photo booth rental Archives

January 30, 2020 — No Comments

Valentine’s Day 2020

It’s that time of year again. Romance is in the air, over 36 million boxes of chocolate are being gifted and an estimated amount of $3.3 billion worth of flowers are being sent and received by loved ones all over the nation. It’s Valentine’s Day.

Don’t get us wrong! We love chocolates, flowers, nice dinners and cute stuffed animals. But as a husband and wife team here at koibooth we’ve been taking some time to reflect back on the little things that happen throughout the year that give our hearts all the feels.

Rewind just a month or so ago...

...to a review we were doing of all of our past koibooth events in 2019. After sorting through all of the images we realized that we had captured TONS of images of couples kissing each other and we thought: “this is just the best thing!" How romantic is it to find yourselves in front of a photo booth capturing your love, kisses and just overall cuteness in a matter of seconds?? It actually brought us back to our dating days before we even ventured into the photo booth business. If we happened to be somewhere with a photo booth we ALWAYS took photos. The best part was receiving a print right away that we could display anywhere and look at every day.

Hey! That's us! Even before koibooth we LOVED taking pictures at photo booths. This was in Portland, Oregon at the famous Voodoo Doughnut shop :) — *Hey! That's us! Even before koibooth we **LOVED** taking pictures at photo booths. This was in Portland, Oregon at the famous Voodoo Doughnut shop 🙂*

TALK ABOUT WARM FUZZIES <3

We’ve talked before about why prints are so special and if you didn’t believe us then, check out this adorable video of all of our koibooth couples below. We're confident that they would tell you how much those prints mean to them even long after the event:

Share many kisses with your loved one this Valentine's Day XOXO

San Diego Valentine's Day Date Ideas

In the spirit of pictures and treasuring moments and experiences to celebrate with your boo thang this love day, we’ve put together a list of great spots in San Diego to go and spend the day or the weekend at. We even suggest bringing a camera with you so you can have highlights of your special day. If you REALLY want to go for it - stop by a Walgreens or CVS and pick up a disposable film camera (yes, they still make them). The beauty of disposable cameras are that you'll have no idea what you've captured until you develop the film! You never know, you might just capture something really unique.

Have a picnic in Balboa Park
Indulge your inner artist the San Diego Art Institute or Museum of Contemporary Art
Hop aboard a Hornblower Cruise
Take a stroll around the La Jolla seaside
Release your inner child at the San Diego Zoo
Treat your sweet tooth to delicious & beautiful desserts at Extraordinary Desserts (our personal favorite for sweets in San Diego)

Whether you’re newly dating or partners of many years, next time you pass by a photo booth, give it a try! Or if you happen to be located in the San Diego area, feel free to contact us directly to book us for your next event. We promise to capture the timeless gift of super warm fuzzies for all your guests.

Happy Partying and Happy Valentine’s Day <3

Published by Kelli in Uncategorized

August 13, 2019 — No Comments

Open Air Photo Booths

If you’ve shopped around for a photo booth rental you’ve probably seen the phrase " open air " booth over and over again. In fact, you’ve probably seen companies make a point to mention that their booth is open-air - heck, we do it here at koibooth. Why is that, you ask? Well, over time, photo booth’s have evolved drastically and this open air concept was a big part of that evolution. The traditional enclosed booth might have a nice nostalgia to it but it doesn’t give guests the same experience and can even feel a bit too secluded.

open air koibooth at the 2019 San Diego Night Market

Let’s jump into a few reasons why guests love an open-air booth…

They create excitement!

Whether it’s a wedding, baby shower, holiday party, family reunion, private corporate event, or whatever - there is bound to be a lot going on. Enclosed booth’s have a tendency to get lost or forgotten in all the exciting chaos. While an open air booth lets guests see all the laughter and silliness going on and can’t help but join in on the fun.

They allow for more peeps in each pic!

That’s right! We’ve actually seen up to 20 people jump in front of the camera meaning more smiles for every picture. And as an added bonus, the open air booth allows for the occasional surprise photo bomber which always makes people giggle.

