Shop Smart for your Photo Booth

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.