Fotichaste

Fotichaste rents out a photo booth from Bülach, serving Zurich, Winterthur and the Zürcher Unterland. It was started by Steven and Lea Müller, who write that it began in 2017 as a project for their own wedding and has since become their passion. The booth, which the site also calls the Fotomat, comes in two versions, AMBIANCE and PROFI, each with a choice of printer, and all five packages are priced on the homepage. The site is in German, and it answers most of the questions a couple would otherwise have to ask by email.

The booth

Every version has a 24 MP single-lens reflex camera behind a 14-inch touchscreen, a professional flash and live view, so guests see themselves before the shot. Guests get unlimited digital photos, an online gallery for downloading after the event, and a personalized photo layout, plus cardboard props and funny glasses. An iPad at the booth handles extra sharing, reprints and sending by email. Guests can load their photos straight to their phones with a QR code: on AMBIANCE this needs WiFi at the venue, while PROFI has onboard internet.

The PROFI version adds boomerang GIFs and a video function, an LED light ring for better lighting and what the site calls a plain premium design. The homepage's wedding tile sums up the pitch for couples: guests are entertained, the couple appears in the print layout, and guests take a photo strip home.

Packages and printers

All prices are per event:

• Digital-Only, 220 CHF: AMBIANCE without a printer, with QR sharing and the online gallery.
• AMBIANCE, 269 CHF: with a Canon Selphy printer and 150 prints included.
• AMBIANCE PREMIUM, 344 CHF: AMBIANCE with the high-end DNP printer.
• PROFI, 349 CHF, marked popular: with the Canon Selphy and 150 prints.
• PROFI PREMIUM, 424 CHF: PROFI with the DNP printer.

The printer choice matters more than it looks, and the site lays it out in a table. The Selphy takes about 55 seconds per photo and needs paper added after 18 prints; it prints 10 × 15 cm and is recommended for small parties up to 50 guests. The DNP takes 13 seconds per photo, prints up to 700 photos per roll with no paper changes, offers 10 × 15 cm or 5 × 15 cm photo strips cut ready to take, and costs 75 CHF more. The FAQ says that for weddings with more than 50 people the fast DNP is the right choice. For a typical wedding, that means one of the PREMIUM packages.

The FAQ adds that 150 prints are included in all packages, which in the company's experience is usually enough for a birthday or a wedding, and that more paper is always supplied just in case. With the DNP printer, a print allowance of up to 700 prints can be bought for CHF 160.

Extras

Backdrops start at 29 CHF for a tinsel curtain and 90 CHF for fabric and printed backdrops; the booking form offers wood effect, gold bokeh and plain white, and tinsel in several colors. A greenscreen for virtual backgrounds is available on request. Custom branding, a layout with names, date, logo or design, is described as "mehrheitlich kostenlos" (mostly free of charge), and couples can also choose a template from the LumaBooth gallery. The booth can apply AI styles to photos, such as Pixar 3D, LEGO, cartoon, emoji, beach party or Oscar Night; the site says the looks are calculated through a service called Replicate, with details in its privacy policy, and an option with no AI processing is listed first.

Pickup, delivery and rental period

The price includes a personal instruction at the Bülach base. Delivery in the Zurich, Winterthur and Zürcher Unterland area is available on request for an extra charge, quoted individually. The rental period is generous: the booth can usually be collected from Wednesday and returned by Monday evening at the latest, at no extra cost. The booth needs about 3 × 3 meters of floor space and a 230V socket nearby, and a table for the props helps. Setup is supported by paper and video instructions (short installation videos are on YouTube) and 24/7 phone support.

Booking

The enquiry form has three steps: event (date, occasion, approximate guest count, pickup or delivery, location), package and extras, and contact details. The site says replies come within 24–48 hours, sometimes longer at weekends, and that advice is free and non-binding. The second step is where the wedding details go: the package, whether a backdrop or tinsel is wanted and which one, a greenscreen, AI looks, the photo template (LumaBooth gallery or custom branding with logo and date) and the print format, from a single landscape photo to three landscape photos or a strip of three or four. Couples who are unsure can tick an option asking to be advised, and anything else can go in the message. Contact is Steven Müller, Unterweg 43, 8180 Bülach, 076 463 06 82, by email or WhatsApp.

Reviews

The homepage shows a 5.0 Google average. A wedding review reads: «Von der ersten Anfrage bis zur Verwendung hat alles perfekt geklappt» (from the first enquiry to the event everything worked perfectly), adding that guests used the booth a lot. Other reviews, from a birthday and a company event, praise the easy exchange, the clear explanation and the price. The gallery includes weddings captioned Tessin Grotto Zürich, Winterthur and am Rhein.

What the site leaves open

The site does not say whether anyone stays with the booth during the party; the model is self-service after instruction or delivery. Payment, deposit and cancellation terms are not on the homepage, though there are general terms (AGB). The site is German only and says nothing about English, so write in English and see how the reply comes back.

Who it suits

Fotichaste suits couples in the Zurich area who like clear prices and are happy to run the booth themselves, and anyone with a car can save the delivery charge by collecting it in Bülach. The long Wednesday-to-Monday rental takes the pressure off setup. For weddings over 50 guests, budget for a PREMIUM package. Couples flying in without a car should ask for the delivery quote early. The site's two installation videos, one for AMBIANCE and one for PROFI, are worth watching before choosing, since they show how much of the setup falls to the couple or a helper.