They aren’t bulky so they can seamlessly fit into any event!

The open air booth essentially means that the booth part is a free standing structure with a sleek and modern design. This way hosts don’t have to worry about it matching with the decor or giving the party an outdated feel.

It's important to remember that there are many elements to a party and it's 99.9% likely that you won't see your party put together until the day of. With that in mind, it's really important that you think carefully about the vendors/decor your choose because you want it to fit together nicely when it's all set up.

The framing is larger meaning more space for more creative posing!

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen guests just pick someone up or give piggyback rides for pictures. It’s a lot of fun! And makes for a super dynamic photograph.

And to let you in on an even bigger secret: these creative poses are what makes an open air booth stand out from the rest. I mean check out this picture below and tell me that's not awesome. Would the picture still be great even if they were just standing or sitting? Sure. But this pose just elevates it from a great picture to an extraordinary picture.

Lisa & Kevin's open air photo booth rental with koibooth — Lisa & Kevin's open air photo booth allowed guests to get creative with their poses

Another thing to think about is that most photo booths come with an attendant and they are there to make sure everything runs smoothly. And that’s not limited to making sure the pictures are turning out great. With and open booth they have more access to your photos because they can see it all happening right there. They ensure that your lighting is great, the focus is spot on and the quality is so great that you keep wanting to come back and take more pictures.

If you’re paying for entertainment at your party you want to know that your guests will use it and it would be a shame if it just gets tucked away and forgotten about.

I can still say that the open air booth is a great option even if you feel that you’re more traditional. It offers all of the things that a traditional booth offers plus more and most importantly, it isn’t a big eye sore.

Because it should never be about the booth itself, it should just be about the guests.

Happy Partying!

Published by Kelli in Events, Open Air Booth, Photo Booth

Tags: baby shower, event planning, events, family reunion, holiday party, open air photo booth, photo booth rental, photo booth rental san diego, private corporate event, san diego, wedding

May 31, 2019 — No Comments

What should be included in a standard photo booth hire?

A standard photo booth hire can range a bit here and there. But there are some things over here at koibooth that we consider to be must haves for any event.

When it comes down to it, booking your photo booth should be a very easy and straightforward process. Mostly because everything is already sorted out and included. You just have to make a few decisions regarding the backdrop, photo strip designs, props, you know - the fun stuff!

There are always add ons and customizations you can make here and there. But if you were to just book the standard package without all the extras you should have everything you could possibly need to make your booth hire a hit at your party.

Here’s what any standard photo booth hire should include:

Unlimited sessions with prints
Props
Backdrop
Print design
Photo booth attendee(s)
Instant social media sharing
Gifs
Link to digital library after event (sent to the host)
Delivery, set up & breakdown (30 min. prior and 30 min. post booking time)

If any of those items are not included when you go to book your photo booth I would say that you’re not getting the best deal. Even the instant social media sharing and gifs are standard these days because we photo booth folks know how important those things are to our guests. It wouldn’t be right to charge extra for something that everyone will absolutely want!

I should mention that this information is also based off of the most common type of photo booth hire. Should you chose to go another route such as something like a photo booth camper type of set up or a ring light selfie booth set up, there may be other standards for those that I cannot speak to.

But I cannot stress enough how important it is to go over this with the rental company that you choose. Make sure that there are no hidden fees for things... like extra prints. If there are, just make sure that you’ve considered that into your budget as I promise, it will come up. At koibooth for example, it happens frequently (as I’m sure it does with many open-air booth styles) that you have a large group of guests hop in for a session and they all want their own print when it’s done. Our printer automatically prints out two prints. But if we need to print, say six more, we’ll happily do it right there on the spot. And we don’t charge extra because...well that would suck for our host.

Some companies may have it in their policy that they must charge more if they need to print more on the spot but hey, to each his own. I can't say that it’s an “industry standard” that they must print more if guests ask for it but it’s just something to be aware of. For us here at koibooth, we just want every guest to walk away with that special memento from your party.

