Guide
Kids’ birthday party photo booth: frames, ideas and tips
By La Cabine Bretonne · published
At a children’s birthday party, the photo booth quickly becomes the main attraction: kids dress up, pull faces and go again. Each child leaves with a print from the party, and the parents with memories far livelier than phone snaps. Here is how to adapt the booth for younger children, choose the frame and run the activity without stress.
Why a photo booth works at a kids’ party
Children love seeing themselves in photos, and even more posing with their friends in giant glasses. The photo booth keeps the group busy while the adults get the cake ready, and every child goes home with a print: a party souvenir that makes a welcome change from a bag of sweets.
For the parents, it is also a chance to finally get photos where everyone is looking at the camera, in good light, rather than a string of blurry pictures taken in the middle of the noise.
Bright, cheerful frames
Our catalogue has no design made specifically for children, but several party frames go down very well with them. Comic Strip turns every print into a comic page, with speech bubbles and halftone dots; Giant Balloons lines up metallic balloon letters; Confetti showers the print with colourful rectangles.
For a softer party, Rainbow Stripes lines up six pastel colours, and Bunting draws an arch of pennants. Older children will enjoy Karaoke and its microphone. More ideas in the birthday party collection and on the birthday page.
What to write on the frame
The frame carries the child’s name, their age and the date. A few ideas:
- “Leo is 6!”, with the date of the party;
- “Happy Birthday Jade”, in big letters;
- “Malo’s Party”, for a looser theme;
- the party theme: pirates, superheroes, unicorns;
- “Thanks for coming to my party”, as a thank-you to friends.
Keep one short, easy-to-read main line: the birthday child loves finding their name on the print. Our guide to birthday and christening photo booth wording has more lines, and the design’s colours can be changed in the editor to match the party theme.
Adapting the photo booth for little ones
A photo booth set up for adults is easy to adjust for children. A few tips:
- put the camera at child height, or provide a small, stable step;
- keep an adult next to the booth to start the photos and help the youngest;
- choose a slightly longer countdown, so the whole group has time to get in place;
- keep cables and lamp stands out of the way, as children run everywhere.
Our DIY photo booth guide helps you put together a basic set-up at home, and our guide to hiring a photo booth lists the questions to ask if you hire one.
The right moment during the party
Open the photo booth as soon as the children arrive: it keeps the first guests busy while the others turn up, and everyone has time for a turn before the cake. After the party food, energy levels rise again and the sessions get livelier; that is the moment for group photos and funny faces.
Keep each session short: the youngest lose interest quickly, but happily come back several times. Finally, save a few minutes at the end for a photo of the birthday child with all their guests, one to keep for years.
Props that are safe to use
Props are half the fun. Choose light, sturdy items: cardboard glasses, hats, crowns, red noses and signs on sticks with rounded edges. Avoid small parts that can come loose if children under three are at the party, and balloons that need blowing up.
A basket per theme works well: pirates, princesses, animals or superheroes. Our guide to photo booth props and backdrops has more decor ideas.
Photos of children: let parents know
Paper prints go home with the children, but if the booth saves the files, ask parents whether they are happy for photos of their child to be shared. A line on the invitation is enough, and a private album for the families at the party is better than posting on a public social network.
So that every child leaves with their print, put out envelopes or small bags with each name near the door: the photos do not get lost around the house, and parents find them in the school bag the next day. A copy of each print can also go into the birthday child’s album.
Print size, files and printing
A 2×6 strip lines up three poses, perfect for a run of funny faces; a 4×6 print leaves more room for groups. 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 Comic Strip takes a few minutes, with no account needed, and the text stays editable for next year’s party.