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Photobooth Setup

Wednesday, April 22, 2009 - Photography

This is a quick 'How-To' for all the photographers out there, and anyone else who would be interested. To see the results, visit this previous post.

Here are a few photos I snapped of the setup:

And here's the list of supplies I used (you might not need all of these to make it work, but this is everything I had for this photobooth):

Probably the most important piece of equipment you will need to get this 'look' is the Alien Bee Ringflash. If you are unfamiliar with a Ring Flash - they're very popular in fashion photography and macro photography. Since the source of light surrounds the axis of the camera (the camera sticks through a hole in the center of the flash) it softens shadows, reduces wrinkles, and creates an awesome 'halo' shadow around the subject.

I also attached the Moon Unit. It definitely makes the light and shadows softer - and enlarges the light source as well.

The next little gizmo you will need to make your fully automatic photobooth is the Dot Line Wireless RF Remote Release. There are other, more expensive options, but this thing does the trick and works great! There is a small little receiver that you plug into your camera (I was using my old 20D) and then someone takes the transmitter and pushes the button. Voila! One thing I figured out - set the camera to single shot! If it's set to multiple frame, one little push of the button on this transmitter and it will fire off a few frames. A quick thumb will still manage to send your camera and flash into 'rapid fire' mode - but not quite the machine gun approach that would occur by holding down the button!

I also used a Tripod (the Manfrotto 055XPROB) but the AB Ring Flash will also mount to a light stand.

Finally, I used a Savage Port-A-Stand to hold the 9 ft. Wide Seamless paper (that I got in a color to match their wedding).

A couple tips:
Turn OFF all the auto settings on your camera. I shot at f/8 - I'd recommend this or even stopping down. I then set the focus where I wanted it and then I switched it to Manual Focus so it wouldn't move. We marked a little box on the ground that gave people the 'frame' within which they could get an optimum portrait taken - and we even marked an 'X' in the center to show the prime location. Of course, people are still going to be all over the place and so that's why stopping down gives you a large working area of focus - and for the most part, all the photos will turn out just fine.

Turn off the Auto White Balance as well. Tweak the Kelvin to what looks the best and then let it fire away.

I had a 16GB card in the camera and had it set to RAW because that's how I shoot my weddings. But when I saw how many shots the guests were firing off I snuck in there during one of the rare 'down' moments and turned it to JPEG. Since my exposure was consistent I really didn't need RAW - and switching it to JPEG meant that my 16GB card could last the night. :)

So, that's it! I took me about an hour to set up and about 30 minutes to tear down. Other than that - fully automatic baby!

And, of course, us photographers got in there for a few as well... :)