If you’re looking for a fun, retro, cute way to document a wasted, weird, or possibly even low-key night out, photo booths at lots of bars in and around Bushwick have got you covered. But not every photo booth is created equal! The price, quality, and vibe of local options vary drastically from spot to spot. Here’s brief guide to help you better plan your next vintage photo booth shoot— with bonus recommendations for best use of each booth!
1215 Myrtle Avenue
Cost: $3 for one strip of four images
Style: Black and white film
Overview: An excellent, no-frills photo booth. This booth ostensibly accepts credit cards, which would be convenient, though the card reader doesn’t always work. The booth provides a curtain in front of its bright white backdrop, which you can leave open for a stronger black/white contrast, or closed for softer lighting and more gray tones. A sign on the outside accurately informs you that photos take approximately four minutes to come out. Upon printing, the photos are wet, inky, and rich in quality. Bonus points for the anarchist stickers decorating the booth, and the relatively secluded corner it’s tucked into.
Best use: The soft lighting option lends itself well to sweet, third (first?) date make-out photos.
40 St. Nicholas Avenue
Cost: $5 for one strip of four images
Style: Must be digital, but affecting a black and white film vibe
Overview: This cash-only booth has a very old school feel, with a fun, colorful blanket acting as its curtain and hand-written instructions inside— But once you step in, a voice coming from within the booth commands, “One, two, three, pose, smile!” and your confusion at being spoken to might leave you looking bewildered in a few shots. Though the photos are black and white, they are larger than traditional photo booth strips, with only mediocre image resolution—kind of reminiscent of passport photos.
Best use: A rushed and drunken night. You’ll get the feel of a vintage photo booth without the wait time, and the verbal instructions and printing-within-the-booth are near foolproof—very little danger here of getting confused and ending up with your eyes closed at the wrong time.
618 Grand Street
Cost: $3 for one strip of four images
Style: Black and white film
Overview: A great, classic photo booth, very similar to the one at Birdy’s. It’s cash only, and it (charmingly?) offers features that aren’t actually available, like selecting a background color. This booth has no curtain covering its bright white backdrop, meaning you get an extremely sharp contrast in black and white tones automatically. The effect is intense, clear, and super flattering. The sign says photos will take five to ten minutes to print, (though during recent usage, printing was done within four minutes). Photos print inky and wet.
Best use: Model shots.
559 Lorimer Street
Cost: $5 for two strips of four images
Style: Digital
Overview*: A newfangled, kitschy, ultra interactive photo booth. Accepts cash or card, though the slot to pay is confusingly hard to reach in its position below the seat. A touch screen allows you to choose from tons of different themes and borders, like holiday, romantic, BFF, or Hilary/Trump. After your first try, you’re shown the images on the screen, and if you don’t like them you get one do-over. Photo quality is fine; the extra features seem to be the point. The screen will relentlessly encourage you to share your images on social media, for additional cost. Different sizes and extra prints are also available, for additional cost. You get two strips at a time, so if you’re taking photos with a friend, you’re in luck—no one has to fight over who gets to keep the night’s memento.
Best use: There’s a save-the-date theme option that would make for a pretty cute party invitation. Otherwise, irony is the name of the game.
*The Abbey, Project Parlor, and The Little Whiskey all have this photo booth model as well.
484 Union Avenue
Cost: $3 for one strip of four images
Style: Black and white film
Overview: A solid photo booth: Wood exterior, minimal interior, cash only. Though similar in type to Birdy’s and Bushwick Country Club, its photo quality is noticeably different. The ink is less dark and the photos always have a slightly washed-out look, which can be an interesting effect depending on what you’re going for. It’s kind of dreamy, effectively capturing tasteful semi-nudes (at your own risk) and other silly, UP-fueled debauchery. The booth is located next to the bar and close to the bathroom line, meaning your curtain has a good chance of being jostled open at an inopportune moment. The sign says you’ll have to wait ten minutes for photos to print, though they usually appear sooner.
Best use: Repeatedly entertaining yourself between drinks.
Do you have a favorite photo booth we missed? Tell us about it in the comments and we’ll add to our assessment!
Have fun, Bushwick!