Something else to note...

One last thing I will touch on is travel costs. Now, I wouldn’t say this is hidden because it should be the companies right to charge a little extra for travel if they have to travel a pretty significant distance. But it shouldn’t be much! Maybe it’s an extra $1/per or so. Honestly if the company is transparent, they will tell you if you need to pay extra for travel as soon as you give them your event location.

And that’s everything, folks! I hope this helps clear the air for what should be expected when booking your photo booth. Just make sure that you remember to ask questions if something isn’t noted or it’s even a little unclear. The more you know, the more you can be positive that it’s the right photo booth for you.

"...gifs are standard these days because we photo booth folks know how important those things are to our guests. It wouldn’t be right to charge extra for something that everyone will absolutely want!"

Happy Partying!

Published by Kelli in Bookings, Photo Booth, Uncategorized

May 30, 2019 — No Comments

DSLR camera or an ipad: which one is my photo booth hire using?

Alright folks...DSLR camera or an ipad? Does is matter? YES! When you shop around for a photo booth hire it’s very important to pay attention to details such as “what is actually taking the picture??” Why? Because some companies do get away with using just an ipad as their camera. But...

there are a few problems with this as the ipad camera just isn't as high quality as the DSLR camera.

In addition to that, if the ipad takes the photos PLUS serves as the touch screen, that translates to you getting your pictures taken on a front facing camera. This camera is even lower quality than the back camera. Don’t get me wrong, the ipad takes wonderful photos. But nothing compares to a photo taken on an industry standard DSLR camera.

Here are just some of the plus sides to a DSLR:

It can be connected to a flash - resulting in consistent and beautiful photos.

The range of focus is much better than that of an ipad ensuring that everyone in your photos will be seen clearly.

You’re getting more bang for your buck! If you want to use an ipad, there are ways to set it up yourself. For a professional hire, I would always go for the route with professional equipment.

DSLR camera photos will be larger in size meaning higher image quality for your original JPEGS that you will receive after your event.

The ipad or tablet being used should only serve as the touch screen for booth session to get started. If the ipad or tablet is responsible for running all aspects of the booth - your booking may not run smoothly.

Another important thing to note is that once people start hopin’ in and out of photo booth sessions, the ipad can get “overwhelmed”. This is because it must: run the proper program, take pictures, send pictures to the printer and avoid delay. After a while it might start moving pretty slow. And that’s the worst! Guests won't be able move through quickly and might just end up losing interest.

Think of it like a computer. The DSLR camera is like the screen to give you the best possible image. While the computer part or the "brain" is the ipad connecting everything together to work simultaneously. Each component has a particular job!

At koibooth, we make sure that every detail of the booth is well thought out and that each component inside is working for what it's intended for. DSLR's are made for taking great photos - so why not use them?

I can’t stress enough how important it is to do your research before finalizing a booking. If you're having trouble finding this information on the booth’s website for some reason, don’t be afraid to ask!

Happy Partying!

Published by Kelli in DSLR Camera, ipad, Mechanics, Photo Booth, Tablet

Tags: booking, dslr camera, ipad, koibooth, photo booth, photo booth rental, photo booth rental san diego, research, san diego

May 24, 2019 — No Comments

How long should your photo booth rental be??

*photo booth rentals can really spruce up any party because they give guests of all ages a fun activity to enjoy throughout the night!!*

With a photo booth, one of the biggest things that comes up for us is "how long should my photo booth rental be?" When planning a party, there are a TON of decisions to make and it can get pretty overwhelming pretty quickly. However, a good way to tell if you’ve hired a great vendor is by how well they can help guide you with concerns such as these and hopefully help take some of the pressure off.

At koibooth, we take pride in our abilities to help you with any booking concerns but for the sake of this article, we will be focusing on how long you should rent your booth for.

There are a few things to consider:

Type of event
Other activities planned
Location and/or location moves
Schedule

Having these details can be very helpful for any photo booth rental booking because some influence others which impact your schedule overall.

