Google's Photo Booth Is Smash Hit at DNC

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (TheStreet) -- The most popular attraction at the Democratic National Convention has been around since your grandparents' high school days: A photo booth.

The Google (GOOG) photo booth has been a smash hit among delegates, thanks to the technology-enhanced twist it puts on the original concept. The search giant's version takes four photographs of a person, emails the images to them and displays the pictures on the massive screen inside the Time Warner Cable Arena here in Charlotte.

A constant stream of convention attendees have been anxiously waiting in line for upwards of 30 minutes in a corner of the arena to sit inside a small booth for three minutes and pose for the portraits, which can also be posted to Google+, the company's social networking site.

Manning the booth is Matthew Rechs, an employee of privately held Photoboof, the San Francisco-based company that provided Google the structure for its booth.

Rechs said Photoboof created the Microsoft Windows-based program that displays a Barack Obama campaign logo in the background. The company distributes a hard copy of any photos taken, and even built the booth -- which is a solid structure that can break down into four pieces for easy mobility.

Google pays Photoboof a fee to set up the vendor inside the arena, and Photoboof's service expands the search giant's reach among users, said Rechs.

The fee varies. For weddings, Rechs said Photoboof typically charges a flat $1,300 for the whole day -- the amount of hours doesn't matter.

When asked how much the company is charging Google for each day at the convention, Rechs said he isn't sure, but that it's higher than a wedding fee.

On Wednesday, the Google booth hosted more than 500 sessions -- it's called sessions because each photo can be taken with more than one person. So if four people go in at once, it is called a session instead of one turn.

Each session involves a three-step process: first, the user poses for four individual snapshots. Next, the user selects whether he wants to have the photo emailed. Then, the user chooses to have the photo uploaded to the Google+ arena television. Finally, the booth distributes a card with the Google+ logo above large portrait and four thumbnails of all pictures taken in the session; the bottom of the card reads "2012 Democratic National Convention."

Of those 500 sessions, Rechs said that 287 sessions selected "yes" to have their photos uploaded to the screen.

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