First Look – Do It Yourself Photo Booth

Photo booths seems to be all the rage these days at big events. The last few weddings I’ve been to, there’s been a photo booth where anyone can go in, take a set of pictures, and one strip of the pictures is saved for the couple. These are then placed in a scrapbook, and the guests sign next to the pictures.

Cool idea. A friend of mine is leaving for China for a year and we’re throwing her a big going away bash. It got me thinking: how hard would it be to set up a photo booth like that and make a scrapbook…?

Turns out it’s not as complicated as it seems. If you’ve already got a dSLR and flash, you’ve already invested most of what you need. You’ll need some software (which is expensive, but you can use the trial for free if you’re just doing this once), you’ll need a printer, and you’ll need to DIY some kind of structure.

I haven’t actually built the structure yet. That’s on the agenda for tomorrow. But for now, here’s a quick look at what I’m going to need for this project. The party is this Saturday, so hopefully, if it works out well, I’ll post some thoughts after the weekend.

What You Need

Camera (and flash). Obviously, you’ll need a camera. You also need a camera that can hook up to a computer and be controlled remotely. My Canon EOS Rebel t1i is perfect for the job. If you’re trying to get a camera and start from scratch on the cheap, you could try a Canon Rebel XT – a used camera should be somewhere in the neighborhood of $200-250.

I suppose you could use the built-in pop-up flash. However, I’ve already got a speedlite – Canon 430EX II – and I think I’ll get better results from that. Considering the fact that the distance is constant, you could use a manual flash like a Vivitar 285HV.

Software. This is the part that I was really curious about, and I was surprised at how simple it was. Breeze Systems produces a piece of software, DSLR Remote Pro, that is designed to, well, run a photo booth. Hook up the camera with a USB cable, and the software does the rest. It’ll show a full screen live preview, count down, and click four images with a delay in between. It’s everything you could want in photobooth software.

It’s also expensive ($175). If you’re just doing this once, you can get away with using the free trial. It’s 15 days long, so don’t install the software until a week or so before your event. If you want to do this repeatedly, then you may find yourself investing in the software. Up to you how to work that out. But I haven’t seen anything comparable in terms of features.

Preview Screen. I plan on borrowing my own desktop monitor, a 19″ Acer LCD screen. I can hook it up as a second monitor and set the software to route the live preview through that monitor and keep a regular desktop open on the laptop computer. You will, by the way, need a computer. For ease of portability I’m using my laptop, but you could use a desktop/tower just as easily.

Printer. I wrestled with this one a lot. I wanted a small, portable printer. I’ve read good and bad things about dye sublimation printers, but I like the fact that the consumables are extremely predictable. With an inkjet photo printer, it’s hard to know just how many photos you’ll get out of those ink cartridges. I finally settled on Canon SELPHY CP800 Black Compact Photo Printer. It’s got good reviews, and it’s cheap ($80). The paper/ink is reasonably priced – $12 for the 36 count on Amazon. I found the 108 count pack at BH Photo Video a little cheaper, $29. It works out to about $0.25 to $0.35 per print.

How is it? Well, I don’t know. Just ordered mine from Amazon yesterday. Should be here tomorrow, so I’ll test it out and share some thoughts later this week.

Structure. This is going to take some fabricating. I found a few examples of other DIY projects that people shared (my favorite here), so I’m going to work loosely from that idea. The structure will be PVC pipe (3/4″ diameter probably). It shouldn’t cost that much in materials. The problem is the fabric to cover it. That part could get somewhat expensive. I might just make do for this weekend with some sheets/drapes that I can borrow… and invest in a better covering if I use this again in the future. The basic idea is to build a frame that’s about 4′ x 4′, and has a small area (18″ x 4′) at one end that’s enclosed with the camera, monitor, flash, etc. That then hooks up through the back to the laptop and the printer.

So hopefully, by Saturday, I’ll have a portable, lightweight photobooth that I can haul around in my little 2-door car and set up where I need to. Assuming it works, I’m sure that the end result will make a great going away present.