I peeled the plastic off the last side panel by the elevator column. Then I crouched down to check the corners for scuffs. The calendar said August 2026. The setting was the Don Taft lobby on the Davie campus of Nova Southeastern University. It was our first campus photo booth going live. Every panel had made the trip from our office wrapped on its own. If you run auxiliary services, student life or facilities at a Florida college, this is exactly how it happened. I’ll cover what month one showed, what we changed, and what it would take on your campus.
How our first campus photo booth landed at NSU
I’m an NSU graduate, so I’d love to tell you I walked in and got a yes. I didn’t.
Plenty of places far less impressive than NSU had already turned me down. So the introduction came the unglamorous way: a fellow member of the Davie and Cooper City chamber of commerce, where I’m active, connected us.
Then came months of planning before we built anything. We work with departments, not personalities. On a campus, that usually means Auxiliary Services, Facilities and the safety team, and each one asks different questions.
Meanwhile, the machine itself came together at our Davie office, where we assembled it and ran it through test sessions before it ever saw a student. Nothing in it is a rebadged catalog unit. As a result, when something needs changing, we change it ourselves instead of waiting on a supplier.
The condition that made the yes possible
The university’s Environment, Health and Safety office signed off on the location, but they attached a condition. If a fire marshal or a big event ever needed that floor, the booth had to be able to roll out of the way.
Some vendors would treat that as a hassle. I’d call it the reason the deal worked. We also agreed that we relocate it ourselves, so nobody on their staff has to touch it.
Here’s my advice to any Florida school considering one. Put that condition in writing from day one. It protects your egress routes, and it tells you quickly whether the vendor actually plans to show up.
Want the program details first? Our venue partner page lays out what a free placement includes.
What month one actually showed
I promised myself I’d publish the honest version, including the parts that stung. So here’s the first month at a glance.
| Area | Month one result | Our response |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Opened at $9.99 a session | Cut to $7.99 on the fifth day to widen access |
| Volume | Over three hundred paid sessions, with guests paying in about $2,400 total | Read it carefully, since most of it came in move-in week |
| Busiest days | Friday by a wide margin, then Wednesday | Plan service visits around those two days |
| Reliability | An early hardware fault that cost us roughly twenty refunds | Refunded every one, then fixed the cause |
| First-time use | Students hesitated over what to press first | Added on-screen start guidance mid-week |
| Feedback | Praise for camera quality and print speed | Kept the flow short, because “simple” was the compliment |
Two notes on that table. First, most sessions ran at $7.99, not all of them, because of the day-five change. Second, please don’t divide by thirty and call it a daily average. Move-in week was its own animal.
The thing you only see by watching
When I asked students how the booth worked, they said it was easy. Yet when I stood off to the side and watched, I saw the pause. People stood there for a beat, unsure what to press first.
That hesitation was invisible in conversation and obvious in person. So within days, the screen started telling people exactly where to begin. I now trust watching over asking, and I’d tell any campus vendor to do the same.
The question students keep asking
“Is this staying?” I hear it constantly. When I say yes, it’s permanent, people light up.
That reaction is also why I moved away from rentals. At a wedding or a birthday, a broken booth ruins a night nobody gets to redo, and a refund doesn’t fix that. In a student center, a glitch means one student is out a few dollars until we send it back. The memories survive just fine.
Bring a booth to your student center
Tell us about the building, the hours and the spot you’re picturing. We’ll come back with an honest read on fit and timing for your campus.
What a Florida campus gets out of it
Photo booths are fun, they’re memorable, and they make people smile. Students also rarely realize they’re living the good old days until those days are gone. A printed strip is the proof they keep.
For the university, the practical side is just as simple:
- $0 for install, hardware, paper and repairs.
- No staff training, because the booth never needs an employee.
- A custom wrap in your school colors, the way ours wears NSU blue.
- Your name printed on every strip.
- A monthly sales report and a revenue share payment.
- Remote monitoring on every booth we run.
- An on-campus keepsake that admissions tours can point to as they walk by.
There’s also the monthly SmileMore Challenge. A student posts their strip, tags the school and SmileMore, and enters a draw. Every one of those entries is an unscripted student post with your school’s name on it, which beats a staged admissions photo.
What’s next, and the parts I’m still learning
I’ll be straight about what I don’t know yet. My working theory is that summer will be the slow stretch on campus, while back to school stays strong. I’ll know for sure after a full academic year, and I’ll adjust accordingly.
In the pipeline: a payment option that should make it easier for students to use the booth. You can follow the booth itself on the NSU location page.
Finally, timing. Our install calendar runs in waves, and a campus that signs this semester may not see its booth until the next one. We work South Florida most, though schools elsewhere in Florida should still ask. For the mechanics, read what photo booth install day involves. Then, for the money side, see how the revenue share works.
Frequently asked questions
Which campus departments usually need to sign off?
For us at NSU, Auxiliary Services, Facilities and the safety office each weighed in. Your school may route it differently. Either way, we’ll bring photos, the footprint and our relocation commitment so each office gets what it needs.
How much floor space does a campus booth take?
Budget a square of floor around 5 by 5 feet with an outlet close by. The cabinet fits through a normal doorway on wheels, so most lobbies and lounges are reachable. We also keep a clear path around it for foot traffic.
Does a campus booth slow down in the summer?
Probably, and I’d rather say so now than surprise you later. Our hunch is that summer terms run quieter while fall move-in runs hot. We’ll share what the NSU numbers show once a full year is in.
What if the booth needs to move for graduation or a fire inspection?
We move it, not your staff. That was the condition NSU’s safety team set, and we treat it as standard on every campus. Just tell us the date and where it should go.
So here’s my commitment to the next Florida school that says yes. Your campus photo booth gets the same care NSU’s did, down to the individually wrapped panels. We’ll move it whenever your safety team asks, and you’ll get a report every month showing exactly what happened. If that sounds worth testing, request a free booth for your campus.
