We spend so much of our time promoting how much fun photo booths are, and just how fantastic they are as entertainment for you and your guests! So much so we constantly overlook the obvious. They are photographs and they all tell a story.
In our case individually they are genuinely happy, collectively they form a record of a significant event in someone’s life and the people they’re sharing it with, around them at the time.
Over the past few years, we are aware of several guests who were suffering from a serious illness at the time, whereupon members of the family were delighted to share the opportunity to use the booth with them. Within the throws of the party atmosphere, the frivolity of the occasion and the queue for the next in turn to have a go, we rarely get to even stop and think about these sentiments.
So it was really great to come across an article from a Museum in Sydney, Australia, the Power House Museum, who along with their own archive host a variety of transient exhibitions on a vast range of subjects.
Recently one of those related to the Muslim community in an exhibition entitled Faiths Fashion Fusions. Within which for part of the experience they utilised a photo booth and asked the questions “Are you what you wear? Your style only tells a small part of your story. In a few words tell us something about yourself that we wouldn’t know from your appearance.”
The whole purpose of the exhibition was to highlight the misconceptions we all have over a persons appearance, not just within the Muslim community, and how what we wear is a fraction or irrelevance to our personality.
Immediately your mind switches to video, surely a diary room might be more appropriate? We think not – and we think you’ll agree when you see the images. Some of the images were remarkable. With only a single A4 sheet and a marker pen the interaction results were stunning. It’s all there – creativity, meaning, depth, sincerity, hope, despair, amazement, apathy, fun, sadness etc. Admittedly in some the interpretation is open to the viewer, never the less they do what all good images should do, provoke thought.
Whilst a diary room may have produced an insight into visitors thoughts, and indeed some entertaining stories, the imagination or fact would remain with the storyteller. The stills from the photo booth however, are a mere hint and the rest is very much up to the viewer and their imagination.
So here’s a thought, had you access to one, other than entertainment, what or where would you use a photo booth, to tell a story, create a record or interaction?
