User Guide & Support

ZillaBooth is a free photo booth app for iPhone and iPad. It automatically captures four sequential photos and assembles them into a classic 2×2 photo grid — ready to share in seconds. ZillaBooth Pocket adds full creative control with customizable timers, flash modes, collage filter, camera selection, and more. ZillaBooth Pro adds event-grade features for professional photo booth deployments: integrated email delivery, auto-printing, graphic overlays, kiosk mode, and more.

Yes. ZillaBooth is free to download and use — the core photo booth experience costs nothing. ZillaBooth Pocket is an optional one-time in-app purchase that unlocks advanced customization features. ZillaBooth Pro is a monthly subscription for event-grade tools. No account or sign-up is ever required.

ZillaBooth works on iPhone and iPad running iOS 26 or later. ZillaBooth Pro includes a dedicated iPad Event Layout for event use.

No. ZillaBooth works completely offline for taking and saving photos. An internet connection is only needed for certain features: sharing via social or messaging apps, and ZillaBooth Pro’s Simplified Sharing (email delivery) and Auto-Print features. In-app purchases also require an internet connection.

No account or sign-up is required — ever. Just download ZillaBooth, grant camera access, and start taking photos. ZillaBooth doesn’t collect personal data, doesn’t store photos in the cloud, and doesn’t share anything with third parties.

ZillaBooth includes both classic layouts for free: a 2×2 photo grid (four photos in a square arrangement — the default) and a 1×4 vertical photo strip (four photos stacked in a single column). Switch between them in Settings → Photos → Collage Layouts. ZillaBooth Pocket adds optional black & white collage filter, border spacing, and grid color customization.

ZillaBooth captures photos at the highest quality your device supports. Individual frames (when saved with Pocket’s auto-save feature) include full image metadata and portrait depth-map data on supported devices — making them the same quality or better than what the native iPhone camera app produces with the front camera. Your collage is also saved at high quality, optimized for print and sharing.

ZillaBooth intentionally doesn’t include built-in color filters. This keeps the app fast and efficient, and ensures your photos are saved at maximum quality — giving you complete freedom to edit in the iOS Photos app or any editing app you choose. Think of ZillaBooth as the capture tool; edit wherever you like afterward.

Yes. The default 2×2 grid uses a 2:3 aspect ratio — the standard for 4×6″ photo prints. You can print at home or at any photo printing service. ZillaBooth Pro’s Auto-Print feature can send collages automatically to an AirPrint printer after every session. The 1×4 strip is designed to be printed “2-up” on a 4×6″ sheet and cut into two matching strips.

No. All photos stay on your device. ZillaBooth doesn’t upload, store, or have access to your photos. Your Camera Roll is the only place your photos live.

ZillaBooth Pocket is a one-time in-app purchase that unlocks full creative control over your photo booth experience. It includes: customizable countdown and between-photo timers (1–10 seconds), manual capture mode, advanced flash control (auto/on/off), border spacing and grid color, collage filter (color or black & white), camera selection, auto-save to Photos, geotagging, and custom share messages. Pay once — access forever.

ZillaBooth Pocket is a one-time in-app purchase — no subscription, no recurring fees. The exact price is set by the App Store and may vary by region. You’ll see the current price in the app before purchasing.

Open ZillaBooth and tap the Pocket upgrade prompt in Settings, or look for the upgrade option that appears after completing a photo session. The purchase is processed through the App Store and unlocks all Pocket features immediately.

ZillaBooth Pro is a monthly subscription that includes all ZillaBooth Pocket features plus a suite of professional event tools: iPad Event Layout, attention-grabbing shutter effects, integrated SMTP email delivery with persistent BCC, AirPrint auto-printing, PNG graphic overlays, Bluetooth Remote Shutter, USB external camera support on iPad, custom save locations in Files, System Monitoring (email alerts and on-screen alerts), Custom Processing Screen, Event Readiness Dashboard, auto-restart, kiosk lockdown via iOS Guided Access, and more. It’s designed for weddings, parties, corporate events, pop-ups, and permanent branded photo booth installations.

No. An active ZillaBooth Pro subscription includes all Pocket features. You don’t need a separate Pocket purchase.

