Gallery: Famous William has his heart on a string

Copious amounts of inspiration, all from the same person! Famous William, a photographer out of Atlanta, Georgia, creates his own great backdrops time and time again. From strung hearts and colorful streamers to funny masks and mylar bling, he knows how to liven up a photo booth.

Famous William / Facebook
The fish house backdrop was painted by Alan Kurkendal of Carrollton Ga. in partnership with Famous William.

To have your photo booth images considered for a gallery feature, click on the “Submit Photos” button above. Please send up to a dozen of your best images showing a variety of backdrop designs and plenty of color!

Paper Chains

Paper chains: they’re a classic kid’s craft that has been gaining in popularity at parties and events recently. After seeing so many colorful images on Pinterest and around the Web, I was inspired to make a paper chain ceiling installation in my son’s room. All you need is paper, scissors, a stapler and thumbtacks, and you could do the same. Best of all, it’s quite inexpensive, especially if you use paper you already have around the house (newspaper, maps, music sheets, etc.).

My inspiration came from these delightful images:

Above: Snippet and Ink

Above: SweetBee Photography (left), Style Me Pretty (right)

Above: Michelle March Photography

Above: MEF Photography
This last photo shares a clever way to do a guestbook, too! Guests wrote words of wisdom on slips of paper then added them to the chain, so it grew in length as the night progressed.

Ideas to Inspire: Neon!

Nothing does quite as much with quite as little as neon — it brightens the mood as it dazzles the eyes. Celebrate spring and summer with a burst of neon color!

The following ten items – all found on Etsy – are perfect for your neon-inspired photo booth.

Credits:
one: Mustaches on sticks by Whisker Works
two: Paper maché letters by Twisted Twig
three: Tissue paper poms by Pomtastic
four: Upcycled vintage frames by Melissa’s Ornate Palace of Wonderment
five: Tissue tassel garland by Everly Lane Design
six: Chalkboard frames by Shugabee Lane
seven: Fabric bunting by Coco Sailore
eight: Messages on sticks by Paper Polaroid
nine: Pinwheel banner by Laughing Hour
ten: Dotted garland by Gray Day Studio

Ideas to Inspire: Quilts!

It doesn’t take much to create a colorful photo backdrop. Using your grandma’s patchwork quilt will do the trick! Hang it vertically and set up your tripod – the quilt adds a great amount of color and a vintage vibe.

This first quilt feature comes from Tami Siriani of Siriani Photography. The bride and groom used this colorful quilt as the backdrop to their wedding ceremony, then used it once more as their photo booth backdrop at the reception that followed. A vine-covered arbor at the wedding location made a perfect photo booth stand; they simply tacked the quilt to the backside. The bride decorated the front of the arbor with paper chains made from book pages.

Siriani Photography / Facebook

Below are a few other examples showcasing pretty patchwork patterns. There are so many possibilities!

Above: Christina Block Photography

Above: amelia + dan photography

Above: Jordan Weiland Portraiture

Above: Mandy Lynne Photography

Don’t already have a quilt? Etsy has a variety of beautiful options here.

Paper Tube Wall Art

This beautiful wall art tutorial comes to us from Naturally Yours Events, an event planner based in Chicago, Illinois. Not only could you make a beautiful photo booth backdrop that later will function as an interesting art piece in your home, but you can make pretty much any shape you want using these steps. I simply must make a handlebar mustache!

Total cost: Less than $20
Total time: 4 hours

Materials
– 100+ paper tubes
– Paints and brushes
– Tissue paper
– Scissors
– Clear tacky glue
– Mod Podge glue

Instructions
If you choose to use packing tubes, make sure to cut them down to the size you want with a knife or small hand saw.

1. Take the tissue paper and cut out your desired shape. A heart shape was created for this project. It may help to draw your shape before cutting. After cutting, lay your shape on a flat surface.

2. Make sure the paper tubes are free of any left over paper, then paint them, if desired. Only a handful of the tubes were painted in this tutorial for more of a mixed look.

3. Place your tubes around the perimeter of your cutout shape.

4. Using tacky glue, begin to glue the tubes to one another. Pinch them together and hold for a few seconds to allow the glue to set.

5. Continue to layer rows of tubes until you have reached your desired thickness and shape, gluing as you go.

6. After the tacky glue has hardened begin to reinforce your tubes by painting the perimeter with Mod Podge glue. Don’t worry, it will go on white, but it does dry clear.

Additional tips:
– Ask your friends and family to help you collect paper towel rolls, toilet paper rolls, wrapping paper rolls and shipping tubes for this project. If you work in an office environment, ask the janitorial company if they could save rolls for you.
– Use rolls and tubes in a variety of sizes!
– Be eco-friendly! Use non-toxic, water-based paints.

Much thanks to Carlene from Naturally Yours Events for this tutorial. Photos by Shane Welch Photography. If you create paper roll wall art of your own, please share your photos by clicking on the “Submit Photos” link at the top of the page.