Photo Booth Props Printable

What's in the set

Three pages, eight props. Everything prints big and bold, and every piece is easy to cut out, even with kids "helping."

Here is what you get: a curly mustache, a pair of round glasses, a pair of lips, a top hat, a crown, a bow tie, and two speech bubbles that say "Cheese!" and "Party!" That is everything. No fiddly little pieces, nothing that takes twenty minutes to cut out.

Every prop prints in full color and nice and big — the glasses come out about 5½ inches wide, so they actually fit a face, and the hat, crown and bubbles are all sized to be seen across the room.

How to make them

Ten minutes, start to finish. Here is the whole process:

1. Print. Use the heaviest cardstock your printer can handle, 65 lb cover stock or matte photo paper. Pick US Letter or A4 above, then hit Print to print all 3 pages.
2. Cut. Cut along the dotted lines. The shapes are chunky on purpose, so this part is quick.
3. Glue. Hot-glue each cut-out to a wooden dowel, a chopstick, or a sturdy paper straw. Hot glue holds all party long. Tape works if that is what you have.
4. Optional: laminate. If you want to use them again, laminate the cut-outs before you glue them to the sticks. They will survive many parties that way.

That is it. Put them in a basket next to your backdrop and you are done.

What you'll need

Probably already in your house:

Cardstock (65 lb cover stock or matte photo paper), scissors, wooden dowels, chopsticks or sturdy paper straws, and hot glue or tape. A laminator is nice if you want to reuse the set, but it is not a must. The props hold up fine for one big party as they are.

One set, every kind of party

The same eight props work whether it is a five-year-old's birthday or a wedding reception.

Birthdays. The classic. Pair them with birthday invitations and party hats and the whole party matches.

Baby showers. The crown and bow tie steal the show, and guests love holding the "Cheese!" bubble next to the mom-to-be.

Weddings. Set up a little corner with the props and a plain backdrop during the reception. The top hat and the lips get used in every single photo, and it keeps guests busy while the two of you are off getting portraits done.

Graduation. The top hat reads as a graduation cap in photos, and "Party!" says the rest.

Classroom parties. Teachers, this one is yours. One printed set, a wall in the reading corner, and every kid gets a turn. Laminate them and they last all year.

Planning the rest of it? The party planner keeps the whole thing on one page.

Little tricks for better photos

You do not need a real photo booth. You need a wall, some light, and a little bit of bossiness for the first ten minutes.

Use a plain backdrop. A blank wall works. A cheap plastic tablecloth taped up works even better. Busy backgrounds make the props disappear.

Face the light. Put the backdrop facing a window so the light falls on faces, not behind them. Phone photos taken this way look twice as good.

Appoint a photographer. For the first ten minutes, one guest takes the photos and everyone else just plays. After that, hand the phone around. The kids will take over anyway.

Give people something to say. "Show me your fanciest face." "Pretend you just won something." Silly prompts beat "say cheese" every time, though the "Cheese!" prop is right there when you need it.