Photo booths are now becoming a standard addition to special events such as weddings, birthdays, fund raising and corporate events. In Winnipeg you will see it everywhere and in all shapes and sizes. Sometimes it is overwhelming which photo booth company to choose for your special event.

By doing a little homework and asking the right questions, you can easily decide which photo booth supplier will be able to meet your expectations. The easiest way is to Google a local photo booth company within your city. (Example: search “photo booth rental Winnipeg”) It should give you a good list of photo booth companies in your area. Another way is to ask friends and families who have recently rented a photo booth. Ask them about their experience and the quality of service.

our photo booth in action at Winnipeg Pride Event

our photo booth in action at Winnipeg Pride Event

Make a list of 3-5 photo booth suppliers and start contacting them through email or phone. A good way to gauge the quality of a photo booth supplier is their level of responsiveness. Also check the quality of their photos from their website and discover their past clients. This will give you an idea about their reputation and how professional the supplier is. Also there are third party companies that compile and review the photo booth companies in a certain area. One website is BESTPhotobooths.ca and another good site is Winnipeg Photo Booth Rentals.

The pricing is normally included in their website together with the products and services included in the package. If you are tight on budget, always keep in mind that is should NOT be the only deciding factor that you should use as you might end up getting what you paid for. Low priced rental companies charge low for a reason. High-end rental companies charge high for a reason. You don’t go to a Mercedes Benz dealership to negotiate for a price match just because you saw a lower priced car from a Chevrolet dealership.

Once you receive a response from the company, you should ask these following questions either by phone or email:

  1. Is my date still available for booking?
    This is pretty obvious but if you don’t ask this question, you will spend lots of time with the supplier who is already fully booked.
  2. What type of photo booth equipment do you use?
    Professional photo booth companies invest in high quality gear such as DSLR cameras, industry-grade dye sublimation photo printers, premium backdrops and camera lighting. Ask your supplier what brand/model of printer, lighting strobe and camera they are using and Google these items so you can have a good idea on how much they cost. Costly printers and cameras mean that they are using quality gears for you event.

    BEWARE: Most “fly by night” operations are using printers that you can buy from Walmart for $100. These printers are painfully slow (up to a minute or two per page) and you won’t be able to recognize the faces of your guests. Go ask the vendor how fast their printer is. If they can print photos in less than 10 seconds, you know you are getting the good stuff!

  3. Are you insured and if yes, how much is your insurance coverage?
    You were probably thinking, “Geez, it’s just a photo booth what could potentially go wrong?” There is actually more to it as photo booths are powered by electricity and there are tripping hazards when installation is not done properly. You don’t want grandma to trip over an electrical wire that is laying around the area due to poor workmanship. Choosing a fully insured company is important as it will protect you when something unfortunate happens in your event. Most fly by night companies don’t invest in business insurance and it will be risky for you to work with these companies. It is also good to ask if the booth is handicap-accessible so all of your guests can enjoy the photo booth fun.
  4. What style of photo booth do you have?
    There are two types of photo booth: Fully enclosed and non-enclosed – often times called “open-air” photo booths. A fully enclosed booths offer more privacy for your quests while the non-enclosed booths offer more flexibility in terms of the number people that will fit in the photo. One is not better than the other and selection will be based on your preference.It is also good to request for photo booth setup photos from the supplier or check their booth setups from their website. You will normally see how professional and organized the company is when you check how they install the booth from past events.
  5. How many people can fit in the booth?
    Some booths especially the enclosed ones can only fit 2 to 4 people and this will slow down the photo booth line up and frustrate your guests. If you only book a two-hour event, your guests will get less photos.
  6. What are your standard prices and what is included? Is there a premium package and what is included?
    Price will always be different for each company as they will offer different packages. Professional photo booth companies normally includes more products and services in their standard packages (i.e. social media sharing station, free online gallery for your guests, premium backdrops, fast printers, etc.)
  7. Is there a tax included on top of the price and what mode of payments do you accept?
    A legitimate company always include taxes on top of the price so you will know right away that this is an honest company. Professional photo booth companies accept cash, check and credit card payments and will ALWAYS provide you with an invoice whether you ask for it or not.
  8. How much is the deposit to book an event and what are the terms of payment?
    Photo booth companies collect booking fee to secure the date for you and it differs for each supplier. Some will collect as little as $100 to book and some will require 50% of the total payment. Find and negotiate what payment terms work for you.
  9. Do you customize the design of the prints?
    If a themed event is important to you, make sure to ask the photo booth supplier this question.
  10. What other services do you perform after my event?
    After event service is one of the services that professional photo booth companies do not neglect. They make sure everything is taken cared of even after the event is over. They normally send you a thank you note and a link to your gallery so you can send them to your friends and families to download. Good companies care about feedback on their service and are not afraid to ask for suggestions to improve their products and services. Try to ask this question to all your potential vendors and find out who responds well.

It is always best to call your vendor and ask these questions but if you are busy, you can just copy and paste these questions in an email and see how timely your vendors respond. Happy photo booth hunting!

  1. Is my date still available for booking?
  2. What type of photo booth equipment do you use?
  3. Are you insured and if yes, how much is your insurance coverage?
  4. What style of photo booth do you have?
  5. How many people can fit in the booth?
  6. What are your standard prices and what is included? Is there a premium package and what is included?
  7. Is there a tax included on top of the price and what mode of payments do you accept?
  8. How much is the deposit to book an event and what are the terms of payment?
  9. Do you customize the design of the prints?
  10. What other services do you perform after my event?