How to Make Your Own DIY Photo Booth: 6 Easy Steps
From fantastic backdrop and prop ideas to choosing the right camera, here's everything you need to make brilliant memories with a DIY photo booth
We have included third party products to help you navigate and enjoy life’s biggest moments. Purchases made through links on this page may earn us a commission.
Photo booths are a great form of entertainment for your wedding. They immerse guests in a super fun activity at the reception and provide incredible memories from the day that last a lifetime, whether you hiring a pro or go for a DIY photo booth.
Depending on how long you want one and what kind it is, hiring a professional photo booth typically costs between £299 and £700. For that price, you’ll get around 3 to 4 hours of a manned photo booth with props, dressing-up boxes, digital copies of the photos, and unlimited prints on the night. Usually, there are extras like a guest book and USB to keep, too.
Hire companies also offer many different themed options that might perfectly suit the style of your wedding and help set your celebrations apart. Think fun magic mirrors and vintage open-air booths as well as cool VW campervans, retro caravans, and rustic horse boxes.
If, however, a professional booth isn’t within your budget and you don’t want to miss out on the fun, it’s simple to DIY a photo booth...and we're here to explain how. From themed backdrop ideas to advice on where to place your booth and what camera you’ll need, plus inspiration for props, we’re sharing all you need to create a DIY photo booth in a flash!
DIY Photo Booth Ideas & Inspiration
Use the links below to hop to the section you need, or browse the whole article for everything you need to know about to DIY a photo booth.
1. Think Where You Will Position Your Photo Booth
There’s no point in going to the effort of a DIY photo booth if no one realises it’s there, or worse, you make one too big for the space you have! So, before the making gets underway, take some time to picture your wedding day venue or setting and think about the best spot for your booth.
The ideal is to find a spot where people will pass by and notice it but also position it in a slightly private area where people won’t feel self-conscious or on-show as they grab a prop and strike a pose. For example, a corner of the reception dancefloor or a small adjoining room might work well. Alternatively, if it’s a spring/summer or outdoor wedding, you could position it in a courtyard, gazebo, or pop-up bell tent. The background could also play a part, so you might be looking for a blank wall, some cool exposed brickwork, or a romantic garden setting to set your booth up against.
Wherever you decide, just make sure it’s easy to find...you could get some photo booth signs to draw attention to it or ask your bridesmaids and ushers to guide guests to it as part of their duties.
Finally, measure the space (or ask the venue's wedding coordinator to) so that you know the dimensions you'll need to work to when planning your homemade photo booth.
2. Choose Your DIY Photo Booth Style & Create Your Backdrop
Now comes the fun part! Deciding on what style of photo booth backdrop you want to create - it's a key step when it comes to how to DIY a photo booth.
Most couples tend to tie it in with the theme or colour scheme of the wedding, but beyond how it will look, bear in mind the time, money and skills it will take to make and how you will transport it to the venue. If any of these things start to raise alarm bells, it's probably best to hire a professional photo booth company that will take away the stress and ensure all runs smoothly on the day.
For those of you who feel up to the challenge of some photo booth DIY, you can go as extra or as simple as you like, crafting your entire booth from scratch or sourcing elements to bring your dream vision to life.
To help get the inspiration flowing, we've rounded up some of the best DIY photo booth ideas to suit different wedding themes and styles.
Boho Photo Booth
Beautiful, relaxed and mega romantic, the key to DIYing a boho-themed photo booth is to bring together a mix of textured and natural materials and organise them in a way that doesn't look too try-hard. We love this wooden folding frame, which is perfect for building up with boho-themed decor to suit your theme. Think free-form florals, trailing ribbons, soft pampas grass or gorgeous macrame creations.
Rustic Photo Booth Backdrop
Having a barn wedding? Then this would be a super easy DIY photo booth idea to pull off. Simply source a floral hanging backdrop to suspend somewhere inside or outside the venue and then build up the scene with rustic props like a watering can, milk churns, wooden crates and buckets and jars of seasonal blooms.
Tropical DIY Photo Booth
Pink Photo Booth Backdrop
Classic Romance Booth Backdrop
If timeless romance is more your wedding vibe, keep things simple with a relaxed photo booth backdrop like this metallic frame decorated with draped voiles and trailing flower arrangements. While you can easily set this up yourself, if you have a florist taking care of your wedding blooms, you might want to ask them to add of flourish of flowers to your booth to keep your decor consistent.
Vintage DIY Wedding Photo Booth
Add some razzle dazzle to your vintage-themed wedding with a glittering photo booth backdrop. For the Gatsby couples out there, we love this gold-foiled and white tassel backdrop, which would look super cool accompanied by props such as feather bowers, fake cigars, strings of pearls, and trilby hats for your guests to pose with.
Urban Cool Neon Backdrop
If getting hitched at an alternative venue, like an urban warehouse or mill, chances are you'll have some fabulous bare-brick walls that you can transform into a super cool photo booth. We love the idea of simply hanging a bespoke wedding sign, like this modern neon light, on a clear wall and having your guests strike a pose beneath it.
Outdoor Photo Booth
DIY photo booth ideas for outdoor weddings are far-reaching, but be sure to consider the unpredictable British weather when planning your backdrop and, if possible, position it somewhere undercover. Pretty flower walls work effortlessly in outdoor settings and make effective booth backdrops. Craft your own, hire one or head online to the likes of Etsy or Not On The High Street to find ready-made options.
