How to Make a DIY Photo Booth for Your Halloween Party

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When you're the Halloween Ghostess with the Mostess, it can be hard to get everything done at the Halloween party.

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Over my decade of planning a hosting my own party, Halloweenie Roast, I’ve shared the struggles of every party planner: making sure there’s enough food, keeping everyone’s cups of witches brew full and documenting all their killer costumes.

That last one is always the hardest for me. I love documenting my parties partly because I want to share them here on the blog but also because…my friends BRING IT. Their costumes are always amazing, and I want to make sure we have plenty of photos to prove it.

Over the years, I’ve tried a lot of approaches to getting photos:

  • Lining everyone up to snap photos (feels like elementary school)
  • Setting up a backdrop for guests to snap their own selfies (they didn’t)
  • Taking photos of everyone as they come into the party (cumbersome)
  • Snapping stylized instant photos with my Instax (beyond time-consuming)

It’s enough to wear a ghoul out! I was finding myself spending more than half my party on photos and not getting to enjoy time with my friends.

But last year, I finally landed on a solution that worked beautifully: a DIY photo booth using a stand, a backdrop and my (ancient) iPad:

 

 

Kudos to my friend Dinah for suggesting this set-up during my visit to LA last year. She’s the real MVP of this blog post.

 

Here’s how to create your own DIY photo booth for your Halloween party:

 

 

What you’ll need:

Instructions in this post are based on Apple products because that is what I own. However, you could use any tablet that has access to photo booth apps and wifi.

  • iPad
  • Photo booth app – more on which ones shortly
  • This iPad stand
  • Wifi connection
  • Backdrop + decor

 

How to set it up:

I used a secondary set-up for my how-to photos, so this will look a little different than it did at my party (above).

 

Pick your space

You want people to feel welcome to take photos, but you also want to give them a little space to do so. To start, find a space where guests can access the photo booth but not a place where they’ll naturally congregate (like next to the snacks or drinks) during the party.

My guests are usually centered around the kitchen island or the fire pit in the backyard, so I utilized the entryway for my party backdrop – they see it when they arrive, and I encourage them to take photos as they come in or before they leave.

 

Hang a backdrop

This can be done with nearly anything from a professional photo backdrop (like this one, which is surprisingly affordable at just under $40!) to a bed sheet you pulled from the linen closet.

At my Monster Mash-themed party, I used two gray brick wall backdrops I picked up at a dollar store to give the photos the feeling of being in a mad scientist’s castle. We taped them together on the backside to create a quick, cost-effective photo booth backdrop. They were great as long as we didn’t use a flash – the shiny surface reflected the light which is why I usually stick to fabric for backdrops.

In the above setup, I simply hung up a piece of scrap fabric. Whatever you use, you’ll want to make sure it’s wide enough for a group of 3-4 people to stand in front of and still be in the frame. (This purple fabric is questionable for that…if I were actually using this, I’d make my backdrop at least as wide as my door frame.) I recommend something at least 4-5 feet wide and 6-7 feet high.

 

Jazz up your backdrop with decor

You know I love a good Halloween banner, like the tassel one I used above. For my party, I used a bit of creepy cloth to add a little texture to my backdrop.

You could also use message banners or stick to just fabric and use a patterned backdrop as I did for my Rocky Horror Picture Show-themed party.

 

Set up the stand

Slide the iPad into the holder on the stand. Then adjust the base (the wider the tripod, the better balanced this will be) and the height of your iPad. As pictured above, it comes up to my chest (and I’m 5’11, for reference), so about 5 1/2 feet, which was the perfect height for my party.

The actual holder for the iPad also swivels, which was a nice feature so guests could adjust it as needed.

 

Download the app

Because I have an older iPad, I was cornered into using one of the few apps that was still compatible with my version. It is called Pocketbooth, I paid 99 cents for it and I have to say overall I was very happy with the app and recommend it.

I did add an instructional sign (more on that in the tips and tricks section), but my guests had no problems operating the app and sending themselves their photos.

The above left photo is what the app looks like when it’s taking your photo. A fake flash appears on the screen as it takes each of the four photos. To the right is the display of your photos afterward.

Here are a few other apps you might consider checking out:

 

Connect to wifi

One of the nice features of Pocketbooth was my guests could text themselves their photos since I was connected to the house wifi! (I’m sure other apps have this feature as well.)

