feature photo credit: Mark Lenoce Photography

So how cute would it be if you had this awesome Phone Booth prop for your guests to pose with… in… in front of… etc…? I don’t know how much this costs to actually buy, but with some imagination I bet you could replicate it with some cardboard boxes and red paint.

I also love this glamorous Crescent-Moon and Star Photo Booth from Martha Stewart! I think it would be great, not only for the bride and groom, but for your guests to get their pose on, too! You can make it out of foam board cut into a crescent shape, sprayed with glue, blanketed with glitter, and hung with fishing wire.

Another pretty option is this pop-up alter, which you can use for your vows, if you like, and then transfer to your photo booth location! Martha Stewart recommends creating this type of fluttering canopy out of these honeycomb leaf garlands. If you want to DIY, click: Get the How-To.

 

Pretty much anything can be used as a photo booth prop. If your wedding is outdoors, you could put the “Photo booth here” sign pointing to the vehicle of your choice, such as classic car, a rented Rolls, or a vintage pickup truck. And going back to the foam board, you could make your own life-sized car, complete with cut-out windows, for guests to have fun with! (Photo by Steve C. via photo.net.

photo here via Your Best Wedding

Enter the photo booth!! It’s a little station you set up to entice your guests to pose for their very own photo session! You can put your photographer in charge, ask a friend to man the booth, or just hand out disposable cameras and ask everyone to be sure to stop by the booth and snap a few shots.  You can get as fun and creative as you like with backdrops, props, and costumes, and leave the smiling and posing to your friends!

More ideas and inspiration for your Photo Booth:

To ensure that they would have unique keepsake photographs of their guests, the couple set up an outdoor portrait studio made up of lengths of bright floral fabric draped over a clothesline. The photographer chose the background best suited to each subject’s outfit, mixing unlike but complementary patterns to create a jubilant, richly textured collection of pictures. (Martha Stewart Weddings)

Create your own photo booth with an oversize canvas backdrop. You can dowload the design below and take it to a copy center (like FedEx) that can print the large file. Then hang it up at your reception and have your photographer or friends capture candid moments that you can add to your guest book.  Get the Photo Booth Backdrop Clip Art

You can rent an actual photobooth and have invite your guests to use it. The added privacy may help encouraged spontaneity!

If renting one is beyond your budget, try this makeshift DIY photo booth tutorial from the things we think but do not say via Manolo. You’ll get awesome shots like these (via cosentino):

Take your photo booth to the next level with an interactive family photo wall (via Manolo) featuring snapshots of family members and family members’ weddings. Guests can pose in empty frames, becoming “part of the family history.”

More creative backdrops… a wood pile sculpture (photo credit here via Green Wedding Shoes):

… and some more fun fabric backdrops from Green Wedding Shoes:

The poses are only as fun as your guests choose make them… here are a few people having a grand old time! Photographer Dennis Drenner set up this mini photo studio against the wall of the beautiful old Tuscan villa where the guests were staying. Sometimes Dennis took the photos, sometimes the wedding guests took the photos themselves using a cable release.

A couch, some hats, and sunglasses make for great pictures too! (Poof Photobooth on flickr)

Sometimes, you don’t need much of a background or props to get people to act goofy… (MugShots photo booth from wdphoto)

Planning your Engagement Session

You want to show off your relationship and also your personality, so it’s a good idea to put some thought & planning into your engagement session. One of the best ways to do that is through your clothing and accessories. Here are some tips for adding a little flair!

• Scarves, belts, hats, shoes, jewelry, etc all add to your look & will help create some amazing images for you. Bringing in some of your personal style helps the photographer to be a lot more creatively inspired!
• Think about having a couple of outfits to change into. Stick with clothing that you are comfortable in.
• Schedule your hair & makeup trial on the same day as the engagement session, if possible, to ensure you’ll look your very best in the engagement photos.
• Coordinate his & her outfits together. When choosing clothing for the two of you, think of the different pieces of each outfit, so that everything works well together.
• Location, location, location! Whether in your home or a nearby park, the key is to be creative and have fun. The you can incorporate your surroundings and each other, the better your pictures will be.
• Albright creative Imagery.com suggests that you take 30 minutes before the shoot to just focus on each other. You want the focus your attention on just the two of you so that during the shoot your connection to each other will be strong. These sparks will be permanently recorded in your pictures.

Check out the accessories in the following photos, such as the hot red shoes, guy’s hat, and flower in the girl’s hair. If you consider what type of vibe you want in your photos, whether it’s romantic, sensual, sweet, or fiery, your choice of color and accessories will make a big impact.

Flirt with the camera

Most couples feel a little nervous and shy when they start their session, and it often take at least 20 minutes to warm up to the camera. But a big way to get the most out of your session is to play up your relationship to the camera. The idea is to capture the real relationship between the two of you, and the best way to do that is to act naturally with each other, relax, and have fun. “If you are typically goofy with each other, then show that to the camera,” Geoff advises. “If the two of you tend to be more intimate, then go ahead and snuggle up, hold hands, embrace, look into each other’s eyes. If you are very romantic and tend to be more on the sensual side, then don’t be afraid to show it! I’m a big fan of making out on camera!”

Props can add a unique touch to your photos, so consider using something that’s meaningful to both of you, or whatever catches your fancy during the photo shoot. A car, a tree, or even a pet…

Images from Geoff White and albrightcreativeimagery.com

Poses

There are many ways to pose for engagement photos, so you should consider your own preferences, as well as how you’d like to present the photos to family and friends. You can have your photographer take some formal poses of you as well as some that are more causual or dramatic.

Formal:

Fun:

Dramatic: