Photo booth history: invention, art and photo strips
By Juste Tools · Published
A photo booth turns a portrait into a small event: step inside, choose a pose, wait for the next exposure and leave with a sequence. The modern automatic booth is closely associated with inventor Anatol Josepho and his Photomaton in New York. Its history is easier to understand if we separate a working prototype, a public studio and the later uses of the pictures.
Who invented the modern photo booth?
Josepho did not invent photography or every attempt at automatic portraiture. His importance lies in developing a working automatic system and bringing it to a wider public. The National Archives of Hungary documents a working New York prototype by July 1925, followed by smaller studios during 1925 and 1926.
The same archive dates the larger Photomaton studio at 1659 Broadway to September 1926. That distinction explains why accounts sometimes highlight 1925 and sometimes 1926: they can be describing different milestones. In March 1927, a consortium bought Josepho’s stake for one million US dollars.
A short Photomaton timeline
The early story is an invention becoming a service. People could obtain portraits through a machine rather than arranging a conventional sitting. The archive records international expansion during 1928, including London, Paris, Berlin, Vienna and Budapest. The booth served both practical ID-picture needs and the pleasure of making an informal portrait.
- 1925: a working prototype in New York, according to the National Archives of Hungary.
- 1926: the larger Broadway studio opens with five improved machines.
- 1927: the sale of Josepho’s stake brings substantial press attention.
- 1928: Photomaton booths reach several European cities.
- Around 1963: Andy Warhol experiments with booth self-portraits, including strips now held by the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Why artists were interested
The Met dates its Photobooth Self-Portrait by Warhol to around 1963. The artwork is a pair of gelatin silver photo strips. It offers a useful reminder that an everyday photographic service can also be material for an artwork. The museum’s collection record is a better place to investigate the object than an unattributed image repost.
A sequence lets us compare tiny changes: the tilt of a head, a new expression, an attempt to look serious that dissolves into a smile. Those differences are our reading of the format, rather than a claim that every sitter had the same intention. Four frames can show time passing without a written explanation.
What a strip can tell you
When looking at an old strip, examine the object as well as the faces. Is there handwriting on the back? Has a frame been cut away? Does the border reveal the original arrangement? A date supplied by a museum or archive is evidence; a guessed decade based on clothing should stay a guess.
The format also gives you a simple creative exercise today. Keep the camera and background steady, then change only one thing between exposures. Try a neutral expression, a glance sideways, a raised prop and a laugh. The result reads as a short scene because the viewer can see what changed.
- For a family album, write down the date and the people’s names while you still remember them.
- For a creative sequence, let each frame answer the previous one instead of making four unrelated poses.
- If you share a historic photograph, include its collection or owner and check permission to reproduce it.