DIY Photo Booth Props
How To DIY Photo Booth Props
Want to DIY photo booth props for your next event? Maybe you just need a project to take your mind off the 4 midterms you have next week. Either way, these examples & tips will help guide you to create your own DIY Photo Booth Props!
If there’s one piece of advice I can give you it’s to make the props CUSTOM. If you’re going through the time and trouble to make your own props, you want to make them specific to your event. Whether that’s by putting your name on it, your hashtag on it, or modeling the hashtag around your specific theme, you want your DIY photo booth props to be specifically designed for YOU!
My second piece of advice is to make your Prop POP! (See what I did there?? PROP…. POP…. I know, I’m hilarious). But seriously, if you’re taking the time to make these props the last thing you want is for them to blend into the background! For example, I would strongly discourage groups to make white, yellow, or any other light colored props, because they can easily blend into the background. Instead go for black, gold, red, or any of the other colors you’ll see in the examples below!
Those are my two big pieces of advice. The trick now is to figure out how to apply those guidelines to your event and let the creativity flow. To get you brain juices flowing let’s look at some creative props we’ve seen over the past 6 months!
Custom Frames
These are by far our most popular custom props! They take more time, but when a great custom frame is made it ends up in at least 1/2 the pictures from the night. If you want it to be simple, you’ll probably want to use foam-core. If your DIY skills are a bit more advanced, try making it out of wood! If you can think of something special to really make it pop, GO FOR IT!!!
OSU Tri Delt KILLED IT with this frame for their Dad’s Day! You know the girls liked it, because the frame was in about 2/3 of the pictures. Here’s a breakdown of some of the things they did that made their DIY Photo Booth Props such a success!
1) Frame is made of wood – Someone broke out the Jigsaw for this piece of art. Not only did the wood frame make it incredibly sturdy, but the design around the outside also makes it unique! Function and beauty.
2) Colored perfectly – Using black as the base color guarantees that the frame will stand out against the white backdrop. The orange polka dots play on the specifics of the event. Tri Delt Dad’s Day was right before an Oklahoma State home football game, so the orange dots will not only match the Dad’s gameday attire, but will also show off some extra school pride. Go Pokes!!
3) Creative Pop – The addition of those 3 Δ‘s on the bottom of the frame can’t be overstated! ΔΔΔ is who they are, so they made sure to make that part of the frame pop the most by adding the glitter and making them literally POP out of the frame.
KU’s Kappa Delta hit a HOME RUN with these custom frames for their Mom’s Day (who said you need to stop at just 1 custom frame)! These frames highlight the crazy fun personality of the sorority, but lets highlight some of the details that make these custom frames so great.
1) Colors colors colors! – These green & bright bouquet frames are guaranteed to pop against this white backdrop!
2) Choices – When you provide choices with your DIY photo booth props it lets your guests choose the prop to match their mood. If these girls were feeling crazy they could strike a pose to show what they got from their mama, or if they just wanted a girly picture they could grab the floral frame and put on their best smile.
3) Creativity – The green frame is hilarious, the floral frame is incredibly unique. Both are awesome examples of the unique creativity and personality of the Kappa Deltas.
Prop on a Stick
There’s something oddly satisfying about having your prop on a stick… Just ask the TAMU Delta Zetas
But when it comes to DIY Photo Booth Props, It’s what you put ON the stick that counts (remember, the goal is to make it custom).
OSU’s Zeta Tau Alpha had a 90’s themed Bid Day called #NewBidsOnTheBlock (which still might be the best hashtag I’ve seen in 2015). So these genius ladies created a whole arsenal of 90’s themed props on sticks to show off for the camera. Some of their props featured portable CD players, boy band CD’s and (my favorite) a tamagotchi!
Letters
Want people to know who you are?? Why not cut straight to the point and use some letters.
Nobody is going to wonder what sorority these beautiful girls are in while they’re holding letters! We see letters that come in every shape and size. They can be patriotic, glittered, bejeweled, polka dotted, or even wallpapered. They can be as tall as you are, or fit in the palm of your hand. With letters, if you can dream it… you can do it. Don’t let someone else dictate how to make your letters, go make the letters that you want in your pictures!
Bringing your own Props
Okay Okay… I can already tell you’re about to leave an angry comment claiming that buying and bringing your own prop doesn’t count as DIY Photo Booth Props. But DIY stands for Do It Yourself, and since Kornerbooth doesn’t provide props to match your party’s theme, you need to “Do It Yourself”…. even if you buy them.
DIY Photo Booth Props Luau
A quick trip to the Party Supply Store made all the difference for Zeta’s Splash of Class Formal! Some fake Hawaiian Leis, straw hats, grass skirts, and of course a coconut bra propelled this party from good to GREAT.
DIY photo booth props Christmas
You might not consider Santa a prop, but I think KSU’s Chi Omega would disagree. In fact Santa might just be the greatest prop ever! I can’t imagine anything I’d rather take a picture with around Christmas time than a fat man with a white beard in a red suit!
Non-Prop Props…
Sometimes you just want to be spontaneous. Sometimes you don’t want to be confined to what’s on the prop table. At these times there’s nothing more satisfying than grabbing a random object in the room and declare it a prop. Again, I know there are some purists reading this that will be upset because these “don’t count as DIY Photo Booth Props”… but if you need to grab the props yourself, then you are Doing It Yourself.
Trust me… I WISH this was our prop. But when Kornerbooth was short on Chinese themed props for Baylor’s Chinese New Year Party, the guests took it into their own hands, and ended up with the greatest Chinese photo booth props in the world (well… other than in China)
Again… that’s NOT our chair. Why would we bring a chair as a prop? Nobody would want to use a chair prop… right? Wrong.
Seriously though…. Where do you even get a vase like that…. These props are getting weirder than weirder…. But wait… we have 1 more
Are you kidding me…. I’m ending this blog before things get any weirder…
I hope you feel inspired & released to go DIY photo booth props. Whether it’s planned or spur of the moment, let it be epic.
-Kornerbooth
*No tigers were harmed in the making of this blog*