Photobooth

My affection for photo booths began at an early age. I used to beg my Mom to take me and various friends to Ed Debevics (a fifties style restaurant in Chicago) where they had a vintage black and white photo booth near the entrance. There was something so satisfying about holding the still wet photos and being able to smell the lingering chemicals. Soon after I discovered a funky vintage store that had a photo booth and  props to bring into your impromptu photo session - think vintage hats and oversize glasses. Somewhere in a box in my house are tons of cut up old photos of my fourth grade self posing away. Since I couldn't find those I found these lovely vintage examples including one of Audrey Hepburn, her husband Mel Ferrer and Truman Capote.

When I frequented bars in Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles the criteria for me was often does it have a photo booth? Even if the night was terrible you could walk away with some artifact proving the night wasn't a total bust. I could always pile in with a friend and try my best to look cute. There is something so flattering about a black and white photo booth photo. I am not sure exactly what it is but there is definitely something forgiving about the light. 

These days I think I go to a bar maybe once every four months or so if that. This weekend we stopped by a friend of my husband's party at a bar in Highland Park on Saturday quickly as part of our date night and I had to really think hard about the last time I had ventured into a bar. It just isn't a part of my life these days but I still long for a strip of photo booth photos to put on my fridge. Luckily I discovered this amazing Ipad app called incredibooth. And while it doesn't 100% satisfy (you don't get to shake a strip dry and slip it into your purse) it comes close for someone who is never around a photo booth. Here are a couple recent favorites with my number one co-subject these days. 

Vintage photo booth photos found here.