Starting a new photo booth business?
Starting a photo booth business?
The cost break down and technical need to knows before venturing in.
So you decided to start a photo booth business. That's awesome! Let's say you did a little research and came to the conclusion that if you could book 30 weddings a year, that would be an extra 30K for a side job. Sounds great! That's what I thought when I ventured into this business. I have learned a lot since then and I am here to give you some insight on things you may have over looked. There are a lot of variations to how companies build booths. This is how we did it.
Our website: http://www.theboothevents.com
- Cost to Build.
Enclosure: (the thing people stand in)
Let's say you are not going to build this booth enclosure out of PVC pipe and shower curtains. Let's say you would like it to look decent but still want to be able to transport it in a mid-size 4 door. We decided to go with a pipe and drape system since we saw other successful photo booth companies out there using the same thing. We bought an expandable 8 foot high pipe and drape system with black drapes. Cost was around $500. Keep in mind, some pipe and drape systems are expandable in the length and width but are at a fixed height of 8 ft. (like the one we bought) So your venues need to have at least 8 ft. ceilings. Not a big deal as most of them do. Just an FYI. They do sell expandable height versions but they are a little more expensive.
Booth (where all/most of the electronics are kept)
There are quite a bit of options out there when choosing a booth. You can even build one if you have the skills. But let's say you are looking to buy. These range from $1000 to $5000 depending on the manufacturer and most of the time that cost does not include any electronics or camera equipment. There are many different types and sizes for these so think about what you want. Do you want the printer located inside the booth (or on a table by your props?) what size monitor are you going to use? Are you using a webcam or DSLR camera? Do you need it to break down and fit in your midsize sedan? Answering these questions first will help you understand what you are looking for. For us- We found a guy on eBay who makes acrylic type booths. We liked this option because we can add LED lighting inside the booth and match wedding colors with the change of a button. Here is a picture of it. Cost= $1200
Camera:
You basically have 2 options for a camera. You can go with the webcam or the DSLR. You can find a decent HD 1080p webcam for around $100. We decided to use our DSLR Canon T3i. This was the camera that most professional booth companies used and we did not want our company to be subpar. You also will want to purchase an external flash if because more than likely you will be in low lighting situations. Most booths have a lighting section in the top above the camera (see picture). In that top section we have standard bulbs to provide light inside of the booth and also have a flash mounted as well. Without the flash you struggle to get a nice clear and bright shot. You can get the camera on eBay for around $300-$600. Flash- $120
Electronics:
There are a few pieces to consider for the guts of the photo booth. I will describe the main pieces that we used.
- Printer: For printers you need to take into account how fast the photos print and size of actual printer (if you want it inside of your Booth) most photo booth companies go with sub die printers. These are fairly compacted and print photos between 7-15 seconds. The photo paper comes in rolls and usually will print anywhere between 300-600 prints per roll. The printer cuts the photos automatically. We purchased a Brava 21 for around $600.
- Monitor/computer: These days you will probably want to go with an "all in one"touchscreen monitor so you don't have to wire a button or have your guests use a mouse to start their photo session. Or you can get a laptoppc connected to a touchscreen monitor. That seemed like it would take up too much space for us. All in one Touch screen monitors range in cost and size. We went with a 22inch dell for around $400.
So that about covers the major physical aspects of the booth. You may want to add a second monitor to allow people in line to see what is happening inside the booth. Other costs will include usb connectors, wireless keyboard and mouse, power strip and you probably will want a power adaptor for your camera and flash so you don't run out of batteries during your events.
- Programs
There are a few different programs out there for photo booths. Most have the basic features for choosing templates (either strips or postcard) and selecting how many photos will be taken. Some include social media uploads (Facebook, twitter, Instagram etc...) so you will want to ask you self what you want your booth to be able to do. One thing I didn't take in to account was creating custom templates for clients. The program we purchased did not come with any customizable templates so you either had to buy customizable templates from people or learn how to make your own. I like to figure stuff out so we decided to make our own. After a few YouTube videos and forums we were making our own in Photoshop. If you don't have Photoshop you may want to purchase it (depending on what photo booth software you buy). You will want to learn the difference between backgrounds and overlays and what file types you will use for each. If you are computer savvy this should take too long to understand. If not, it may be a bit of a learning curve. So take time to learn the features of the program before you purchase. Some of them (I learned this after we bought ours) come with different backgrounds and overlays preloaded and have the capability to edit the templates inside of the program.
Cost for program - $300-$400
So that is it! Now you have a functional photo booth. Oh wait I forgot a few things.
It is a good idea to have backups of a few of these things. The last thing you want is to have your camera stop working or your printer to become unresponsive at a gig. It may not be a top priority now but you will be glad you thought of it. If you can't buy 2 of all your components then think of ways to keep your system up if something fails. For example- if you camera fails, have a webcam available (and make sure you test the set up so you know how to connect it). Maybe have a 2nd cheap printer from best buy that prints photos. (You can get them for around $150) The pictures will take 30 sec or so to print but at least you can still be in business. At the very least make sure you have extra paper and ink cartridges! Bring a laptop in case your touch screen goes out, you can use your mouse to start the sessions. I promise you it will be in your best interest to think ahead rather than trying to explain to the bride why nobody can use the booth they just spent $1000 to rent.
Marketing and business.
You will probably want to apply for a business license from the county or city. That cost me about $200. Also you probably want to have the business insured because many venues will not allow you to do business on their property if you are not insured. We were able to get liability insurance for about $1200/year in California.
You will also want to find some sample photo booth agreements and build your own based on that. These agreements will have information in there that will prevent you from getting sued so that is important. You will want to build a website if you're serious. We were able to build ours through godaddy for about $100 for the year.
The marketing part of it is where you are going to put most of your effort if you want to succeed. If your area is anything like mine then there are already tons of photo booth businesses. Some of these businesses are using groupon to market. I understand why companies use groupon to get exposure but the percentages that groupon takes is outrageous. For example- groupon make you take around P off of your normal price (you really don't have an option here). So you have a 4 hour rental for $1000 and groupon will make you list it for $500. Then groupon takes around P of that so you are left with $250. After travel and materials you probably are losing money. So while it may be good to get practice I want to warn you to tread lightly when setting up groupons. I have seen some photo booth groupons for as low as $299 for 4 hours, and it said 75 had been sold. That company is going to be busy and probably not last long. Can you imagine the wear and tear on the equipment? And you're losing money? I personally would rather booth 4 gigs full price then 75 and lose money.
Just remember that you put a lot of hard work and time into this business. You may lose business to some companies on groupon, but do you really want to attract the lowballers and deal shoppers to your webpage anyway? Or would you rather attract "willing to pay for quality product buyers"? Just something to keep in mind.
I would suggest things like adword from google and also try to invest in SEO (Search engine optimization) The difference from showing up on page 3 or 4 on google in your area and page 1 is probably the difference in your company making it. Seriously- who scrolls through more than 1 page on google looking for a vendor? Not me. If you can make it on the first page you WILL book gigs just on probability alone.
I also market on yelp and craigslist for deals and make sure you update your content regularly.
So that is what I have learned as we start our new business. Hopefully this will help people who are thinking of getting into the business. It's pretty competitive out there but if you are proud of your product, creative and have the right attitude you will find a way to compete.
Please visit our site to see how we are doing. Drop a line if you need advice.
Total cost:
Pipe and Drape- $500
Booth- $1200
Camera & Flash- $500
Electronics- $1000
Program- $300
Other material (paper/ink/electronics)- $400
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Total- $4100
Insurance/License - $1400/Year
Website- $100 /year
Marketing - $1500 /year (can vary depending on you)
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