Every Type of Photobooth in Metro Manila, Explained

This is the one most people picture when they hear "photobooth." An enclosed space (curtain or hard walls), a camera inside, a countdown timer, and printed photo strips that come out warm. Usually 2x6" strips with 3 or 4 exposures.

The magic of enclosed booths is the privacy. People act differently when they feel like nobody's watching. You get real laughter, goofy faces, and the kind of candid energy that posed photos never capture. This is the format good take. uses for walk-up sessions at bazaars and for private events.

A DSLR camera on a stand, a backdrop, ring light or studio lighting, and a printer nearby. No enclosure. Guests walk up, pose, and get prints on the spot.

Open-air setups handle volume well because there's no waiting for the booth to "open up" between groups. They also photograph larger groups more easily since there's no space constraint. The trade-off is that you lose the enclosed, private feeling that brings out the goofy side of people. Great for corporate events and large parties where throughput matters more than intimacy.

A circular platform (usually 2-3 feet in diameter) with a camera arm that rotates around you. It captures slow-motion video from every angle while you pose, dance, or do whatever looks good on a 360 loop. The output is a short video clip, not a printed photo.

These are all over TikTok and Instagram Reels right now. The content is extremely shareable, which makes them popular for product launches, brand activations, and events where social media reach is the actual goal. They also require more floor space and reliable power than other booth types, so check with your venue before committing.

A full-length touchscreen mirror (usually around 5-6 feet tall) with a camera behind the glass. Guests interact with animations on the mirror surface, sign their names with a finger, and the whole process feels luxurious from start to finish. Prints come out from a built-in printer.

Mirror booths are premium and they look it. They double as decor because they're genuinely beautiful objects in a room. Best for weddings, debuts, and upscale corporate events where the booth itself needs to match the venue aesthetic. The price reflects the hardware involved.

A fully enclosed booth made of glass panels instead of curtains or solid walls. You can see in (and guests can see out), which creates a fishbowl effect that's weirdly fun to watch from outside. The glass catches light beautifully, making it a visual centerpiece at any venue.

These started showing up in Metro Manila around 2024 and they've quickly become the "premium flex" option. The downside is the same as the appeal: there's no privacy. Guests who are shy might not go as wild as they would behind a curtain. But for events where aesthetics matter above everything else, glass booths deliver.

Portrait-style lighting (usually with a wind machine and studio-grade flashes) that makes every guest look like they're on a magazine cover. The output is typically a single full-body or half-body shot, not a strip. Some setups include on-the-spot retouching.

Glam booths are less about candid fun and more about making people feel like celebrities for 30 seconds. They're slower per guest (each session takes a bit longer due to posing and lighting), so they work best for events under 80-100 guests. Popular for debuts, proms, and influencer events.

Named after the iPhone's 0.5x ultra-wide camera that became a whole aesthetic on social media. These booths use a wide-angle lens that distorts faces and bodies in that specific, intentionally unflattering way that Gen Z somehow turned into a vibe.

The output is goofy by design. Exaggerated noses, stretched limbs, the whole group crammed into the frame looking absolutely unhinged. It's the opposite of the glam booth and that's exactly the point. If your event skews under-30, this format consistently gets the most laughs and the most shares.

Not a booth at all, technically. It's a photographer (or two) with a portable instant print setup who walks around the event capturing guests wherever they are. No line, no waiting, no designated booth area needed.

Roaming setups work incredibly well for cocktail-style events, garden parties, and venues where space is tight. The trade-off is that guests don't get to "choose" their photo moment the way they do with a stationary booth. The photographer decides when and where to shoot, which means some guests might get missed during busy moments.

An iPad or tablet mounted on a stand with a selfie app, sometimes paired with a Bluetooth printer. Guests tap the screen, take their own photos, and prints come out from the attached printer (or they scan a QR to get digital copies).

These are the most affordable option for private events and they're completely self-service, which means no attendant cost. The quality gap is real, though. Photos from a tablet camera don't compare to what a proper DSLR or dedicated booth camera produces. Works fine for casual parties where the photobooth is a side activity, not a main attraction.

The newest addition to the Metro Manila booth scene. These use AI to transform guest photos in real time: think face-swapping onto movie characters, turning portraits into oil paintings, aging filters, or generating completely new backgrounds. The output is usually digital-only, delivered via QR or AirDrop.

AI booths get a lot of initial excitement because the results are genuinely surprising. But they're still working out the kinks. Processing times can be longer than traditional prints, the quality varies depending on the AI model used, and some guests find the results more creepy than cool. Best as a secondary attraction alongside a traditional booth, not the only photo option at your event.