Pro vs. DIY

Photo Booths: What does it really cost to Do-it-Yourself?

Fujifilm Instax/Polaroid I-Type 

Everyone loves a vintage Polaroid print. The nostalgia that comes with watching that photo develop right before your eyes is unmatched. Once almost extinct, the Polaroid instant print cameras have made a huge comeback in the past 10 years and it's no wonder why, but is it really worth it to DIY? 

Costs per Print

You can get a brand new Polaroid I-type camera or Fujifilm Instax Mini on Amazon for about $70-100 depending on bundles and sales.  

The cost per print is actually pretty high, especially when you consider that you wont get any digital copies and in order for everyone to get a print, they will have to take multiple pictures.  

The Fujifilm Instax cost per print is about $1/print.  If you have 5 people in a group photo that all would like a copy, they will have to take 5 separate pictures to all be able to take a physical print home.  That's $5 for 1 group photo! and god-forbid someone blinked.  Our average number of photos taken by our photobooth at a 3 hour wedding reception is about 100.  Average size per group photo is about 4 people.  So that would be 400 prints on average.  Thats $400 plus the cost of the camera!   And the Polaroid I-type is about double that.  

No Digital Copies and No Multiple Copies

When your guests take a picture with one of these instant cameras, they take it home with them, you will never get a chance to see it.  Plus, guests will be fighting over who gets to take the picture home or will take multiple photos of the group so they will each get a copy.

Can't Customize Your Prints

Most instant camera films are basic white borders, no customization for your event, minus a quick scribble with a Sharpie. Sometimes you can find some fun color or design borders, but they are typically more expensive and still not customized to your specific event. 

Props and Background Costs

These costs will vary depending on what kind of background you are going for and what props you can source from your home, friends and family, amazon, and DIYing. But those costs will add up very quickly and there is nothing worse than ending up spending more money to DIY something and it not look great, than just paying a professional to do it right in the first place. That's not to say that some people, can't DIY and make it look FANTASTIC, but is the stress of DIY'ing your photo booth to save a few dollars worth the stress the week before your wedding? 

Who Will Be Responsible? 

Someone will need to be responsible for setting up the photobooth station with background, props, changing the film cartridge every 10 photos, making sure the camera doesn't disappear, making sure guests take photos, especially if you are using the prints for your guest book.  They will need to keep all the materials together and get the camera(s) and prints back to you after the event.  Chances are that you, your bridal party, parents, and/or wedding planner will all be too busy on the day of to make sure this is all done, so you will need to delegate this job to someone else. 

Disposable Cameras for Every Table

You may have the idea to put those disposable cameras that everyone used in the 90s on every table as an alternative to having a photobooth.  The cost per disposable camera is about $15/camera these days.  And another $15+ to develop the photos (single prints).  So $30+ per camera x 10 tables is about $300 without any props or background.  

Pros: 

• Gives guests something to do at their tables

• Most places will give you a digital copy of all the photos on CD when you develop

• Print as many copies as you like, at a cost.

• Slightly less costly than instant film.

Cons: 

• Guests will not get a physical copy of the photo to take home.  

• Prints are not customizable.

• Someone will need to be responsible for collecting all the cameras at the end of the event so they do not get lost or stolen.

• Ultimately you will have no control over what people take photos of, you could end up with blurry, crappy photos; Photos of peoples food, naughty groomsmen putting cameras down their pants (yes it happens), cameras/photos that go missing, or worse, film that you have paid good money for that didn't get used. 

DIY iPad Station

Already have an iPad?  Want to utilize it to make a DIY iPad Station?  That could totally work, and would probably be your most cost effective option.  But there are still Pros and Cons... 

Pros: 

• If you already have the iPad, there is very little cost to this option.  You may want to spring for a good tripod and ring light to make sure your photos have good lighting. 

• There are several different photo booth apps on the market that you can choose from.  Some are event free to use, or spring for the monthly fee to make it more customizable.  You can always cancel the subscription after your event.

• Digital Copies!  Send digital copies immediately to your guests and upload to an online gallery.  Some photobooth apps can even email or text photos as well as airdrop. 

• Customize your "prints", you can create a beautiful digital print overlay to go over your photos as you send them to your guests, customized with your event details, colors, theme, etc.  

Cons: 

• Someone will still need to be responsible for the iPad station.  You definitely do not want your iPad getting lost, stolen, or broken.  Yikes! 

• Cost of background and props

• No physical prints for your guests to take home, let's be real, they are not going to go home and print the photos themselves.

• Poor lighting and camera quality.  iPads, especially older iPads are not know to have the best picture quality, especially in low light situations.  You can end up with some blurry, grainy photos at the end of the night, and no one wants to share those on social media. 

Why Should You Hire a Pro? 

Professional Photobooth Attendant

Our professional photobooth attendant will be responsible for all delivery, set-up, station monitoring, and trouble shooting, should an occasion arise. No need to track down the photos later or have to teach grandma how to use the photobooth. We love what we do and we have years of experience doing it.  No need to worry about a thing. 

Printed Photos AND Digital Copies 

We will print a physical copy of your photo booth prints for everyone in the photo as well as save a digital copy for your online gallery.  Prints are ready within 10 seconds, no need to "shake it like a Polaroid picture". 

You will have the option to add digital sending to your package if you would like your guests to receive instant digital copies as well. And you can add a memory box or book to your package and we will make sure that you as the host receive a copy of EVERY print at the end of the event. 

Custom Print Designs

We create a custom print design for every event.  This design can be as simple or elaborate as you would like.  Your customization includes choice of font, colors, theme, wording, and other design elements to make your print truly unique for your event. 

Background and Props

We will provide a beautiful professional background for your photobooth set-up as well as a wide variety of props for your guests to have fun with.  We have several backgrounds to choose from, including Silver Sparkle, Gold Sparkle, Pink Roses, and Garden Wall, and if you have something specific in mind we can work with you to create something truly one-0f-a-kind. Props include fun prop signs for all event types, hats, novelty glasses, funny mustaches, and more! We can even customize prop signs at a small charge. 

Studio Lighting and Photo Quality

We use the best cameras, printers, and studio lights in the business.  Your photos will look top quality from lighting to print quality.  Not a grainy, blurry, dark photo in the bunch. Your next Facebook profile picture will look like a professional took it.  Cuz we did!