Black and White Photo Booths: Why the Look Works So Well

Of every look our booths can produce, all black and white is the one we are asked for most. It is where the Glam Booth picked up the name people search for, the black and white booth, and why plenty of people know it as the Kardashian booth. It is also a personal favorite of ours.

The Glam Booth is not only a black and white booth, though. It runs in color, in black and white, or both, and each couple or company picks what suits their night. Here is why black and white works so well, when color is the better choice, and how to decide.

Why black and white flatters almost everyone

Reception rooms are lit with a mix of colors. There is warm light from the chandeliers, colored uplighting on the walls, candles on the tables, and string lights over the dance floor. Every one of them tints skin a slightly different shade, and in a color photo that can read as orange, pink, or gray.

Black and white takes all of that away. What is left is light and shadow, so the eye goes straight to faces and expressions. Redness from a long night, uneven skin tones across a group, and an outfit that fights with the one beside it all matter far less once the color is gone.

It also forgives a mixed group. Put a bridesmaid in emerald, a groomsman in navy, and an aunt in bright coral in one frame, and in color the photo is about the clothes. In black and white it is about the people.

It looks like the night, ten years from now

Color photographs date. The tones of a filter, the shades that were in fashion that year, and the color of the uplighting all tie a picture to its moment. A black and white print looks the same on a refrigerator door in a decade as it did the night it came out of the printer, which is why it suits weddings and black tie events so well.

The lighting matters more than the filter

Turning a phone photo black and white does not make it look like this. The look comes from the light and the camera behind it.

The Glam Booth uses studio lighting and high-end professional equipment, then adds a skin smoothing finish that is set to take the edge off a long day rather than redraw anyone. On the White backdrop the result is bright, clean, and editorial. On Black it is moodier, and it lifts people off the background. Run it black and white for the whole night, and every print and every digital copy comes out that way.

When color is the better choice

Black and white is not always right, and it is worth thinking about what the color at your event is doing before you turn it off.

• When the colors are the point. If you chose the florals, the linens, and the bridesmaid dresses to work together, you will probably want them in the photos.
• When the backdrop is colorful. Ruby Sparkle, Rose Gold Rain, and Garden Escape look very different once their color is gone.
• When it is a holiday party. Red, green, and gold are half of what makes a room look like December.
• When your brand has colors. At a company event, an all black and white night means the logo on every print is black and white too.

Two couples at Excelsior showed the difference well. Rachel and Aaron ran black and white all night, and Briahna and Christopher ran color, on the same booth at the same venue, and each set of photos looks exactly like the wedding it came from.

Or turn both on

You do not have to choose for everyone. Turn both on and each guest picks at the screen when they step in, so that the group who wants a timeless print gets one and the friends who want the color of their dresses get that instead. Most people do not know which they want until they see it, and this lets them see both.

Which backdrops work best in black and white

White and Black are the two we are asked for most, because they let the lighting do the work and nothing in the frame competes with your guests. Textured backdrops can work beautifully too, since sparkle and pattern still read as light and shadow. Backdrops that depend on a single strong color, such as Ruby Sparkle, lose most of what made them special, so pair those with color instead. The whole collection is on our backdrops page.

Black and white at galas and company events

Black tie events are where black and white earns its keep outside of weddings. A room of tuxedos and evening gowns reads as one elegant set of photographs rather than a scatter of colors, and the prints look as though they belong to the evening rather than to a party supply store.

The trade-off is branding. If your sponsors’ logos or your company colors need to show up on every print, run color, or turn both on and let each guest choose. We will talk it through with you when we design the print, so that nobody discovers the logo went gray on the night.

A quick way to decide

If you are still weighing it up, this usually settles it.

• Choose black and white if the room is formal, the lighting is a mix of colors, or you want prints that will not date.
• Choose color if your palette, your backdrop, or your brand is part of the story you are telling.
• Turn both on if you cannot decide, or if the crowd is varied enough that nobody will agree anyway.

Can the other booths do black and white?

Yes. The Classic Booth includes black and white among its filters, on a black or white backdrop, without the glam skin smoothing finish. The AI Booth and the Keychain Booth both include the same studio finish and filters as the Glam Booth. What the Glam Booth adds over the Classic Booth is that finish, your pick of the whole backdrop collection, and the choice of a 2×6 strip or a 4×6 print at the booth.

Finding a black and white photo booth near you

If your event is anywhere from Lancaster to York, Harrisburg, Hershey, Gettysburg, or Baltimore, there is no travel fee, and Philadelphia and anywhere further out is quoted per event. We have run it everywhere from Excelsior in Lancaster to the Appell Center in York.

The Glam Booth, the Keychain Booth, and the AI Booth all offer the same finish. Each includes three hours, an attendant for the whole booking, a print for every person in the photo, and a print designed for your event. See the Glam Booth for more photos in color and in black and white, or tell us about your night.