25+ of the Best Pinewood Derby Photo Booth Ideas

Find over 25 Pinewood Derby photo booth ideas in this post! From simple to elaborate, you’re sure to find the perfect photo background for your pack.

Have you ever thought about having a Pinewood Derby photo booth? It’s a fun way to commemorate the most anticipated Cub Scout event of the year.

I still remember the first Derby I attended. The excitement is infectious!

Over the years, our Pinewood Derby evolved from simply showing up and racing your car to a fun family event with activities and snacks.

We decided to add a backdrop for taking pictures. This really added to the event. Parents could get cool pictures for posting on social media or sharing with grandparents.

25 Pinewood Derby Photo Booth Ideas

In this post, I’m sharing 25 Pinewood Derby photo booth ideas. You’ll find lots of suggestions from simple to elaborate and from DIY to ready-made.

These were collected from several sources including some of my Facebook followers.

Thank you to everyone who agreed to share their pictures.

Note: Where possible, I’ve linked to the original source of this image, but I couldn’t find the sources for all of them. If one of these pictures belongs to you and you want me to link to your site or you don’t want it featured, please email me at [email protected], and I’ll take care of that. Thanks!

This is my family. That year, we all made Pinewood Derby cars–even my husband and me!

For this Pinewood Derby photo booth, we used a plastic checkerboard tablecloth for the background.

One thing we learned was that plastic wasn’t the best material because the light reflected off of it causing a glare.

One of the parents in our pack had a connection to someone who owns a race car, so she got the gas cans for us.

Side note: Those cans are called dump cans. If you’re a NASCAR fan, you probably know that already.

This year, we decided to use a black cloth backdrop to avoid the glare. It worked a lot better.

This is probably my favorite from our pack. We used tires, an old gas can, and a traffic light for this Pinewood Derby photo booth. We also used a white backdrop.

I love this simple and inexpensive backdrop! A colored sheet and checkerboard bunting is all you need.

Using old tires for your Pinewood Derby photo booth adds a realistic look. Check out how they placed the trophies in front of the tires.

I’m not sure how Pack 194 made their sign, but it’s a great way to show off your pack number while standing in front of the checkerboard door covering.

You can purchase this awesome photo frame and have it personalized for your Pinewood Derby! It’s a bit pricey, but you can store it to use for several years. I love it because 3 or 4 people can be in the photo at once.

Tires, flags, traffic cones, oil cans, and traffic lights make up this snazzy backdrop.

Stephanie Ortiz shared this fun photo. Check out the jumper cables! I haven’t seen those in any other backdrops.

The Pinewood Derby winners from Wendy Hassler’s pack 781 in Cool, CA are showing off their trophies in front of this fun backdrop.

Check out this fun photo frame! It looks easy to make.

Angie Nolte-Jarvis from pack 599 in Oklahoma City, OK shared this super fun display! You’ll see a Scout sitting on one of the stools in the next photo.

The Scout can put his or her car on the other stool.

Amy Reber from pack 30 in Douglasville, GA shared this huge photo frame.

It looks like they may have set it up on a table so that it’ll stand up by itself.

You can purchase this photo frame from Etsy. The seller can personalize it for you, so you can change “Happy Birthday” to “Pinewood Derby.”

Check out this balloon display by Orange County Balloons. ! I love the “traffic light.” I’ll bet you could show this picture to any local balloon store and they could recreate it.

Kathryn Hannon from pack 303 in South Hadley, MA shared this fun Pinewood Derby photo frame! I like how the Cub Scout is holding both his car and his trophy.

Check this out! I’ll bet their pack number is 1161.

Brian James shared this creative idea! Paint your pack number on an old tire.

You can make this photo frame from black foam board and letter stickers.

Looking for fun Pinewood Derby printable activities? Check these out!

Shana Snyder from Pack 10 in Groton, NY took a photo of an actual New York driver’s license. She photoshopped it with a new name and address then had it blown up to poster size and printed. After gluing it to poster board, Shana cut out the rectangle. Very creative!

The red, white and black balloons really add to this fun Derby photo booth.

You can make your own car photo booth using these instructions from Vicky Barone at A Little Moxie.

This big photo frame is awesome! I’m not sure if this is the Cub Scout’s dad or den leader, but it’s great to have an important adult in the picture.

Love, love, love the balloon arch! And the Winner’s Circle sign really adds to this Pinewood Derby photo booth.

Another fun photo backdrop!

This isn’t a backdrop, but these are so cute! They look like they’re baseball cards. Love that they the photo of the car and the Scout with their names on it.

Check out this huge tire! How fun would it be to have your picture made while you’re standing in the middle of a tire!

I love this shot of all the parents taking pictures! 🙂 It looks like their photo frame is big enough for their entire den.

Amanda Nally from Pack 351 in Spring Hill, TN shared this with us.

So, what do you think? Did you find a Pinewood Derby photo backdrop for your pack? Share a picture with us!

Yours in Scouting,
Sherry