A photobooth rental is a great way to spice up almost any event. It’s an activity that guests can enjoy in smaller groups, serves either as a side attraction (or one of the main affairs), and provides a great souvenir for everyone afterwards.
Photo booths can seem confusing at times, however. How do you make sure they’re set up right? And exactly how do they work?
As you’ll find out in this article, DIY photo booth rentals aren’t necessarily as complicated as they may seem!
In this guide, we’ll be looking at:
- What a photo booth rental is, and how the process works
- The benefits of renting a photo booth
- What to consider when renting a photo booth for your event
- Pixilated’s photo booth rental options.
Pixilated has you covered whether it’s wedding photo booth rentals, corporate event, anniversary party, or any type of event.
Let’s get into it!
What Are Photo Booth Rentals?
Renting a photo booth is a lot like renting anything else! You go to the photo booth rental company, work out a time and a place, and rent the booth.
Photo booths are essentially great big selfie cameras — but they’re not just that!
As this Forbes article says, photo booths are an amazing way to get people together and help make a unique social experience. Similarly, this Inc.com article covers how photo booths are being used in a number of creative ways, including for corporate events as a powerful marketing tool.
Photo booth rentals come in a huge number of variations, including self-service and employee-operated varieties, different sizes, and more.
What Are the Benefits of Photo Booth Rentals?
Here’s what we at Pixilated offer to make the overall photo booth experience even better!
Personal
It’s hard to get more personal than a photo of you (and your closest friends and family). Photo booths are a great option to really add that in-the-know touch to any event.
What We Do
Our booths are self-operated, self-constructed, and generally just don’t require additional people when it comes to running them. This means that you can keep your wedding party or private function as intimate as you want it to be.
Customizable
Not only are photo booths personal – they’re customizable as well.
Rather than random, throwaway souvenirs that you might get at a corporate event such as keychains, ornaments, or the like, your guests have an active say in what their keepsakes look like!
What We Do
We offer personalized themes or templates for your photos, plus accessories to help you further customize your pics!
Instant Access
Sure, you could have a photographer at the event; in fact, you could do that as well as hire a photo booth!
However, your guests will have to wait until those photos are made available after the event to get a glance at them.
In contrast, photo booths allow your guests to gain instant access to their photos!
What We Do
Our photo booths allow you to get an eye on your photos as soon as possible!
Plus, you receive it as a digital file within seconds through email or SMS– which means that you can do whatever you want with it instantly (such as share it on social media). This is a huge advancement over traditional photo booths, which often only offer their photos in physical print form.
What’s Included in Photo Booth Rentals?
Camera
Of course, you can’t have a photo booth without a camera! However, the quality of the camera varies depending on who you hire the booth from.
What We Do
All of our photo booths come with either an 8MP camera or an 18MP camera, depending on which option you choose.
That means you can be assured of high detail in your photos, which won’t blur when you zoom into those beautiful smiles!
Backdrop Options
Most photo booths will come with some kind of backdrop. Depending on who you rent from, that can be anything from a standard blue sky to a green screen to a backdrop you make yourself. Sometimes multiple backdrops might be provided.
What We Do
You can personalize your photo booth backdrop with us by either using some of our templates, or by working with our team to make something completely for you!
Our green screen photobooth option is especially great for that extra special backdrop.
Print Photo Options
There’s not a whole lot of point in having a photo booth if you can’t get the photos from it!
Most booths allow you to print your photos either on the booth itself or after the event, while many also provide digital files.
What We Do
You’ll receive your photos immediately after you’ve taken them, through either emailing or texting them to up to five different people.
That means no waiting around for them to be uploaded to a central server or clear a print queue — just your photos, right now!
The Top Things to Consider When Renting a Photo Booth for Your Event
The Style of Your Event
The first thing to think about is whether a photo booth is right for your event.
For example, if you’re hosting a serious business conference with no social events… maybe think twice?
However, assuming you think a photo booth is a good fit (and we hope you do!), you’ll want to think about which option best fits the style of your function.
Do you need something that’s discreet and classy that you can tuck away into a corner of your event space?
Or, do you need something more central that will be a focal point of an evening?
Photo booths can fit many different styles and themes of a gathering, so you should make sure you pick one that’s appropriate for what you’re doing, whether it be for a wedding, a school dance, a bachelorette party, a corporate event, a tradeshow or otherwise! As an example a GIF photobooth rental would work better for a more fun and less serious type of events. Where as a glam black and white photo booth would work better at a elegant wedding.
As well as considering physical appearance, don’t forget the backdrop and accessory options. Which photo booth options are the ideal fit for your event?
