
Other extras
Many photo booth hire operators will offer a variety of other extras to consider including (but not limited to) "save the date" and "thank you" cards, props on sticks and external monitors. Even if your chosen photo booth operator doesn’t list an extra service you want, many of them will tailor a package to suit your needs - just ask!