SMOVE is a photo booth manufacturing company that has been gathering pace in recent years. The Polish operation has burst onto the scene, producing some of the most intuitive and robust products available. Their diverse approach to practical photo applications has been the envy of many and with a broad vision and the ability to produce bespoke solutions, quickly, the future is looking bright.

Formed in Poland by a small group of engineers in 2014, SMOVE has built its business around the team's abundant experience in designing and producing a range of professional and consumer devices. Their passion for photography and filmmaking led them to produce their first photographic product, the SMOVE FBOX PRO. We caught up with Tomasz Klusczyk, CEO and Co-Founder at SMOVE, to hear how the business has developed from there.

“The company was launched with just three people. There was me and two of my friends. We had all been working as engineers for another company and decided to make something for ourselves. We were quite broad in our early approach and had three aspects to our mission. One was CNC machinery; another was focused on photographic solutions, and the third was 3D printing.“

Smove's first commercially available photo booth. 

“The company was launched with just three people. There was me and two of my friends. We had all been working as engineers for another company and decided to make something for ourselves. We were quite broad in our early approach and had three aspects to our mission. One was CNC machinery; another was focused on photographic solutions, and the third was 3D printing.“

“We had taken this approach to help us to figure out which would be the most appropriate route for us to take, to build the company. After around a year of trial and error, we decided to pursue photographic systems and photo stabilisers as the main objective for our business. The photo-stabiliser part, whilst intriguing and fun to develop but was ultimately flawed. We really enjoyed developing these solutions for various creative activities; gimbals, camera cages and other such items, but we found that our products were more expensive than many of the mass-produced items coming from the Asian market and so we decided to focus on the other area that had captivated us; the photo booth market.”

 “Our research showed us that, whilst the market was booming in the US, it wasn't so huge across most of Europe.”

The very first exhibition booth for Smove at Photokina, Cologne, in 2015.

“We had recognised the potential in the space after many conversations with our friends and from our own experiences. We had noticed that more and more people wanted to make photographs of themselves that weren't necessarily 'selfies' from a smartphone. They wanted to be able to take pictures in a fun environment without feeling shy and they wanted to have the physical print at the end to keep as a tangible object to capture their memories. The solution was the photo booth! This was in 2014 and our subsequent research showed us that, whilst the market was booming in the US, it wasn't so huge across most of Europe. So, with this in mind, we decided to turn our engineering expertise to the challenge and try to make some interesting solutions in the industry.” 

“The three of us had the knowledge and ability to design and manufacture the components and we just started to build the first version of the photobooths that we have in our range today. We stayed local initially, and in 2015 we showed the fruits of our labour across some events in Poland, quickly followed by the huge international photographic event, Photokina in Cologne, Germany, which was our first international show. We enjoyed some really positive feedback on our first booth solution throughout. More and more people were asking, what is it? How does it work and where can I buy it? It was then that we realised we had struck a relatively untapped part of the market and so we started to work on it with a renewed focus.” 

Smove's innovative and stylish bespoke photographic solutions come in all shapes and sizes. 

Three is the Magic Number

“Our products are always evolving. From the early days, we have always been ready to make tweaks and changes to improve the form and function of our products. The first photo booth we made was really quite basic, so we learned a lot from our own experiences and also from feedback from events and friends whose opinions we trusted. We learned a lot of lessons along the way; I mean, our very first booth was made entirely from metal. Whilst this resulted in a solid product, it was also incredibly heavy! There were other design issues, including practical elements like the positioning of the tray, but by the time we made booth number three, we knew we had a product that we were able to put on the market. This all happened in 2015 and from then until now, that first product is still available!”

