Location: Andis Winery

Food & Table Scapes: Beth Sogaard Catering & Amador Vintage Market

Dresses : The Clothes Mine

Flowers: EV Floral Design

Enjoy the images!

This “project” started September/October 2010 when I decided I wanted to start offering a photo booth for weddings. I did lots of research online and found how to pretty much use all my existing equipment to run the booth. I wanted it to be fully automated so guests can use the booth by themselves and it wouldn’t need much attention through out the night. Unfortunately the camera I had needed its batteries changed at least once during use and the printer I had could only hold about 25 4×6″ prints. Along with the print problem I had to worry about ink in the printer too. There wasnt an easy way to judge how much ink I was using or had left so I always had to carry a couple extra ink cartridges to events. I also needed to attach the flash to the top of the booth since I couldn’t think of a good way to mount a light source inside the actual unit. Then the issue I ran into was the size! When I started the build process, I didn’t really think about size. I just made it big enough to hold all the components. Well I made it to big and it almost didn’t fit in my wife’s SUV and it REALLY didn’t fit into my car. Version 1.0 worked but not as well as I had hoped.

Version 1.5 was what I thought going to be an improvement from 1.0. The bulk of the external flash was getting annoying and so was the fact I had to change the cameras battery about 2 hours into any event. This brought about the continuous light, web cam booth. It worked. However, I didn’t execute the fabrication very well and the quality wasnt any better than v1.0. It was easier to set up and still very user friendly but it just wasn’t it.

Version 1.5

Front (notice the awkward lighting set up!)

The Guts

The whole idea when I decided to do a photo booth was that it was’nt going to be a normal booth. It was  going to be portable, light weight, and wasn’t going to have a “booth” but a large enough area for more than 2 or 3 people. The unit can be set up any where and can be set up on a table top with no problem. The first 2 units were what I wanted but with limitations. That is why version 2.0 was thought of. Smaller size for easier transport and set up. I needed a faster more reliable printer. I found a great dye sub printer that holds paper and ink for over 700 4×6″ prints!!! Its fast too!! 15 seconds for a 4×6″!! Better lighting was a big priority for me. I didnt like the look and the heat put out by the continuous lighting. I wanted to go back to flash for a few other reasons too. The first reason is that it gives the users a confirmation the photo has been taken. Another reason is that it can be very flexible. I can shoot in full sun or a very dark room. Since I was going back to a flash based set up I needed a new camera. I got a point and shoot with a hot shoe for the flash and the ability to run of a DC current so I never need to change the battery! I can also change the file size of the images so the booth can run faster.

The old booth was 36″ square and 15″ deep. It was HUGE!!! I built the frame out of angle aluminum to keep the weight down, which worked but it was still pretty hard to move around. Here is the 36″ square skeleton:

(if you look in the background you can see the 13 x 19″ Epson printer I used to use! A little bit overkill for printing 4×6″ prints! LOL)

I left the 36″ height on the new booth for a couple of reasons. First was heat. I was going to wrap the whole booth in plexiglass this time so I needed some room on the inside for air to move around. Second was that this is a stand up booth. Users don’t sit down so the height needed to be there so people weren’t crouching to be in the photos. I narrowed the frame by 8″ to make the unit a LOT easier to carry and so it will fit in my car! Here is the narrowed frame:

And the narrowed frame with the bottom and printer test fitted.

Right above the monitor is the flash box. I mounted an Alien Bee flash vertically in the unit to fire up into the mirrored plexiglass box to create a ring flash effect. The camera will be mounted in the box as well and it creates a super efficient light source and its built into the unit!

Close up of the flash box:

Now with the protective film off the plexi. Its very reflective!! I needed as much power going forward to get through the white plexiglass cover.

Now the Alien Bee flash mounted inside the booth:

The whole unit is now wrapped in black plexiglass. Versions 1.0 and 1.5 were wrapped in fabric so I could easily access all the components when I needed to, which was OFTEN!!

The back of the booth after it had been covered. If you look on the right side by all the cables you might see the net top computer that runs all the software for the booth!

Now the Front:

Since the booth is going to be lugged around to (hopefully) a LOT of events. I needed to protect the corners of the plexiglass. I decided to make a frame around the booth using the same type of aluminum I used for the internal frame. It gives it a nice finished look.

It was time for final touches and test shots!! I got some vinyl decals made at Solano Signs in Fairfield to help break up the all black front of the booth. It was the icing on the cake! Now after almost 2 weeks of fabrication the booth is complete and ready for weddings and events! The prints can be totally customized with wedding info or coorporate logos! The whole process is automated! The standard set up is to take 4 different photos then arrange them into a strip. Each sequence will produce a 4×6″ print with 2 copies of the strip. This can be customized to many different variations to best match the event! I have 2 backgrounds right now, but I am going to be expanding the assortment in the near future so each even can pick a background that suits their theme! I also have a large tub of props! Wigs, Boa’s, Glasses, and all kinds of other accessories to make the booth even more fun!  I am really excited about this new option I can offer my clients! Stay tuned for posts including pictures of this booth in action as well as images from the booth itself!!

And now……. The finished unit!

If you would like to have this booth at your wedding or event (even if I am not your main photographer) please feel free to contact me! I am going to be making a dedicated page for the booth very soon with all the pricing and details!

Version 2.5 and 2.5v are already being planned and will have some really cool new features!

Enjoy the images!

I wish you the best of luck in June Jennifer! Bring home the Crown!!! Follow Jennifer and her adventures as Miss Lake County on her BLOG.