Baby shower photo booth: frames, wording and ideas

Why a photo booth works at a baby shower

A baby shower often takes place in a living room or garden, over tea and cake, with guests of several generations. The photo booth creates spontaneous moments to pose, without asking anyone to play photographer. Everyone leaves with a print, and the mum-to-be can keep a copy of each photo for the baby album.

It also suits the relaxed pace of this kind of party: guests drop in between games, while the presents are being opened, or when they arrive to greet the mum-to-be.

Soft frames: pastels, gingham and stripes

Designs made for christenings and new babies are a natural fit for a baby shower. Sky Blue Gingham has the gentleness of a birth announcement, with a sky-blue check, delicate borders and an ivory name panel; Blush Pink Gingham offers the pink version, with scalloped borders.

Soft Pastels relies on gradients with no outlines that drift from one shade to the next, for a calm result. First Buds, with bare branches showing their first tender green, speaks of new beginnings. The gingham designs and Soft Pastels are gathered in the pastel christening collection, along with more stripes and gingham checks.

Keeping the surprise, or a gender reveal

If the parents-to-be do not know the baby’s sex yet, or would rather keep it to themselves, choose a neutral palette. Rainbow Stripes lines up six pastel colours and works for everyone; Butter Yellow Stripes and Sage Gingham stay bright without leaning either way.

For a party where the news is revealed, the editor lets you change the background and each of the design’s colours: you can prepare two versions of the same frame, one pink and one blue, and only print the right one once the announcement is made. Our guide to customising a photo booth template explains how to adjust the colours.

For a gender reveal party, open the photo booth right after the reveal: that is when guests most want to pose. Before the announcement, a neutral frame reading “Boy or girl?” works too, and guests can pose with a “Team pink” or “Team blue” sign to show their guess.

What to write on the frame

Baby shower wording stays simple and warm. A few ideas:

• “Welcome baby”, or “Soon to be three”, with the date of the party;
• “Camille’s Baby Shower”, with the mum-to-be’s name;
• the baby’s name, if the parents have chosen to share it;
• the month the baby is due, “Baby arrives in March”;
• a fond line from her friends, “We can’t wait to meet you”.

Our guide to birthday and christening photo booth wording has more lines that are easy to adapt.

Running the booth and the guest book

Set the photo booth up in a bright corner of the living room or garden, close to where everyone gathers. A few props are enough: pastel balloons, signs to hold up, funny glasses, and a comfortable chair for the mum-to-be, who will pose more often than anyone.

A simple idea guests love: a guest book where everyone sticks in their print and writes a piece of advice, a wish or a prediction for the baby underneath (birth date, eye colour, first word). The parents enjoy reading it again a few months later. Our photo booth guest book guide explains how to set it up.

Photos that bring the whole family together

A baby shower is also a chance to take photos you do not take every day. Suggest a few group poses:

• the mum-to-be with her own mother, or even her grandmother: three generations on one print;
• the big brother or sister, proud to announce the new arrival;
• the future godparents, if they have already been chosen;
• the whole group of friends, squeezed in front of the camera.

These prints become precious years later, when the child discovers them. Keep one copy aside, away from the light, for the baby album.

Print size, files and printing

A 4×6 print leaves room for one large photo and readable text; a 2×6 strip lines up three poses, handy for a sequence with the mum-to-be. Our guide to choosing a photo booth print size compares the options.

Once the design is personalised, you download a high-resolution PNG overlay, transparent where the photos go, ready for your software; our guide to installing a template in dslrBooth covers the setup. Customising Sky Blue Gingham takes a few minutes, with no account needed.

After the birth: the same frame for the christening

A frame you love can follow the family to the christening or naming party: simply replace the text with the baby’s name and the date of the ceremony. The text of your design can still be edited from your account. For more ideas, see the christening photo strip collection or the christening and new baby page.