How to Start a 360 Photo Booth Business and What to Charge per Event
What it costs to start, what the market charges and the sums to do before buying anything. No hype: if the numbers don't add up, better to know it now.
What a 360 Photo Booth Is and Why People Book It
A spinner platform the guest steps onto and an arm with a camera that goes around them. The result is a short slow motion video that people post on their socials that same night.
What You Actually Need to Start
Five things. Not one more for the first event, and only two of the five are expensive.
The Spinner Platform
It is the big purchase. There are floor ones and overhead ones. Look at the weight it takes and whether it fits through the door of a venue, which is where the cheap one fails.
The Arm and the Camera
The phone you already have works. A GoPro does better in low light, but it is not the first thing to buy.
Your Own Light
A ring light. Venues are dimly lit and with no light of your own the video comes out noisy and nobody shares it.
The Software
It is what records, renders and delivers. From $31.99 a month on the PRO plan. Without it you have a platform that spins and little else.
Carpet and Props
The cheap thing that shows the most in your client photos. A decent carpet changes how your setup looks.
A Vehicle
You do not need a van to start, but measure the platform before counting on the car you have.
What to Charge for a 360 Photo Booth
Your floor is a professional booking with delivery, setup and an attendant included. A 360 goes up from there with hours, travel and what you deliver afterwards.
| What Moves the Price | Up | Down |
|---|---|---|
| Type of event | Company | Birthday |
| Hours of service | 4 h or more | 2 h |
| Day | Saturday in season | Weekdays |
| Travel | Out of the area | Your own city |
| Delivery | Gallery and prints | Video only |
| Customization | Overlay with the client's brand | Generic template |
Every market is different: before setting your rate, look at what three companies in your city charge.
Does It Pay? Run the Numbers Before You Buy
What matters is what is left after you have paid for everything. These are the four lines you have to write, or you can run them with your own numbers in our 360 photo booth profit calculator.
Watch out for the season. Most events cluster in a few peak months. A business that only works in high season doesn't work: you have to look at the whole year.
What Nobody Tells You About the First Saturday
Get There Two Hours Early
Setting up is quick. Finding the socket, negotiating the spot with the catering people and testing the light is not.
The Venue Wi-Fi Doesn't Exist
Assume you will have no network. If your software does not work offline, you have a problem that same night.
Somebody Is Going to Fall
A handrail and a carpet that does not slip. And do not let three of them get on at once however much they insist.
The Line Is Your Enemy
If every video takes two minutes to come out, by the third couple there are ten people waiting and they go to the bar.
Take the Money First, or a Deposit
A deposit on booking and the rest before the event. Chasing someone after a wedding is a sport.
Ask for the Video Back
What your clients record is your best advertising and it costs you nothing to ask for it.
The Part That Makes the Video Come Out Right
The platform spins. What turns that spin into a video people share is the software: the overlays, the music, the slow motion and the QR delivery in front of the guest.
Related guides: how much to charge for a 360 photo booth, how to get 360 photo booth clients and whether a photo booth business is profitable. Before you buy anything, try every capture mode with the free 360 photo booth app.
