Been in the photo booth industry for nearly 10 years and generate $400k annually (set to do over half a mil by 2024) in the wedding and events space. I don’t feel like I am the expert by any means in business or entrepreneurship, but I’ve built a couple successful companies on a small scale, and have an MBA, so maybe I can contribute to your success. AMA!
How can I get started doing this? What equipment other than the booth do I need?
Take some (free) ‘classes/youtube’ in photography and on/off camera lighting. Depends ultimately on what you want to do, but if you are talking ‘traditional photo booth’ then booth + internals (camera, flash, cables, etc), printer, and backdrop are all you NEED.
Of course, I would recommend a lot more like GL insurance and backup equipment, to name a few. But you can try being scrappy. I’d say find a way to attract a client first before diving in. Maybe you can offer your services to a new wedding/event planner in your area as a packaged deal to get on their radar and showcase what you do.
practice practice practice. I guarantee something will go wrong, always be prepared for the worst.