Buying a photo booth isn’t for the faint of heart. We say that with over a decade of experience under our belts in the photo booth business. Yes, it’s an attractive add-on for photographers and yes, it’s a smart way to stand out from your competition. But it’s also a significant investment that requires a lot of thought and deliberation before adding to your arsenal. So, with that in mind, you’re going to want to know these three questions to ask before you purchase a photo booth.
What Can This Booth Do?
This is question numero uno before you buy a photo booth. Simply put, different booths have different capabilities. And not all of them are right for everyone. Finding the perfect photo booth for your unique services is as much an art as it is a tireless combination of searching, browsing, and comparing.
Ask yourself the following questions to help get a feel for the type of photo booth that’s going to work best for you:
- What type of photography do you specialize in? You’re not going to want an underwater photo booth if you specialize in nightclub photos.
- What type of events are you most commonly hired for? It might not make sense to purchase a photo booth if you’re mainly working red carpet events and only need a green screen.
- What do the guests at your events expect? If you’re working a lot of high-end parties, then you’ll want to invest in a higher-end booth. If you’re working college frat parties, on the other hand, you can get likely away with a more basic setup.
- If you work more luxury events and choose a more customizable booth, will you need additional accessories? These vary booth-to-booth, but can include touchscreens, ring lights, LED lights, and more.
- Do the guests at your events expect to be able to share their photos via social media or are they looking to simply print them out? If they want to be able to share via social, it’s worth considering photo booth software in addition to the hardware.
Asking, and answering, these questions will help you narrow your photo booth search down a considerable amount. Perhaps more importantly, knowing the answers to these questions will allow you to have a defined target customer in mind. This will help you pick the right photo booth and create a bulletproof business plan.
Which Demographics are You Targeting?
Let’s start with a given: different demographics want different things. This is the foundation of almost all effective marketing and, in the case of finding the right photo booth, an indispensable arrow in your quiver.
So, the second question to ask before purchasing a photo booth is what demographics are you targeting? Don’t stop at what demographics you’re targeting for individual activations and events, though as mentioned above you should definitely ask that, but do a deep dive into your business plan as a whole.
Part of this question relies on market research, part relies on researching your competition, and part relies on figuring out what needs aren’t being met in the current market. In other words – find out what the other photo booth brands in your city and state are doing effectively and where they’re dropping the ball. Your business is going to be the answer to the latter.
This type of demographic and market research is sure to yield valuable information. For example, maybe you’re operating on the assumption that you need to price your photography services affordable. Sounds reasonable, right? It is, until you find out that your competition is all doing the same. This might present a lucrative opportunity for you to brand yourself as the luxury photography option. More importantly, this might present an opportunity for you to increase your price point and see larger returns on your initial photo booth investment.
If, on the other hand, you discover that many photo booth companies in your area are only catering to weddings, proms, and other “nightclub” style events, you’ve just uncovered a valuable niche demographic that’s being ignored: corporate and business events.
What Type of Booth Do You Need for Your Target Demographic(s)?
If you’re noticing a bit of a trend here – each question building off of the previous one – then you’re absolutely right. These three questions to ask before purchasing a photo booth act as a
sort of synergistic trifecta of business savvy.
So, after figuring out what specific booths can do and determining what demographics you’re going to be targeting, it’s time to put the final piece in place. You’re going to want to find the perfect photo booth.
Part of this will rely on the capabilities of the booth. If you live in a coastal city, for example, and work a lot of pool and beach events, you may want an underwater photo booth. If you’re working a lot of fashion activations, you’ll likely want a booth that offers 360-degree, spotlight photos and videos.
Part of this will rely on the price points you determined when figuring out the niches you’ll be targeting. Higher margins mean you can afford a more powerful booth (like the award-winning INFINITE) right out of the gate. Smaller margins mean that you might want something simpler. Now this doesn’t mean you should settle for a subpar booth, but rather find the right booth for your prices.
Now that you know the top three questions to ask before you purchase a photo booth, it’s time to learn more about how LA Photo Party can help take you to new heights of photography success.
Our industry-leading booths like the INFINITE (winner of Photo Booth of the Year two years in a row!), the Venture (voted Best Photo Booth of 2018 at the Photo Booth Expo), and the Underwater Photo Booth (the first underwater booth in the world) are used by some of the largest and most successful companies in the world. Want that same level of quality at your fingertips? Then give us a call at 323.473.4893 to learn more about our photo booth options and find the right one for yourself today!