Sending the photos was the only place I ran into an issue. I don’t have any email accounts connected to my iPad, so guests could only text their photos…and could only text them if they were already in my contacts, which I was an issue I hadn’t anticipated but one I feel confident in saying was related to my iPad’s age more than anything else.

 

 

Overall, this was a photo set-up that cost me about $30, was easy to put together and provided my guests a bit of fun!

 

Tips and Tricks:

Here are a few bonus tips and tricks I learned along the way that will help make your photo booth a success!

 

Charge everything beforehand

Nothing is worse than planning to use a piece of technology for a party, only to discover at go time that it’s nearly dead. Make sure your iPad or tablet is fully charged before the party! You might consider having access to power, as well, if your photo booth will get heavy use all night.

 

Change or remove your passcode

So you don’t run down your battery power, I recommend leaving your timed lock setting at 2 minutes or less. To make sure your guests can get into the iPad, either provide your passcode (change it to something simple so it isn’t your real one!) or remove it for the evening. I don’t keep sensitive info on my iPad, so I don’t have a passcode.

 

Add an instructional sign

While my friends are pretty tech-savvy, I think including instructions was a smart idea. Here is the full text for you to swipe and use:

If the iPad isn’t on, hit the home button and swipe right to open. There’s no passcode.

Select the Pocketbooth app to start.

To take your photos:

  1. Tap the green button to start the photo booth.
  2. Pose for four shots.
  3. Hate them? Hit the delete button (trash can) and start again. Love them? Hit the arrow to send them to yourself via text
    message (MMS).

When you’re done, hit the pose button for the next person.

It’s worth noting I also moved all my folders and stand-only app buttons off the main screen and put JUST the Pocketbooth app on the screen so it was easy to locate.

 

Anchor the stand

Those pumpkins in the above photo aren’t just there for decoration – we used them to anchor the iPad stand to help ensure guests who had enjoyed a few cups of witches brew wouldn’t accidentally knock it over.

 

When in doubt, make the backdrop plain and light

Your guests in their costumes are the stars of the photo, so you want the photo focus to be on them. It’s always better to keep your backdrop simple and solid versus busy. The lighter the color, the better. I liked my castle wall, but my photos are a little flat because it’s so dark.

 

Consider adding extra lighting

I’m lucky enough to have a bestie who is a photographer and allows me to borrow her equipment from time to time. For my Monster Mash party, we did light the photos with one of her professional lights. Simply using an iPad halo would do the trick too! Here’s a $35 option and an $85 option.

 

Select the option to save photos to iPad

Pocketbooth had an option to save every photo taken, so I made sure to turn that sucker ON before the party so I could capture everything my friends snapped during the party…and they had no idea. Great for blackmail, and also great for making sure you get a copy of all the photos too. Check whatever app you chose for this setting!

 

Test your set-up

This is always a must for any technology I use at my parties. I set up everything a week or two before the party to make sure: 1. it works how I expect it to and 2. I still have time to troubleshoot any issues I run into.

 

 

What other how-to posts do you need for your Halloween party?

Let me know in the comments – I’d love to help out! You can also join my Facebook group where we talk about Halloween party planning, and if you want to see any more of those killer costumes above…they’re in this blog post.

 

READY TO HOST A KILLER HALLOWEEN PARTY?

Then you’ll definitely want to check out my e-course where I’ll help you plan EVERY detail. Whether you’ve never hosted a Halloween party in your life or you’re looking to step up your annual party, I’ve got tips, tricks and secrets galore in KHP that will help guide you through to process!

Killer Halloween Party is right for you if:

  • You want to plan a party, but you don’t know where to start
  • You want to turn your current party from annual gathering to the most anticipated soiree of the year
  • You need help staying on track and getting everything done
  • You’re looking for the BEST way to celebrate Halloween this year!

Let’s make October 31st even better and plan your killer Halloween party to celebrate the best night of the year! Get started now!

 

Happy haunting,

 

 

This post contains affiliate links. If you click an affiliate link and make a purchase, Spooky Little Halloween will earn a small commission for the referral at no cost to you. Read more about affiliates & disclaimers here. I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Miranda | Spooky Little Halloween

Miranda is the Houston-based writer, blogger, and Halloween lover behind Spooky Little Halloween, the blog celebrating October 31st all year long. Her favorite Halloween things include pumpkin guts, chocolate bars in her trick-or-treat pail, real haunted houses (including the one she lives in!), and historic cemeteries.

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