Savoir faire — Say, “Cheese!,” at your next genealogy event or family reunion with this photo booth idea

When genealogy blogger, family history consultant, and speaker Jana Last attended a family history event in Clovis, California yesterday, she took photos of a terrific, low-cost idea for genealogy conferences and family reunions — a family history photo booth. She said it was a “huge hit.”

Photo booth at Family Discovery Day in Clovis, California. Photo courtesy of Jana Iverson Last.

The family history photo booth in these photos was created by Ms. Last’s friend, Laiele Drysdale, for her local LDS stake’s family history event, called Family History Discovery.

Imagine how much fun it would be to create a similar photo booth for your own event or a family get-together, such as a reunion, special birthday, or a wedding.

To create your own photo booth, look for items around your house or buy inexpensive pieces at a garage/yard sale. Once the backdrop is created, gather together old frames, an old table and chair, hats, scarves, shawls, an area rug, and anything else that will make people want to have their family photo taken.

The photo booth accessories include hats, stoles, gloves, and cardboard moustaches and glasses. Photo courtesy of Jana Iverson Last.

Think about the costume jewellery and eyeglasses from the 1950s you may have stored in a closet. You could adorn the chair and the back of the chair with your grandmother’s doilies. Do you still own your mother’s white gloves? Is there an old fedora tucked away in a box in the basement?

With a bit of thought, your society members could find all sorts of items that have long passed their best before date.

Note the black fabric hanging behind the photo booth at Family Discovery Day in Clovis, California. Photo courtesy of Jana Iverson Last.

Many thanks to Ms. Last for gving me permission to share her photos. You can read her genealogy blog, Jana’s Genealogy and Family History Blog, here.

Follow Genealogy a la carte’s board Genealogy à la carte Blog on Pinterest.