ZillaBooth Pro subscriptions are managed through the App Store. To cancel, go to the iOS Settings app → your Apple ID → Subscriptions, find ZillaBooth Pro, and tap Cancel Subscription. Your Pro features remain active through the end of the current billing period.

Any email provider that supports secure SMTP access works with Simplified Sharing. Common providers include Gmail, iCloud, Microsoft 365/Outlook, Yahoo Mail, and any custom domain email hosted with providers like GoDaddy, Namecheap, Squarespace Email, etc. Gmail and iCloud require an App Password instead of your regular account password — see the Simplified Sharing setup section above for details.

Auto-Print works with any AirPrint-compatible printer. AirPrint is supported by most modern printers from Canon, Epson, HP, Brother, and others. For event use, dedicated photo printers (like the Canon SELPHY series or dye-sublimation printers from DNP or Hiti) produce the best results — fast, vibrant, and designed for high-volume printing. Check your printer’s documentation to confirm AirPrint support.

ZillaBooth Pocket includes an optional collage filter that converts your assembled collage to black & white — or keeps it in full color. It applies to the finished collage only, not individual saved frames. Configure it in Settings → Photos → Collage Filter.

Yes — on iPad with an active ZillaBooth Pro subscription. ZillaBooth supports external cameras over UVC (USB webcams, mirrorless bodies in USB Streaming mode, HDMI capture cards) and PTP (tethered Canon EOS DSLR and mirrorless bodies via Tethered DSLR). Plug in your camera, select it in Settings → Camera → Camera Selection, and ZillaBooth handles detection, format selection, and hot-plug recovery. See External Cameras for an overview.

Yes — on iPad with an active ZillaBooth Pro subscription. Connect a UVC-compatible USB or USB-C camera and select it in Settings → Camera → Camera Selection. ZillaBooth detects hot-plug connections, picks resolution and frame rate automatically, and supports per-device configuration when you want manual control.

Yes — with ZillaBooth Pro. Enable Bluetooth Remote Shutter in Settings → Pro, pair your remote in iOS Settings → Bluetooth, and ZillaBooth accepts hardware capture events from the remote, volume buttons, Camera Control, and Action button.

A live checklist in Settings → Pro that shows battery, temperature, storage, printer, network, and location status before and during your event. With Pro active, degraded conditions can appear as on-screen alerts on the camera screen (iPad Event Layout) and as System Monitoring emails when configured.

Blurry photos are almost always caused by one of three things: movement, poor lighting, or a dirty lens. Make sure your device is stable (use a tripod or stand), ensure you have adequate lighting in the space, and wipe the camera lens clean. If you’re in a dark environment, enabling flash (Pocket feature) can dramatically sharpen photos by freezing motion and improving exposure.

Check that ZillaBooth has Photos permission: go to iOS Settings → ZillaBooth → Photos and make sure it’s set to “Add Photos Only” or “Full Access.” Also confirm you have available storage space on your device.

First, confirm that Simplified Sharing is enabled — Auto-Print requires it. Then confirm your device and printer are on the same Wi-Fi network. Check that the printer is powered on and has paper/media loaded. In Settings → Pro → Auto-Print, verify the correct printer is selected. If issues persist, select the printer again — AirPrint printer URLs can change if the printer’s IP address changes on the network.

Start by testing your SMTP connection in Settings → Pro → Simplified Sharing → Configure → Test Connection. If the test fails, double-check your SMTP server address, port, username, and password. For Gmail, ensure you’re using an App Password (not your regular password). For iCloud, use an App-Specific Password generated at appleid.apple.com. Check Settings → Pro → Email Queue to see if messages are queued or have failed — you can retry failed messages from there.

Use iOS Guided Access to prevent sleep. Set up Guided Access as described in the Keep Awake section above, and make sure Display Auto-Lock is set to “Never” in Guided Access Time Limits. Also ensure the device is plugged into power, as low battery can trigger sleep behavior even with Guided Access active.

Force-quit the app and reopen it. If it happens repeatedly, restart your device. Make sure you’re running the latest version of ZillaBooth (check the App Store for updates) and that your device has enough free storage. If the issue persists, contact us at Hello@ZillaBooth.com with a description of what happened and your device model — we’ll get it sorted.