Professional photo booth hire costs £199–£550 per event. A DIY photo booth costs between nothing and £20, takes 10 minutes to set up, and — for a kids' party — is arguably better. Kids don't want a printed strip; they want to see themselves on a screen, pull faces, and laugh with their friends. A DIY setup delivers that moment without the booking fee.
Here are five DIY photo booth setups, from completely free to about £20, plus the props and backdrops that make them fun.
Setup 1: The magic mirror (free, best for kids)
This is the setup kids enjoy most because it's not a photo booth — it's a magic mirror. They see themselves on the TV in real time, with live camera effects: thermal vision, kaleidoscope, emoji rain, neon glow, ghost trails. It's the difference between posing for a photo and playing with a mirror.
What you need: A laptop with a webcam, a TV, an HDMI cable.
How to set it up:
- Open Magic Mirror in Chrome or Edge on the laptop.
- Plug the laptop into the TV with HDMI. Press Show on TV.
- The TV becomes a fullscreen, kid-proof display. The controls stay on the laptop.
- Kids walk up, pick an effect, and pull faces. Press the snapshot button to save a photo with the effect applied.
- Photos save to your downloads folder — no printer, no cloud, no uploads.
Three effects are free (Mirror, Kaleidoscope, Emoji Rain). All 71 effects and 12 motion games cost £6.99 one-time. This is the cheapest and highest-impact DIY photo booth available.
Setup 2: The iPad booth (£5–£10)
If you have an iPad or tablet, mount it on a tripod or prop it against a stack of books. Use the built-in camera with a free photo booth app. The limitation: it's a single small screen, so only one or two kids can see it at a time. Fine for small parties, less engaging for a crowd.
Setup 3: The instant camera booth (£15–£20)
Buy a Fujifilm Instax Mini (about £15 for a basic secondhand one) and 20 shots of film. Set up a backdrop, put out a prop box, and let kids take turns snapping each other. The prints are the party favour. Downsides: film costs about £1 per shot, and you can't see the photo until it develops.
Setup 4: The phone + printer booth (£10+)
Use a smartphone on a tripod, take photos, and print with a cheap portable photo printer (HP Sprocket, Canon Ivy — about £50 for the printer, 30p per print). Better quality than instant film, but you need the printer and phone stands.
Setup 5: The cardboard frame booth (free)
Cut a photo-frame shape from a large cardboard box, paint it, and have kids hold it up while someone takes a photo. Free, fun craft activity, but it's a one-time-use prop and you need someone operating the camera the whole time.
DIY photo booth props (cheap and cheerful)
The props are what make a photo booth fun. Here's what to include and where to get them cheap:
- Charity shop haul (£3–£5): Hats, sunglasses, scarves, feather boas, wigs. The weirder the better.
- Printable props (free): Search "free printable photo booth props" — moustaches, lips, hats, glasses on sticks. Print on card, cut out, tape to lollipop sticks.
- Dressing-up box (free): Your kids' existing fancy dress. Superhero capes, princess tiaras, animal masks.
- Chalkboard speech bubbles (£2): Mini chalkboards from craft shops. Kids write their own captions.
DIY photo booth backdrop ideas
- Curtain string lights (£5): A string of fairy lights against a dark wall. Looks professional in photos.
- Crepe paper streamers (£2): Hang strips of crepe paper from a curtain rod. Choose the party's theme colour.
- Wall mural (free): Use a blank wall and let the kids draw on it with washable markers before the party. It becomes a personalised backdrop.
- Balloon wall (£3): Inflate balloons in cluster colours and tape them to the wall behind the booth.
Why the magic mirror setup beats a classic photo booth for kids
Traditional photo booths are built around the photo — pose, click, print. Kids don't care about the print. They care about watching themselves change on screen in real time. Seeing their face in thermal vision, watching emoji rain bounce off their head, turning into a kaleidoscope with their best friend. The screen is the entertainment; the photos are the souvenir.
This is why the mirror-style setup — a camera pointing at the kids, effects on the TV they're facing — outperforms a printed-strip booth at every kids' party we've run. It needs no attendant, no consumables, and no explaining. Kids walk up and get it instantly.
DIY photo booth tips from real parties
- Put it in a corner, not the centre. It's a station, not the main event. Kids drift over in twos and threes all afternoon.
- Snapshot at the peak moment. Use a "freeze" countdown effect to get everyone posing at once.
- Check the privacy story. With children, use a tool that processes video on the device. Magic Mirror never uploads a single frame — there's no server to upload to.
- Have one "wow" moment saved. Party mode — where the effect changes automatically every 45 seconds — turns the last half hour into a finale.
Want more? See our guides to free photo booth setup for kids, photo booth hire alternatives, and birthday party entertainment ideas.