Celebrating 100 years of photo booths

4 flashes, 6 seconds apart

When was the last time you used a photobooth? Apart from a quirky feature at a wedding, it’s something we pass by on the street and may have forgotten about - I know I’m guilty of that. It may surprise you to learn they are 100 years old this year, and to mark the occasion, we spoke to Rafael Hortala Vallve, the founder of AUTOFOTO, to find out what they have planned to mark the centenary. AUTOFOTO is a group of analogue photobooth experts based in London and Barcelona who have been rescuing and restoring original auto-photography machines for over a decade. They also have a booth at Photo London, which is on this weekend at Somerset House.

Rafael in front of one of the Autofoto booths

What drew you to photobooths and to then set up AUTOFOTO?

I’ve always loved photography. As a teenager, I sometimes carried a camera with me and learnt how to develop pictures in my self-built little darkroom in the bathroom of my parents' house. At the same time, I also loved motorbikes and raced enduro and supermotards in Catalonia. I was really fascinated by the mechanics of these machines… so, I guess in a way, both these interests came together in the form of the photobooth, which is essentially a mechanical darkroom.

In 2019, I wanted to set up a booth for a friend's wedding in Barcelona. This involved tracking down a machine and learning how it operated chemically and mechanically, which allowed me to build on some of my basic knowledge to make it work. It was an exciting process that involved a lot of trial and error! Autofoto came a few years later, starting with one coin-operated booth, which earned enough to buy another two booths, which has led us to where we are today.

AUTOFOTO has 14 booths in London, and there’s a handy map of where you can find them.

Beneath the paywall:

• What’s in store to celebrate the centenary

• What will the future of photo booths be?

• More photobooths from around London