For example...

If your event is a wedding you probably have a packed schedule with many activities happening throughout the day/night. Normally the booth is set to run during the reception, right? But there are important things that occur right when a reception starts. First, it takes time for everyone to get settled in. And once they’re all settled in, the emcee will ask that everyone stays seated while the wedding party is introduced. Shortly after that, the first dance tends to happen, and so on and so forth.

I think you get the idea right?? This is NOT an ideal time for your booth to be running as no one will be able to go and enjoy it.

It really isn't until dinner is being served that people start movin’ and groovin’. That all being said, if your schedule looks similar to what I just described, I’d consider waiting to start your photo booth hire once the meal is either about halfway through or wrapping up. Now I know that there are still many activities that take place such as cake cutting, performances, etc. but not to worry ! It only takes a few seconds for people to take the photos and it’s a good idea to have other things for them to do while all of that is happening.

I want to mention one very important thing...

Let’s say your reception starts at 4pm but you want your photo booth rental to run from 7-11pm. As long as your reception location is available and okay with it (they ALWAYS are), your photo booth team should be in there BEFORE guests start to arrive at 4pm. All set up and ready to go. They might not have the props out and may choose to just have a sign that notes when the photo booth will run. This ensures that you are getting every second of the time that you’ve paid for.

We practice this at koibooth and find it to be crucial in making sure everything is flawless. We also noticed that it gets people excited for it! It shows guests of all ages that there’s going to be this fun activity all night long once the party gets going. I would even go as far as saying that it builds up the excitement to a point where people actually take more photos. Which means more memories for the hosts to look back on. We LOVE that!

Just one more point to touch on here: If you start the booth hire later on into the party, guests tend to be much more comfortable getting silly in front of the camera. It’s kinda like the ultimate ice breaker (I may have said this before...but I mean it! It really is!).

Now I’m not going to go into the details of every party but I hope you get the gist of what I’m trying to say. Just really take a moment to look at your schedule/plan for the event. And if you still need guidance, I’m sure your photo booth hire will be happy to assist.

Let's talk location moves.

Something I mentioned in the above things to consider: location moves. This comes up because parties may start with a cocktail hour in one part of the venue and then the main event will happen in a completely area of the venue. My best advice for this is just to decide where the booth is going to be and keep it there. Yes, it can be moved (and I’m going to have to speak specifically for koibooth here) but packing it up, moving and restarting everything can take about 30-45 minutes. That’s considering that there is a clear space to walk through and there are rockstar attendants moving quickly and efficiently.

But it's important to note that any moving time is included in your hire (aka: your time does not stop during the move and then start up again). Meaning that you’re essentially paying for unused time. You’re also risking the possibility of stopping everyone from using the booth even if they are already waiting in line.

Ultimately it's your event and your decision to make. But to get the most out of photo booth rentals, we highly recommend to our clients that they just have the booth stay in one location for the entirety of their event. We just want everyone to get the most bang for their buck!

Finally, what length of time is best?

I always tell our koibooth clients that 3-4 hours is a perfect amount of time. There are special circumstances like say corporate parties that are 6 hours long and it makes sense to run the booth during the entirety of the event. But if it doesn’t make sense for your event, you should really just pay for what does.

I hope this helps but just know that whomever you hire should be an expert and they will be able to tell you from experience, what will be perfect for you and your event.

Happy partying!

Published by Kelli in Bookings, Events, Photo Booth

Tags: Bookings, california, camera, entertainment, event, koi booth, party, photo booth, photo booth rental, photo booth rental san diego, reception, san diego, silly, wedding

May 2, 2019 — No Comments

Photo Booth Attendants: Are they necessary? Will something go wrong?

We'll just start right off by saying: yes! we truly believe in the power of rockstar photo booth attendants. The truth is that when it comes down to it, photo booths are just a bunch of little machines that all need to work simultaneously together. And very rarely things CAN go awry because well you know – technology!

