“People are going to take photos no matter what. That’s the culture we live in. But the photo booth is an opportunity to get out of the phone and experience the event with other people,” says Champ Bennett, co-founder of Hypno. “If you do it well, the photo booth can be the life of the party. People will flock to it in the same way they flock to the dance floor. You need to facilitate that.”

The photo booth moment is also a way to both convey a personal brand and give the host more control.

“If you’re having a party at your home, you may not want guests meandering around snapping photos wherever they like,” says Samantha Yanks, chief brand officer of ID Brands and former editor of Hamptons magazine.

Some photo booths have a vintage feel, to get people away from the digital world. Mark Lacourse of Martha’s Vineyard purchased a 1976 VW Bus, painted it a color he sourced from a 1958 Renault, and turned the inside into a mobile photo studio that fits up to 12 people. He charges about $2,000 to bring the bus to a wedding. Vannagram & Co. in Austin offers a similar concept.

Lacourse offers only printed photos, while other companies specialize in digital-only moments that show guests doing everything from kissing to taking a golf swing. When working with companies that have in-house creative teams, the only limit is the host’s imagination.

Photo booth companies sometimes recommend having several different moments throughout the party: a more formal step-and-repeat as guests arrive, an animated GIF once it’s dark and guests have had a few drinks. Flower walls are a popular gambit. An 8-by-8-foot creation starts at about $3,000, says event designer Ron Wendt, who’ll be decorating the Parrish’s gala. Other party elements with a wow factor often turn into backdrops—like a hot air balloon at a party in Amagansett last weekend.

Smilebooth will roam the party, taking shots it can send to guests instantly, starting at about $2,500. It can create a digital collage projected on a wall or screen that incorporates the photos as they’re being shot, as it did for the Whitney’s spring gala ($5,000-$10,000), where it also staged a music video moment (about $10,000).

For $5,000 a night, Hypno offers an “Eye” or “selfie ball,” an orb guests can use to take pictures, with music and effects dropped into the resulting, instantly shareable images.

Sharingbox, which has 45 offices in 20 countries, charges $150 to put a “beauty filter” on images and for $2,500 will send a photo booth with nine cameras to capture a moment from every angle. Luna PhotoLounge on the Connecticut shoreline charges $125 to create a “memory book” for the hosts, in which guests handwrite a message next to their photo.

For guests and hosts alike, sophisticated photo booth setups generate tangible takeaways they often prefer to a hired photographer’s output. “It’s a meaningful piece of memorabilia that isn’t a candle,” Blum says.