Pretty Paper Backdrops
Do-it-yourself wedding photo booth backdrops don't come much more hands-on than pretty origami creations. Make an experience out of the making of your booth by getting your bridesmaids over for a 'crafts night' to help you assemble and string together your chosen paper decorations. If origami is outside your crafting comfort zone, go with colour-coordinated paper pom poms or paper fans, which are much easier to assemble.
3. Decide on the Type of Camera
Every DIY photobooth needs a camera, and there are a few different options:
1. An Instax camera is the simple way to do it. Guests can take snaps of each other, and they’ll be printed instantly. This means you can also have a photo guestbook where guests stick their snaps alongside a special message for an extra personal touch. Bear in mind that the film is quite expensive, so this could end up being pricier than expected. This Mini Instax camera is £75, and an instant film with 20 shots is £14.99.
2. A DSLR camera on a tripod is a great option if you already own one or can borrow one from a relative or friend. Have a remote control that can be used to take a photo or find a few people happy to stand behind the lens for a bit. You’ll need someone with know-how to check the settings periodically, especially as the light changes. What you don’t want is a glaring flash, so we recommend setting up a ring light or buying a Speedlite flash. You will then have all the photos digitally saved to share in an online album with your guests.
3. A selfie stick with a good-quality phone is basic but will do the trick. If the guests use their own phones, make sure they upload them to social media with a specific hashtag so you can find them all again. This highly-rated selfie stick is less than £10 and has a detachable wireless remote.
4. Buy or Make Some Playful Photo Booth Props
The photo booth fun can be enhanced with the addition of playful props to wear and pose with, from pocket-friendly cardboard designs to personalised photo frames and fancy dress items. The booth itself, meanwhile, looks great if you accessorise it with props to suit your wedding style, such as wicker furniture, patterned rugs and pampas grass for boho celebrations. Here are some of our favourite DIY photo booth prop ideas:
Cardboard Photo Booth Props
Playful cardboard prop packs are an easy and affordable way to bring some extra fun to your DIY photobooth. If you're arty, you could have a go at making them yourself. Otherwise, you will find plenty of different options online to suit your wedding. Amazon has a fantastic value set of 58 props for only £5.70. It includes glasses, hats, bow ties, moustaches and more, so it’s pretty much everything you need for your basic fun props. We particularly love the Ginger Ray set above that’s ideal for a boho or vintage-themed wedding.
Personalised Wedding Props
If you're looking to add a more personal touch to your booth, you could throw some photo face masks of your and your partner's faces into your prop box or make some signs for your guests to pose with that have your names and wedding date on. Another option is some fun sunglasses, like these sweet heart-shaped ones, personalised with your initials and wedding date.
Fancy Dress Props
A fancy dress box containing hats, wigs and accessories is a great DIY photo booth idea to get your guests giggling. Amazon has a huge selection of wigs from £5. Whether you want a Cruella de Vil two-tone wig, Oompa Loompa orange, a Pat Sharp mullet, or ABBA disco-style flicks, they’ve got everything you could want. The mask selection is equally vast, spanning elegant mascarade-style designs to hilarious Latex animal heads, plus there are themed fancy dress packs like this fun disco set. You can also borrow hats and costume jewellery from your family and friends or raid charity shops.
Fun Inflatable Photo Booth Props
Another way to maximise the enjoyment and add some vibrant colour to your photo booth images is by arming your guests with some fabulous inflatable props. Popular choices include microphone and instrument sets like this fun five-piece set from Amazon. Throw in some long-haired wigs and watch your guests form their very own comedy rock band in your booth.
Wedding Glitter Station
A glitter station is a great way to turn up the reception fun factor and add extra sparkle to your photo booth pics. It's also a popular activity with adults and children alike and is particularly fitting if having a festival-themed wedding. This 3-pack of colourful face and body glitter is biodegradable and comes with aloe vera application gel.
DIY Photo Booth Frame
The ultimate prop...a DIY photo booth frame. You can buy personalised Polaroid-style selfie frames from Etsy or DIY your own with a large piece of card and some calligraphy skills. We also love this super-sweet customisable car photo booth frame by Ginger Ray.
READ MORE: The Real Wedding Photo Rules for Guests
5. Add Some Lighting
Your reception will likely continue into the night, so having cool lighting in your photo booth adds a great atmosphere. We love to see fairy lights, lanterns, curtains of lights, exposed Edison bulbs, globe bulbs or a lightbox being used. Another fabulous idea is a bespoke neon sign. This might be a pricier option, but it will give you an amazing keepsake that can take pride of place in your home after the bag day.
Remember, this lighting should always be in addition to the lighting for your camera, and a ring light makes everyone look better!
6. Get Guests to Share the Photos
If guests are taking photos on their own phones, use a sign to let them know what to do and how to share them. Tell your guests to grab a prop, strike a pose, and use your unique hashtag to share. This could be written on a vintage mirror, chalkboard, wooden pallet, or an old painted picture frame, or, if you're all crafted-out, you could buy a ready-made sign to suit your wedding theme.
There you have it – six steps to making your own DIY wedding photo booth and bucketloads of inspo! If you’re looking for more DIY wedding photo tips, make sure you read our guide to taking brilliant photos with your smartphone.
