Start screens · Attract loops
Photo booth welcome screen: sizes, design and the idle loop.
This guide shows photo booth owners how to make a photo booth welcome screen that guests notice. It covers the difference between the front start screen in LumaBooth and a rear-screen attract loop, the pixel sizes to design at for portrait and landscape screens, design tips for a room full of people, and how BoothLoop plays your welcome screen on the rear screen whenever the booth is idle.
Welcome to
Maren & Theo
12 . 06 . 26
Photos this way
1080 × 1920 welcome screen, portrait
01 / Two screens
What is the difference between a photo booth start screen and a rear-screen welcome loop?
They face different people.
Front start screen
For the guest at the booth
In LumaBooth for Windows (formerly dslrBooth), the start screen is what a guest taps to begin a session. Owners replace the default with their own image or video, and Lumasoft has a guide to custom start screens for its iPad app (LumaBooth for Apple) if you also run iPad booths. This is the dslrBooth start screen people search for.
Rear attract screen
For the room
On the vertical rear screen, the welcome screen is an attract loop. It plays when the booth is quiet, to pull people over from across the venue, and steps aside the moment photos start. BoothLoop runs this on the photo booth rear screen.
Design both
02 / Attract screen
How does BoothLoop's attract screen work on the rear screen?
BoothLoop shows your welcome screen only when nothing is happening, and hands the rear screen back to the live slideshow as soon as something does.
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Live slideshow
New photos arrive. No new photo for the idle time (1 to 60 min, 5 by default).
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Winter Social
Step up
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Attract screen
Your image or video plays, with an optional countdown.
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Back to live
A touch or a new photo dismisses it.
You upload one image or one video: JPG, PNG or WebP for a still, MP4 or WebM for motion, up to 100 MB. If you open BoothLoop at the venue and the newest photo in the event is older than the idle time, it starts on the attract screen, so the rear screen greets the first guests instead of showing an empty belt. The attract screen runs from the booth PC like the rest of BoothLoop, which is why it keeps playing with no internet at the venue.
03 / Sizes
What size should a photo booth welcome screen be?
The pixel size of the screen it plays on. A welcome screen made at the wrong shape gets stretched, cropped or boxed in black bars, and text near the edges is the first thing lost.
For a portrait rear screen with a 1080p panel, design at 1080 × 1920. For the LumaBooth welcome screen size on a landscape 1080p front screen, use 1920 × 1080. These are common panel resolutions, not a guarantee for your hardware, so confirm yours under Settings > System > Display on the booth PC.
ICON-style booths use a 19-inch-class portrait rear panel. Everybooth does not publish that panel's resolution, so check it on the booth before you design.
Welcome screen sizes by screen
- Portrait rear, 1080p
- 1080 × 1920 px (9:16). The usual size for a vertical rear screen
- Portrait rear, 4K
- 2160 × 3840 px (9:16)
- Landscape front, 1080p
- 1920 × 1080 px (16:9). A common booth touch screen size
- Landscape front, 4K
- 3840 × 2160 px (16:9)
- ICON-style rear
- Resolution not published by Everybooth. Check Windows Display settings, then design at that size
- BoothLoop file types
- JPG, PNG, WebP, MP4, WebM, up to 100 MB
04 / Design
How do you design a welcome screen guests notice from across the room?
Design it for someone 3 metres away who is holding a drink and talking. A welcome loop on a photo booth rear screen gets a glance, not a read.
- One message. The event name and a short call to action, such as "Photos this way". Skip paragraphs.
- Big type. On a 1080 × 1920 canvas, keep the headline at least 120 pixels tall so it reads from 3 metres.
- The host's colours. Use the wedding palette or the client's brand colours, with strong contrast between text and background.
- Names and dates. The couple's names or the client's event title make the screen look made for this event.
- Short loops. A video that loops every 10 to 20 seconds feels alive without a visible jump. Plan for no sound in a loud room.
- Small files. BoothLoop accepts up to 100 MB, but a short 1080 × 1920 MP4 sits well under that and is quicker to swap.
Still or video? A still image is quicker to make and always crisp. A video loop draws more eyes. For weddings, see how the rear screen looks in the wedding slideshow software guide.
Lumen Gala
Photos this way
05 / Templates
Where can you get photo booth welcome screen templates?
You do not need design software to make a photo booth welcome screen. Canva lets you start a design at a custom size such as 1080 × 1920 and export it as an image or an MP4 video. Template shops, including many sellers on Etsy, sell welcome and start screen templates made for LumaBooth and dslrBooth that you edit with the event's names.
Before you buy, check the template's pixel size against your screen. Many are made for landscape front screens and will not fill a portrait rear screen without redesign. We have no affiliation with any template seller.
If you sell welcome screens as part of a package, our guide on starting a photo booth business covers the rest of the kit a booth needs.
06 / Per event
How do you build a welcome screen for each event?
Make a base design once in your own brand, then swap the names, date and colours for each booking. These six steps cover a portrait rear-screen welcome screen in BoothLoop. The same sizing steps apply to a LumaBooth start screen on the front.
New to BoothLoop? The BoothLoop overview explains what it does on the rear screen, and the about page covers who makes it.
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Check the screen resolution
On the booth PC, open Settings > System > Display, select the rear screen and note the resolution marked Recommended. A 1080p panel turned to portrait reads 1080 × 1920.
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Make the canvas at that size
Start a design at the exact pixel size of the screen: 1080 × 1920 for a 1080p portrait rear screen, 1920 × 1080 for a 1080p landscape front screen.
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Add the event details
Put the event name or couple's names, the date, the host's logo and one short call to action, such as "Photos this way", in large type with high contrast.
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Export a still or a short loop
Export a JPG, PNG or WebP for a still, or an MP4 or WebM for a video loop. BoothLoop accepts attract files up to 100 MB.
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Upload it to BoothLoop
In BoothLoop's attract screen settings, upload the file, set the idle time from 1 to 60 minutes (5 by default) and turn on the optional countdown if you want it.
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Test it before guests arrive
Leave the booth idle for the set time and check the welcome screen appears, then tap the screen or take a photo and check the slideshow returns.
FAQ
Welcome screen questions from booth owners
What size should a photo booth welcome screen be?
What is the LumaBooth welcome screen size?
What is the difference between a start screen and an attract screen?
Can I use a video as a photo booth welcome screen?
How long before the welcome screen appears on the rear screen?
What makes the welcome screen go away?
What size welcome screen fits an ICON-style rear screen?
Does the welcome screen need internet?
Where can I get photo booth welcome screen templates?
Can I make a different welcome screen for each event?
Beta access
Put your welcome loop on the back of the booth.
Join the beta to run BoothLoop's attract screen and live slideshow on your Windows booth PC. It is free during the beta, then $29.99/year for beta users. The pricing page has the details.
After you sign up you land on the beta confirmation page. Read the beta terms of service and how we handle your details first if you like.