In following our mini-day theme of the photo booth, we also wanted to address the fairly established idea that a photo booth doesn’t necessarily require 4 walls … one of the first photographers (in Toronto at least) who jumped at the photo booth concept years ago with her trusty and beloved Polaroid film and camera was Karen Whylie (Coyote Photo) who loved the idea of setting up one spot at a reception where guests could have their photo taken against a fun background and walk away with the photo.

Many other photographers have followed suit over the years and the silly antics guests get up to in these types of pictures at weddings and parties has only added fuel to the fire. Even though instant film is virtually unavailable today, photographers like Karen are still setting up their photo booth spot (think hanging backdrops, love seats pulled into an out of the way corner and outdoor locations) to establish a set spot for both formal and fun shots. The latest trend in weddings, to design an atmosphere through dress codes, decor and the use of props to set an event apart from the norm, has made any photo booth more appealing and we love that grown-up tickle trunks are popping up at weddings {Booth will even supply one if you ask!}… it just goes to show, everyone loves to wear a mask!

Karen now provides the ‘booth’ images as black and white pictures with a white border the way the Polaroids look when they are pulled from the negative.  “The funky border only comes from printing the resulting neg.  Sometimes we put a Polaroid edge on a final print, but generally we are printing straight B&W” she wrote in an email. “We post all the images taken that night to my passworded website within a couple of days.  The guests love checking them out after the party.”

All photographs courtesy of Coyote Photos