Green screen photo booth hire: how it works, what to choose

A green screen photo booth replaces the green cloth behind your guests with any image you like. They can pose in front of the Eiffel Tower, underwater or floating in space, without leaving the room. With us, that's the Care-Free with green screen package (€575), for the whole day or evening and night, with unlimited prints.

How does a green screen work in a photo booth?

A green screen, also known as chroma key, is a plain green background. The technology recognises that green and swaps in a different image. So guests see a green cloth in the room, but a finished set on their photo and print.

You can choose the backdrops yourself or have them designed to match the theme of your party. The print is ready in about 10 seconds, and your guest can use a QR code to put the photo on their phone and share it. This requires internet.

Green screen or physical backdrop: which should you choose?

Alongside green screen, we also offer "real" screens, right up to custom-made ones. These have the texture and depth of a physical set.

A custom screen can show a company logo, a fairy-tale landscape or a cityscape. Ask about the options for your own design when you make your enquiry. You can see existing models under backdrops, and compare the packages under all packages and prices.

Which images work well?

Start from what your guests will enjoy, not from what's technically possible. A few ideas per occasion:

• Wedding: the city of your honeymoon, or the place where you first met.
• Corporate event: the cover of a fictional magazine, with your logo in the title. You'll find more ideas under photo booth hire for a corporate event.
• Birthday: the lead role in their own film poster or adventure.
• Theme party: a saloon, castle ruins or a misty forest, as in our tips for a cowboy or Halloween party.

Three tips for the image itself:

• Keep the centre calm, because that's where your guests will be standing. The eye-catching part of the image belongs at the side or at the top.
• Think about the format. On a 5 x 15 cm strip every photo is small, so a simple image reads better. A single 10 x 15 cm photo does more justice to detail.
• Use a sharp image that you hold the rights to, especially for a corporate event. A random image from the internet can't always be used for that.

What should you watch out for with clothing and set-up?

Anything green can vanish into the background along with the screen. That makes for some funny mistakes, but perhaps not on your wedding photos.

• Warn guests if there's a dress code: no green dress or tie in the booth.
• Don't put out any green props. Glitter and shiny fabric can also reflect the green.
• Have guests stand a step in front of the cloth, not right up against it.
• Keep coloured party lighting off the cloth, because an even green works best.

Indoors is the easiest choice. Provide a clear space, a power socket and easy access. We deliver, install and collect.

Why is a green screen worth the extra cost?

Mainly because of what guests do with it. They become the hero of their own story or shine on a magazine cover, and those are photos they love to share on social media. That also raises the visibility of your event. It works just as well at an intimate family party as at a large corporate event, because you adapt the image to the crowd.

The basics are the same as with our other booths: an 18-megapixel reflex camera, high-quality lighting, a professional photo printer and user-friendly controls.