That being said, it should be standard that any photo booth company you rent from should include a photo booth attendant from set up all throughout clean up.

There are also some great perks that come with having a booth attendant!

For example, when we attend an event with our koibooth, part of our goal is to keep guests engaged the whole time. This is important to us and should be important to any photo booth company. As a client, you have paid for a service and you deserve to get the most for your money.

You may wonder, “how do you keep guests engaged in the booth the entire time?” OR you may even be thinking “that doesn’t matter, my guests will surely be interested in the photo booth the whole time!” Let’s talk about both possibilities real quickly.

Possibility 1: “how do you keep guests engaged in the booth the entire time?”

A couple of ways. At koibooth, we know that we love to meet new people! So we are always sure to introduce ourselves to the people/person that is running the show. Someone like a d.j. or an emcee. D.J.’s and emcees always have microphones and can make frequent announcements reminding everyone to go check out the booth. It works like a charm! And let’s face it – those are great people to meet! They’re also there to make your event awesome. So if we all become buddies, we become a group of support to make sure that your event is simply, perfect.

Another thing we know that we love (and that you will love too) are the memories! We are ALL about that. So we love to go around the party (especially to the people that haven’t tried the booth yet) and encourage everyone to hop in for a session. We remind them that our client can’t wait to see the images and it will make them so happy to see that all of their guests had a chance to enjoy their photo booths. These will be memories for them to cherish long after their event is over.

Now, let’s hop to possibility number two because our last little secret to being awesome boot attendants, ties in with that.

Possiblity 2: “That doesn’t matter! My guests will surely be interested in the booth the entire time!”

We hate to think about it too but it DOES happen. There are dull moments when guests just aren’t hopping in. But that’s where your awesome photo booth attendant saves the day, again!

There’s a great little trick we have over here at koibooth. During dull moments, we will go ahead and hop in ourselves! We grab some props and just have a good time. As soon as that flash starts going off and guests are reminded (again) of how fun the booth is, they just can’t help but start lining up again. Magic!

Still not convinced that a photo booth attendant is necessary?

Imagine this scenario for a minute:

You’re at an event. There’s a great photo booth but there’s no attendant.

Throughout the night, the props are being thrown about, the prints are stacking up in the printer, the wifi lost connection and now no one can instantly share their pics and gifs, and then at the end of night comes and the photo booth area is a total mess with no one to clean and pack up.

Pure chaos. Right?

With an attendant at your event, all of that is avoided. Plus, once the booking time is up, they are packed up and out of the way for the venue to be properly cleaned up.

So yes. The photo booth attendants are there for any technology issues. But there are so many other reasons to be excited about having an attendant. If you’re looking into booking with a company and they don’t include an attendant or if they charge you extra for one, consider looking somewhere else. A professional company wants to look good and represent their services professionally. A booth attendant really helps with that.

Convinced yet?

Bottom line is that if your booth booking comes with an awesome photo booth attendant, you and your guests are going to have an awesome and engaging experience!

*One of our photo booth attendants, having a great time with clients at holiday party*

Happy Partying!

Published by Kelli in Photo Booth, Photo Booth Attendants

Tags: attendants, california, instant print, instant share, koibooth, party, party rentals, photo booth, photo booth attendants, photo booth rental, photo booth rental san diego, photos, props, san diego

May 2, 2019 — No Comments

Photo booths in 2019? A modern twist on a traditional party favorite.

Over here at koibooth, we believe that photo booths will never go out of style. Time and time again, we have seen how much magic the booth has.

As soon as sessions start up, guests start lining up. And once guests get a chance to hop in front of the camera, we find that they really feel comfortable to be themselves. Everyone is laughing, rockin’ fake mustaches and planning out their different poses as if it were a short film. And it’s just so much fun.

And what’s even more is that photo booths have evolved over time! What used to be a huge vertical, rectangle box with a curtain that may or may not have looked good with your party decor is now a sleek and simple and almost futuristic looking “open – air” style booth. What’s so great about these booths is that they can fit in with any party. Weddings, baby showers, birthdays, corporate events, you name it! And you don’t even need much space. The ideal amount of room to leave aside for your photo booth rental to set up is about 8x8ft or a maximum of 10x10ft.

