AI photo booth for theme parties in Pasadena

Old Pasadena, the business district along Colorado Boulevard, sits ten miles from downtown Los Angeles with two Metro rail stops, so guests can reach a party there without driving. It is also where the city's Halloween trick-or-treat runs each October, with more than 100 businesses taking part. That is a street event for children, so a costume or decade party is a separate booking in a hall or restaurant room nearby.

The City of Pasadena rents rooms at community centers such as Villa Parke and lists free Wi-Fi at several of them, and its libraries have run Halloween events with character cut-outs and a photo backdrop. For a party with a bar or a late finish, a restaurant room or the Convention Center fits better, since city rules limit alcohol in public facilities.

The Talking Photobooth has an AI host, a character with its own voice who talks to each group out loud. It asks for names and uses them, comments on each photo after seeing it, and says when the strips are printing. It does not alter the pictures in any way. Searching "AI photo booth" often brings up booths that restyle the image, and this is the other kind: the AI is the conversation.

You pick one of 13 hosts for the night and can switch partway through. For decade nights: Broadcast Bennie as a 1950s radio announcer, Reggie for swinging 60s London, Velvet Ray for 70s soul under the mirror ball or Sunny for a 70s hippie, Johnny Neon as an 80s FM radio DJ, and Tiffany as a 90s mall girl. For Halloween, Vlad is a grand old vampire count, and Miss Sass roasts guests with love, which suits a costume contest. Tex McGraw covers a western theme and DJ Pulse works any dance floor. See the full lineup at hosts.

Each group has a short conversation, three photos, and a printed 2x6 strip for every person. iPhone users can AirDrop their photos from the booth. Strips can carry names, a date or a logo, so a party's theme can be printed on them. Strip designs are at gallery.

Three setups are available: the booth on its own, a 5x5 enclosed booth with red velvet curtains, or a pipe-and-drape backdrop. The enclosure helps in a lively room such as a restaurant dining room or a hall with a dance floor, because guests hear the host without the music over it. An attendant sets up, stays all event and packs down. The host needs internet to use names; if the connection drops it switches to prerecorded lines and the booth keeps printing. Hosts speak English.

At Villa Parke and other City of Pasadena facilities, room capacity is posted and enforced under Fire Department rules, so ask for the capacity before you plan a booth footprint. Groups must leave by the time on the permit, alcohol is prohibited in public facilities except as the municipal code allows, and smoking is prohibited in city parks and community centers. The city's rules describe the facilities as available for recreational, cultural, civic and educational activities, so confirm with the city's parks and recreation reservations desk that a costume or decade party qualifies.

The city's Halloween safety notes bring up two things that touch a booth setup: do not plug extension cords into one another, and be aware that smoke-producing machines set off fire alarms indoors. Ask any venue where the nearest outlet is, avoid chained cords, and tell the venue before a fog machine goes on near the booth. The city lists free Wi-Fi at Villa Parke, Victory Park Recreation Center and Jackie Robinson Community Center, but ask whether it is open to a rental group. For power and a stable connection at the Convention Center, Scott Pavilion and DerWolf, ask the venue directly which outlets and network sit near the booth spot.