Photo booths become a destination in Houston
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Line for Flats analog photo booth. Photo: Shafaq Patel/Axios
Photo booths have long been quintessentially cool, but there's renewed interest in them — to the point where the booths themselves are becoming the destination in Houston.
Why it matters: People used to stumble across photo booths while out with friends or on a date and squeeze into the curtained booth to snap a quick keepsake.
- Now, in an increasingly digital world, there's a growing demand for tangible memories and physical photos people can hold onto, turning photo booths into an intentional experience.
Driving the news: In Houston, two new photo booth concepts have popped up this year and have quickly built a following: Houston's only analog film photobooth at Flats, and Roma, an aesthetic-based pop-up.
The latest: Photomatica — the company behind many of the photo booths stationed in Houston bars — announced last week that it plans to open its third "photo booth museum" in Houston.
- Expected to open in early June near Meow Wolf Houston in the Fifth Ward, the space will be its largest yet, with more chances for photo strips.
The intrigue: Both Flats and Roma drew lines when they opened — and continue attracting crowds months later.
Zoom in: The analog photo booth at Flats aligns with the Montrose film photography lab's mission of promoting film photography. Flats founder Jessi Bowman said she spent years searching for a working analog booth. She secured this one as part of a six-month test run, though it's now expected to stay longer because of demand.
- The vintage booth acts like "a dark room in a box," chemically developing black-and-white photo strips inside the machine in just a few minutes. Bowman says the booth averages roughly 80 to 90 strips per day.
What they're saying: Bowman says the tactile experience is part of the draw as younger customers seek offline, analog activities.
- "With the rise of digital also came the rise of personal cameras," Bowman tells Axios. But now, "people want a sense of the tangible. There's this growing desire to get offline—letter writing, tangible things—and that's a huge reason for the renewed interest."
Roma founder Janet Perales said she wanted to create a modern booth experience centered more on nostalgic aesthetics. Unlike many traditional bar photo booths, Roma's strips feature themed backdrops with no logos or branding.
- She bought her first photobooth and had pop-ups throughout Houston. Now, it is at Tadaima, a Japanese boutique store in the Heights, for a few months. After demand, she purchased a second booth, which rotates throughout Houston for events and pop-ups.
- "There's just nothing better than getting a photo taken of you in that place, at that place, in that moment in time," Perales tells Axios.
The big picture: The renewed popularity of photo booths is part of a broader analog revival that has boosted film photography, vinyl records and other tactile hobbies.
- People are framing photo strips and incorporating them into DIY crafts and scrapbooks.