Five events that suit a photo booth

1. Weddings

The booth fills the gap between the end of dinner and the point where the dance floor takes over, which is the softest hour of any reception. Names and date on the strip, three hours from dessert, and the guestbook fills itself if you double-print. Detail on timing is on the weddings page.

2. Corporate holiday parties and activations

Two jobs at once: something for people to do in the first awkward half hour, and a branded photo that guests choose to share. Logo on the strip, logo on the start screen, opt-in list at the end. That combination is why a booth often comes out of a marketing budget rather than a party one.

3. Milestone birthdays

Sixteenths, thirtieths, fiftieths, sixtieths. The common factor is a guest list that spans generations, and a booth is one of very few activities that a fifteen-year-old and a grandparent will both do. Name and milestone on the print. For a smaller party the digital self-operated booth at $350 is often the better call.

4. Proms, grads and school formals

The one where throughput is everything. Three hundred students, a three hour window, and a dance floor competing for attention. A fast printer and an attendant working the line is the difference between a booth that runs all night and one that dies at nine. See the proms page for how school invoicing works.

5. Fundraisers and community events

A booth gives a fundraiser a second reason to exist beyond the ask. It also produces an opt-in list of people who came, which for a small charity is worth more than the photos. Branded strips carry the cause into people's homes rather than the recycling.

Where a booth is the wrong call

A seated dinner with no mingling time. A conference with a packed agenda and no reception. An event under about twenty people where a booth just looms in the corner. In those cases we will say so. If the guest list is small but you still want the photos, look at the digital booth instead.