Your Budget
This is probably the first problem your brain will raise around the idea of renting a photo booth.
Photo booths come in many different price ranges.
Obviously, more accessories and more backdrops (not to mention setup, or attendants) will often come with a higher price tag. However, it is possible to find mid-range and affordable photo booth options as well!
Find a Reputable Photo Booth Company
Making sure you’re using a photo booth from a company that cares about their product and their users is a good way to make sure nothing goes wrong.
In order to make sure that your company of choice is reputable, there are a couple of key aspects to check.
Location
So, you’re hiring a photo booth in, say, Texas.
You’re looking at photo booth companies and one looks great– but after a bit of digging, it looks like they’re based in… Atlanta?
While location being in a different area isn’t the end of the world, local companies (or at least local offices/distribution arms) are likely to be more reliable — especially in terms of pick-up and return.
Or, you could just choose to rent your photo booth from Pixilated: After all, we offer free, expedited shipping to the lower 48 states, and guarantee that your booth will be delivered to you at least one day prior to the big day!
Reviews
This is the big one.
Always look at the reviews for any product you are considering, especially ones with a higher price point and impact like photo booth rentals.
Make sure that you’re happy with the reviews! Remember that more reviews typically mean that the overall statistics and sentiments are more reliable.
For example, a company that has 90% 5-star ratings out of 6 reviews is much less trustworthy than a company with 85% 5-star ratings out of 100 reviews.
So, don’t only look at the percentage of positive reviews, but also how many reviews there are in total. And, if there’s more than just a star rating, take the time to read the reviews!
Backdrop, Props, and Accessories
Now you’ve hopefully found a rental company that’s affordable, fits in with your event’s style and theme, and looks like they’re actually worth hiring. It’s time to have some photo booth fun!
It’s vital to make sure that the backdrops, props and accessories you’re getting with your photo booth work for you.
Do you have everything you need for your guests to craft a variety of images?
Do you need specific backgrounds or branding for your events? What about extra lights, or a more powerful camera?
It can be helpful to make a list of each aspect of your photo booth that you can control, and choose your “bare minimum” requirements as well as your “ideal” attributes.
That way, you can compare these to help whittle down any remaining choices!
Flexibility and Customization
Being able to customize your photo booth is something that can really take your event to the next level. Confirming that your provider offers this is sure to improve your experience!
As well as this, companies with more flexible policies around return time, an ability to customize, and so on will often be easier and better to work with.
After all, nobody wants to have to drive across the state to return a photo booth within an hour-long time frame!
How to Rent a Photo Booth
Depending on the company you go with, you’ll either be asked to contact them for a quote, or they’ll list their pricing directly on the website.
Once you’ve finalized the price, you’ll then move on to the location of your event and the time that you want the photo booth.
Following that, you should ready to go! Your photo booth will either arrive in the mail if it's a self-service option, or will come with the attendant on the day of the event.
Once you’re done using it, you’ll either have to ship or transport the booth back, or the company will do so for you.
What We Do
At Pixilated, we believe in telling you exactly what you’re getting.
Unlike many of our competitors with whom you’d need to worry about attendants being present, we tell you upfront what our prices are — simply because they don’t change and are listed in our online shop.
We also make sure that getting the booth and returning it is as hassle-free as possible.
Renting a photo booth with us is as simple as clicking through to our website, placing your order and it’s guaranteed to arrive on time for your event.
When it's time to return it, just pack it back up in the box it came in, slap on the provided return postage label, and drop it off at your nearest UPS point.
We've even put together a handy photo booth rental checklist to help you plan!
The Bottom Line
Photo booths can really enhance any event — especially if you choose them well!
When renting your booth, make sure you consider your options carefully, and ensure that it fits your criteria exactly.
If you’ve found an option you love and has a great camera, excellent customizability, hassle-free returns, and good reviews– you’re onto a winner.
(Pssst… That’s us!)
Good luck with your event! If you’re looking for a place to start your search or book a booth, we’d love to help make your celebration a roaring success.
2 comments
It’s a fair point that photo booths may be customized to meet a variety of themes and styles for events, so choose one that makes sense for the type of event you’re having—weddings, school dances, bachelorette parties, business gatherings, trade shows, and so on. For the upcoming employee appreciation party held by her workplace, my sister is considering renting a 360 photo booth so everyone can have some sort of memorabilia from the event. I’ll have to let her know about this so she can choose a nice and appropriate one. https://hotshotsbooth.com/360-booth/
Thank you for your advice to look at the reviews for the booth before renting it. My sister is thinking about getting a photo booth for her company’s employee appreciation party coming up. I’ll have to share this with her so she can find a good one to have. https://shutterislandpb.com/