Revision [2190]
This is an old revision of PhotoBoothSetup2016 made by ZorrUno on 2016-02-29 22:23:30.
SLR Photo Booth
There are plenty of ways to set up a photo booth for an event, and this is how I did it.
My Photobooth Goals
- Must be completely ‘self service’ and minimal to no user interaction.- Must have minimal maintenance for all items whilst running
- Should have a long running time before any 're-stocking' is needed
- Must have auto 'startup', and a simple reset if something went wrong
- Must be cheap... and use existing stuff I had around.
- Must be lightweight and easy to transport.
- Must have a simple, repeatable setup.
- Must have robust user interaction (i.e. drunk people can operate without breaking it)
- Must have a photo preview so people can see their fancy pose
- Should have large screen for info/countdown, preferably with mirrored image of preview.
- Must 'auto-print' photos,
- Must be able to use a customised template with multiple photo layout of my design
- Must print to 6x4 photo paper
- Preferably… easy reuse, I'd rather be able to store it in a box so someone can use in future.
- Preferably... Auto upload to a central website... live for people to see as templates are created.
- Didn't need to be in a fancy box or 'booth', as it would be in a dedicated small room.
Hardware
- SLR Camera Nikon 3200 SLR. This was my 'spare' SLR, I think I paid about NZ$400 for it a while ago from our local auction site and it came with 2 lenses, bag and 2 batteries etc.- Camera Lens, I just used the one that came with the twin lens kit which is an 18-55 Zoom
- Camera flash, Yongnuo YN565EX and a small softbox. Imported a while ago from Dealextreme for around US$100 all up.
- Camera AC Adaptor Nikon EH-5a plus a EP-5A adaptor (or equivalent for your camera model). These are ridiculously expensive at about NZ$240 for both items. I got locally as there wasn't much saving to be had by importing.
- SD Card for camera ( I use Sandisk Ultras )
- Printer. I used a Brother Multifunction Inkjet MFC-J5720DW. Bought locally, for around NZ$100 including cashback. I needed a new printer anyway.
- Photo Paper. A stack of quality 102x152mm/4x6inch
- Camera tripod. I use this old one
- Videostrong K1 Plus Android TV device. (More info here) If I had more time I would have imported this, but got it locally for about NZ$100. Yes, I bought this specifically for the project, but it is only after trying a bunch of alternatives I had with varying success.
- A USB Keyboard (destroyed... just needed the encoder board inside)
- Treddle footswitch. I used one that looks like this again bought locally for about NZ$12.
- LCD Monitor or TV with HDMI input, or a DVI to HDMI cable. I used a donated 19" Dell monitor with stand
- Internet and wifi router... I used Pocket Wifi device, enabled with SIM card.
- Backdrop, stands for backdrop, table to put monitor on
- 4 way Power board, and cables for keeping monitor, camera, printer, pocket wifi and android TV box powered
- AA batteries for flash, spare and ready to replace if needed
- Printer Ink, spare, just in case
Alternatives
- If Battery powering your camera, you'd need at least 2 batteries so battery can be charged/rotated throughout the event- Many Nikon and Canon SLRs can be used... if they offer tethered support. A list of models that should work is here.
- A lot of people seem to use the Canon Selphy CP910 for printing which produces good quality dye sublimate photos, and is nice and portable. A dealbreaker for me was that it only has an 18 page hopper.
- You could dispense with the keyboard destruction and just use a purpose made programmable footswitch such as the Stealth Switch or this.
- You could use an Android tablet rather than a box & screen, and use the touch screen instead of the foot switch (but see the details of my setup issues here.
- If you afford a mains powered flash, go for it. Actually, use a full studio camera, lamp, umbrella etc portrait setup if you are that way inclined.
Howto
- Plug the Android box in to power and the monitor and power it up.
- Connect mouse and keyboard to Android box.
- Power up the wifi hotspot
- Setup the android box startup settings ie time/date, google account, language, wifi
- Remove all the useless apps via the settings menu
- Download the photobooth app from the android store
- Download the appropriate Android plugin for your printer (Brother in my case)
- Set up the Android box with the Photo Booth app
- Get the camera ready with the permanent power supply (or charged battery).
- Get the flash ready with batteries and connect to the camera.
- Set up the tripod with the SLR and flash (Choose appropriate settings, eg Auto, and position the flash with bounce or diffuser etc)
- Connect the camera USB cable to the Android Box
- Create a template for the photo layout and upload it to the Android box (I created it on the GIMP, and uploaded it to my google drive. I installed the google drive app on the android box and downloaded it)
- Start up the photobooth app and check the settings
- Plug in the printer and connect to wifi