Recently, I helped throw a graduation party for a sweet high school senior that we adore. He has a single dad, and poor ole dad said he felt clueless when it came time to this special celebration. Several of us jumped in to help, and I volunteered to help with decor! We went with a fun Spiderman inspired theme, since that was our graduate's favorite. Decorating is my favorite part of throwing a party anyway, so this was my pleasure.
I've been wanting to do a DIY photo booth set up ever since I helped throw my cousin's 15th anniversary party last year. We ended up hiring someone for that party and it was worth every penny because all the guests LOVED it. Hiring someone wasn't in the budget for this party, so I decided to go for it and try it myself.
After a ton of research, I landed on using an iPad and the app Lumabooth. Full transparency, I didn't have an iPad until a week before this party. I wanted to use my Samsung tablet, but the android photobooth apps are just not as good, and I just kept going back to Lumabooth. An iPad was something I was planning on buying in the near future, so I went ahead and pulled the trigger once I was positive that's what I wanted to use.
Lumabooth is very user friendly, both on the set up side of things, and the actual party guest side of things. You can full customize what photo options you want to offer .For example: filters, videos, gifs, photo strip layouts...etc.
I set up the option for photos and a gif. The guest hits the photo icon, takes a few shots and then can text or email it to themselves. It also saves all the pictures locally, so I have every picture taken all night. Perfect for the guest of honor, because they can have all the pictures when the party is over.
A backdrop was my next big decision. I ended up purchasing a set from Hobby Lobby. It's an easy to set up frame, and then you can string up a curtain or piece of fabric along the top. They had one backdrop cloth for sale that fit perfectly, and I liked silver for the party theme anyway. I might grab another piece of fabric for future events, but I think the silver will match most things. The only negative about this size of a back drop is that your iPad will be quite close to keep it in frame. Works for groups of 3-4, but any bigger and we had to move it back and expose the wall behind the back drop. I might use an entire wall as a backdrop in the future for large groups.
Having props was a huge hit. The kids loved it especially! I purchased various props from the dollar store and I grabbed several from Hobby Lobby as well.
We purchased this ring light that has a tablet holder. The light itself is awesome! The tripod was not the most stable, but it did a perfectly fine job. People are touching the tablet a lot, and I think I would prefer something more sturdy just for my own peace of mind. I also purchased a protective case for the iPad that I felt was necessary and did not interfere with the fit on the tablet holder. You might also want a screen protector.
The App makes it very easy for your guest, but I stayed near by to help. I also wanted to be the one to adjust the tripod if we needed to raise or lower the height. I underestimated how much the little brothers would want their picture taken. 😂
I had so much fun with the Spiderman theme. When I searched for party ideas on Pinterest, all that came up was little kid birthday party ideas. I wanted something worthy of a High School senior! We went with black table cloths, these really amazing red foil Spiderman runners, and a bucket of candy as a centerpiece. Then I mainly brought in the theme with the colors in the balloons, and a couple of up lights I borrowed from a friend. I also did a poor drawing of Spiderman on my chalkboard I faithfully bring to just about every party ever.
Shop This Post:
-Kristen
This post contains affiliate and referral links! | Blog Disclosure
