Revision [2177]
This is an old revision of PhotoBoothSetup2016 made by ZorrUno on 2016-02-19 16:52:04.
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- 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
- Camera AC Adaptor Nikon EH-5a plus a EP-5A adaptor (or equivalent for your camera model).
- SD Card of some sort for camera
- Photo or inkjet Printer. I used a Brother MFC-J5720DW.
- A stack of quality Photo Paper (102x152mm/4x6inch
- A camera tripod
- Videostrong K1 Plus Android TV device.
- A USB Keyboard (destroyed... just needed the encoder board inside)
- Treddle footswitch. I used one that looks like this
- Monitor or TV with HDMI input, or a DVI to HDMI cable. I used a 19" Dell LCD monitor with stand
- Pocket Wifi device, enabled with SIM card.
- Backdrop, stands for backdrop, table to put monitor on
- 4 way Power board, cables for keeping monitor, camera, printer, pocket wifi and android TV box powered
- AA batteries for flash, spare and ready to replace if needed
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.