Why We Added a Retro Photo Booth

We added a second booth this season, and the question we keep getting is a fair one: why would you need another photo booth when the mirror booth already works?

Short answer — because the mirror booth doesn't fit everywhere, and we kept having to say no to rooms we wanted to say yes to.

The problem we were actually solving

Our mirror booth is full length. It's the one people book when they want the booth to be part of the room, and it earns that. But it needs about 8 by 8 feet and a clear wall, and there are a lot of good venues in this city where that simply doesn't exist.

Restaurant patios. Backyard receptions. The corner of a heritage hall in Fort Langley that was never designed around an event vendor. Loft spaces where the only free wall has a fire exit in it.

We were turning down bookings not because we couldn't do the job, but because the equipment was the wrong shape for the room.

What the retro booth actually is

It's a compact booth with a wood body, styled after a 1940s press camera, sitting on a wooden tripod with a studio dish light above it. Underneath the vintage face it runs the same real DSLR and the same lighting as our full-size booth.

That last part matters more than the look. There are plenty of small booths on the market that are small because they're a tablet on a stand. This isn't that. The photo quality is identical to the mirror booth — what changed is the footprint.

It fits in roughly a 5 by 5 foot corner.

What you get is the same

• Instant 2 x 6 prints, unlimited, all night
• Digital copies by QR code, no app and no sign-up
• A custom print layout and a custom design on the booth screen
• An on-site attendant from setup to teardown

Nothing was stripped out to make it smaller.

Which one should you book?

Honestly, it's mostly a question about your room, not your taste.

Book the mirror booth if you have the space and you want the booth to be a feature. It's full length, guests can see themselves, and it holds a room's attention. It's still our signature for a reason.

Book the retro booth if the space is tight, the venue is older or outdoors, or the look you're going for is warmer and less modern. It photographs beautifully next to a floral wall, and it doesn't dominate a small room the way a full-length mirror does.

If you're not sure, send us the venue name. We've usually been there, and we'll tell you which one actually fits rather than which one costs more.

Where it's been useful so far

The rooms it has unlocked are the ones we expected: smaller downtown venues where floor space is genuinely at a premium, and the barn, winery and farm properties out east where the reception is beautiful and the practical constraints are real.

If you're planning something in Vancouver or out in Langley, the retro booth is often the easier answer of the two.

Want to see it?

There are more photos and the full spec on the retro photo booth page.

Or just send us your date and venue — we'll tell you which booth fits the room, and we'll say so if the answer is the other one.