FUNARAMA™ photo booth was founded in 2005 in Toronto by Hosam Khirala, the first company to specialize in portable photo booths for special events in Canada. Hosam - an architect by training - fell in love with the concept. After briefly trying some of the photo booths offered by various commercial manufacturers, he quickly realized that photo booths designed primarily for use in public settings among strangers, lacked many of the necessary aspects required for social gatherings among family and friends. Among the most obvious shortcomings was the lack of any personalized attention or adaptability offered to the guests. This included the inability to print more than 2 strips per session even when photographing groups of 4-8 people (leaving many guests disappointed), a non-adjustable camera that cannot zoom or tilt to fit the guests (resulting in the shots being either too far or too close), the inability to pause or restart the photo session (in case guests needed more time between shots or a “second chance”) Hosam’s goal was then to create a "Guest Friendly" photo booth that offered a more fun, personalized, adaptable experience for every guest. Instead of being just an automated machine, the photo booth would be highly interactive incorporating the skills of an actual photographer.