Growing a Business During a Global Health Pandemic

“It was in 2018 that we managed to show additional models of our booths to an international market and we had a lot of inquiries from across Europe and took on our first distributors. These included Kapacitas in Hungary, (2018), PhotoXport in the UK, (2019) and Sobooth in Belgium, (2021). This was the beginning of a growth period for SMOVE and a period that we had hoped to see but in early 2020 but we were hit by the Covid pandemic, which decimated the entire business. Everything we had built to that point was torn to pieces and we had to immediately rally in order to save the business from being completely destroyed.“ 

“We really didn't want to lose any of our team during the pandemic; not least due to the incredibly high level of skills that they bring to our business, but also for moral and personal reasons.”

“We weren't selling any new devices at that time because our main customers were precisely the companies that are responsible for preparing photographers and photographic solutions for events. Weddings, restaurants, awards and graduation parties; all stopped and we had no idea when they might return. As a business, we did everything we could to keep everyone employed within the company. We really didn't want to lose anyone; not least due to the incredibly high level of skills that they bring to our business, but also for moral and personal reasons. Thankfully, I'm happy to say that the appetite for photobooths has returned and I would suggest that it has returned to a situation that is slightly better than pre-Covid times. It appears that people want to get out and about after being stuck at home for two years and business has exploded as a result!”   

Printing with Citizen

“Of course, the printed output from our booths is of primary importance. It's crucial to us to provide our customers with the very best quality and reliability when it comes to the printers we use and their photo results. . That said, when we started SMOVE, we were extremely limited in which dye sublimation printer options were available. At that time, in Poland, we struggled to find products that were of high quality and reliability. We even struggled to find diverse products that would allow us to adapt the physical design of our booths.”

Smove's photo booth solutions operate exclusively with Citizen Photo Printers.

“We already knew that Citizen was the leading manufacturer of dye sublimation printers and that they are really, (really) high quality with the best colour output in the industry, so we knew this was the best solution for us.”

“We really wanted to offer different shapes of our devices so that our customers would be likely to find the most suitable product for their needs. It was during our second visit to Photokina in Cologne that we were introduced to Citizen's range of photo printers. We already knew that Citizen was the leading manufacturer of dye sublimation printers and that they are really, (really) high quality with the best colour output in the industry, so we knew this was the best solution for us. The cooperation came around at almost exactly the same time as Citizen announced the new CZ-01 printer. This was really exciting for us as the new printer was small yet offered the same famous reliability and print quality along with some really different and fun print formats. We saw this as an opportunity to make something completely new. Something interesting for the market. With the effects of the pandemic, we lost two years in our product development and we're only just at the point of marketing this solution now.” 

“The main printer we use from the Citizen range is the CX-02. It's very compact, powerful, and the quality is just perfect. Our customers require a high-quality product and they demand the best quality for their booths. Naturally, they also want the photographs to be printed out in the best possible quality.”

“The booth in which we use the CZ-01 is the FBOX ONE-S booth, but we call it the 'All in One’. It's called that as, along with being super-compact, it houses everything you need to get moving; the computer, camera, printer and studio flash. It's a small solution with huge possibilities.”

Adventurous Futures

“We're happy with the progress we have made in a few short years. The work we’ve done and our range of photo booths is really quite comprehensive right now. We've worked tirelessly to produce a broad selection and, beyond the occasional update, there's no need for any new standard products in the series.” 

Smove's expansion continues into the theme park and experiential photo solution sector.

“With this in mind, we have started to produce new products for the amusement market. 'Camera Traps' capture visitors on rides and provide the print for the park to sell afterwards. Applications such as green screens, gravity rides, and rollercoasters are the main focus of these solutions.” 

“Our main goal is to grow SMOVE solutions across Europe and we’re keen to recruit new distributors that can represent the brand and help us sell our devices and expertise in other countries. There is huge potential in the market right now and we are well-positioned to meet the needs of these customers on an individual basis. We have the ability to create bespoke solutions with them and relish the opportunity to do so. We are still a relatively small business and we can be dynamic, working quickly to invent new and exciting solutions for the industry. 

To watch SMOVE’s progress and its market-leading photo solutions evolve, head to SMOVE’s website.