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The landscape of photographic brand experiences has undergone a remarkable evolution in the past decade. Traditional photo booths have evolved into an array of immersive experiences.

A small selection of the technological changes include:

• Green Screen
• Gif Booths
• Bullet time booths
• Video Booths
• Virtual booths
• AR filters
• 360-degree booths

But amid these innovations, the quest for cost efficiency and the pursuit of the 'next big thing' have remained constant.

Marketers have strived for creative executions using the existing tool sets and technology. This has resulted in incremental innovation and gradual changes in this market.

But, that all changed in 2023.

Enter: The AI Photo booth

AI Photo booths started making their way onto the scene in 2023, gradually making their mark.

At first, inconsistency in replicating likeness and inherent randomness held back the adoption of AI Photo booths at scale.

The phrase ‘it sorta looks like me’ was not that uncommon in initial testing. Three hands. Strange fingers. Multiple limbs.

This issue presented a challenge for adoption. When releasing branded content to the world, logo fidelity and consistency are non-negotiable requirements.

We’ve been a party to a few of the success stories with brand lead, AI generated user based content. It's important to leverage the AI for what it’s good for - unique personalised creative outputs. Combined with an image compositing pipeline to keep the brand logo reproduction accurate.  

We’ve been through a journey with our AI image generations, it’s been a mission to get right, and we’ve not stopped improving on our initial successes.  

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Progression of the Snapmatic AI Image generations from initial tests in December 2022 through to Gen 2.0 AI Photo Booth outputs in December 2023

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Key to adoption

The key to success is hands-on engagement with the brand custodians. This involves hands-on demonstrating the solution and its possibilities. Nothing else comes close.

Viewing Cherry-picked pictures online are one thing, trying it out for yourself is another.

When considering an AI Photo booth activation, it is vital to understand the kind of outputs that can be created and how consistent they can be.  We’ve written an analysis of the broadly different types of AI Photo booths on the market as of Jan 2024 here, so know your AI Photo Booth and what it can do!

Why AI Photo booth over a traditional booth?

With the traditional photo booth, the output images generated are largely the same.  The same overlay some background variation with only the user being different.

With AI image generation, each image is different. They pick up cues from the user’s visual appearance. These cues are used to create a unique, custom image incorporating the user’s likeness.

It’s the ultimate personalised brand experience.

And that’s what makes them valuable. The unique image output of the user vs the same output that everyone else has.

And why is this content so valuable to users?

AI Photo booths extend beyond novelty. They tap into our natural need for social approval. They do so through the generations of unique branded images, created through the cues of the user's likeness and position the users at the forefront of innovation.

What’s next?

The rise of AI photo booths marks a pivotal moment in the evolution of event photography. They embody the perfect synergy between technological innovation and human creativity, offering a unique blend of entertainment, personalization, and branding.

Snapmatic’s AI photo booth stands at the forefront of this revolution, empowering event marketers to craft bespoke experiences that captivate and engage audiences. It’s not just about taking photos; it’s about crafting an immersive journey that turns moments into lasting memories.

In the next 6 months, AI Photo booths will explode onto the market. The key success however, will be creating visually engaging and quality content  - not just Christmas elves, wizards and super heros.

As the landscape of events continues to evolve, AI photo booths stand tall as an indispensable tool, shaping unforgettable experiences one snapshot at a time.

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