We say, that’s nothing for an area of entertainment at your party.

*koibooth at SFMOMA in San Francisco for corporate holiday party*

On top of the design updates, the technology, picture quality and lifetime of prints has gotten much better. Our koibooth, for example, includes all of what we believe should be photo booth industry standards.

Including:

High resolution DSLR camera
High speed sub dye printer
Instant social media sharing
Prints PLUS gifs from every session
Prints that don’t fade over time
Touch screen to start

See those bullets mentioning: instant social media sharing and gifs?? That’s a completely new addition to photo booths thanks to these technically advanced modern times.

It’s features like a sleek design that won’t cramp your parties style, and instant sharing so your guests know your in touch with “the style”, that still make renting a photo booth a really trendy thing to do.

Family photos turned into a fun gif - taken with our photo booth!! — *Family photos turned into a fun gif - taken with our koibooth!!*

Happy Partying !

Published by Kelli in Events, Photo Booth

Tags: california, corporate event, family, favorite, fun, gifs, holiday, modern, party, photo booth rental, photo booth rental san diego, photo booths, photos, san diego, SFMOMA, traditional

May 2, 2019 — No Comments

Why Photo Booth Prints Are So Special

It used to be that the only thing you got from a photo booth were the traditional photo booth prints. The option for sharing, downloading, tweeting, snapping, or doing whatever it is the kids do these days, wasn’t around “back in the day.”

But if you ask us, those prints are what have kept photo booths alive.

Think about prints like this:

NO ONE EVER PRINTS THEIR PICTURES ANYMORE (BECAUSE IT’S NOT INSTANT)

That’s right, the average amount of people that print their photos has decreased massively over the years and what’s worse is that even when people do print, it’s usually at a place that will give you a good price but won’t give you good quality photos. With photo booths, not only do you get a whole experience out of the print but you get an instant picture of good quality. We can’t speak for the other guys but here at koibooth we use a high quality sub dye printer that prints in as little as 15 seconds after each session. That’s still pretty instant!

PRINTS CAN’T BE ALTERED (THAT’S OKAY – THAT’S WHAT PHONES ARE FOR!)

Of course you can take pictures on your phone and it’s fun to add the filters and emojis and such but what we love about prints is that they capture you without the distraction of the right angles and the right filters and the right lighting. The job of the the photo booth is to have all of that taken care of for you so that you can be captured in your truest self. Plus if you really think about it, the cameras in a photo booth are amazing quality! koibooth for example, uses a high resolution DSLR camera and top of the line flash for the absolute best quality photos. So save the altering for your insta pics and save your prints for your desk at work. They will always make you smile, guaranteed.

PHOTO BOOTHS CAPTURE THE CANDID MOMENTS (WHICH ALWAYS MAKE FOR THE BEST PRINTS)

There is something so magical about the photo booth. As soon as people walk up and they they see the props and they start taking pictures, all of a sudden, their inner child comes out. And they get so silly! They just can’t stop laughing and finding more fun props and all the while, the camera is going off. Normally resulting in a very special keepsake that they can look back at all throughout the night and forever after that. If I was going to want to print anything myself, it would be all the goofy pictures I ever had with my family and friends 🙂

See? Prints are great! And to top it all off, they are simply timeless.

We were going through some old photos and Kelli found a photo booth strip of her when she was young, with her mom and aunt. It instantly made us smile so we wanted to share with you too:

*Photo booth prints withstand the test of time proving to be a lifetime keepsake for you and your guests!*

Prints are the heart and soul of any type of photography session and photo booths just wouldn’t be the same without them. We highly recommend making sure your photo booth rental includes free prints.

Happy Partying!

Published by Kelli in Photo Booth, Prints

Tags: california, events, keepsake, memories, photo booth, photo booth rental, photo booth rental san diego, prints, san diego, socal