Welcome to the series of articles "How To Build A Photo Booth" written by the
staff at Photo BoothExperts.
These articles were not written in order to sell our
products but rather they were written to give ideas and useful information to
those looking to become more informed of certain details when building a photo
booth yourself.
PLEASE NOTE! What you about to read is only our
opinion (based on our own experience) of what we feel is the best approach
towards building and designing a photo booth for party rentals. Remember
that the choice of structure design, components and software is ultimately up
to you.
To build
the photo booth You need the following components:
Photobooth Computer
Photo Booth Software
Photobooth Camera
Photo Booth Printer
Photobooth Monitor
Photobooth Lighting
Photo Booth Enclosure
Photo Booth Accessories
Photo Booth Software
Photobooth Camera
Photo Booth Printer
Photobooth Monitor
Photobooth Lighting
Photo Booth Enclosure
Photo Booth Accessories
Computer
for the Photo Booth
DOWNLOAD PAGE: http://www.ptbooth.com/photobooth-software-download.html
PLEASE NOTE: This article was originally posted on
7/12/2012. Since its posting, there have
been many updates and changes in technology.
Rather than create a whole new article, we have updated the
original article with this current information.
Throughout this article you will see our updates along with the dates
this information was written.
With more people in the photobooth business more than ever you have to separate yourself from your competition. As a result it should come as no surprise that the information available of how to build a photo booth is limited.
It’s can be challenging to find people
willing to share the nuances, hidden obstacles and solutions to problems that
will help people to succeed in building a properly functioning photo
booth. A new builder will have to do a
tremendous amount of research trying to put together all the pieces of information
available on the internet.
We hope this article will help you to make sound decisions when it comes
to buying and using your computer for your Photo Booth.
DOWNLOAD PAGE: http://www.ptbooth.com/photobooth-software-download.html
DOWNLOAD PAGE: http://www.ptbooth.com/photobooth-software-download.html
Laptop,
Desktop or All-in-One PC?
Choosing the right computer boils down to the
question of durability. Remember your
photo booth computer will be transported constantly and will be more abused
than your average computer that permanently sits on your desk.
So durability and reliability of an extended period
of time is what is most important.
During our development we tried laptops, desktops and the All-in-One PC.
We came to the conclusion that laptop computers are
the way to go and below you will see the reasons why.
WHY USE LAPTOP FOR THE PHOTO BOOTH:
1. Laptop have an independent power source
2. Laptops are smaller and light weight.
3. Laptops are easier to carry and protect (using a laptop
hard shipping case)
When
choosing a laptop for your photobooth you should consider:
1. The computing power
2. The number of ports needed to plug in your
components such as camera, printer, etc.
3. Are there protective shipping cases available for
the PC laptop that you are choosing.
Which
is better Intel or AMD Processors?
When deciding which processor is better either Intel
or AMD is a very debatable question? Both processors have the power to handle
the job so this is really about your personal choice and which particular
devices that you will be using.
After our test runs with both we have found the Intel
based laptop to be our choice. It just
seemed to run smoother and performed better than the AMD processors. Again, this is only our opinion.
How
Powerful does the Photo Booth Computer needs to be?
To handle all your components devices you need to
have some computing power in your Processor speed and RAM. Although the photo booth software’s system
requirements are not too demanding you have to keep in mind that there will be
other factors involved that may drain your computing power. The computer must
accommodate all your needs and ensure fast and smooth performance.
For example, if your camera has over 12 megapixels
and you would like to save all of the images at the highest resolution the
image handling will require more processor and memory power than the camera
with less than 12 megapixels. So the answer is clear the more powerful computer
the better off you will be.
After testing different laptops in our photo booths and
using different configurations we decided to go with Toshiba laptops that have 2GB
Ram and an Intel Celeron 900 GHz processor.
The price was $350.00.
Since 2009 we have had NO PROBLEMS with our Toshiba
laptops. They have had their fair share of abuse but up until 2012 they worked like
a charm every weekend. In 2012 we upgraded all our Photo Booths with new
Toshiba Laptops and the old Laptops became our backup in each system.
Our new upgraded Toshiba laptops have 4GB Ram and
Core i3 processor.
The price was $400.00
for the upgraded unit.
UPDATE 3/2/2015
Many changes have taken place with computer hardware since
2012. Most noticeably, many top computer
brands have eliminated some very useful hardware from their current models.
For instance, many of the new slim laptop computers have
eliminated VGA ports and replaced them with HDMI ports. The absence of the VGA port makes it harder
to use the laptop & touch screen combination because not all touch screen
monitors support HDMI connections. You can overcome VGA absence by having HDMI to VGA adapter or Touchscreen monitor that supports HDMI connection.
Also, the number of USB ports has been reduced in both
All-in-One and Laptop computers. In our opinion, at least 3 USB ports is a
must.
There are tricks to overcome the lack of the USB ports. If
your computer has a USB 3.0 port then it is possible to use USB 3.0 hub/port
replicator. Please Note, only the USB 3.0 hub/port replicators that have their
own power and internal microprocessors will work in this case.
Dedicated microphone jack. It is imperative that you have separate dedicated microphone jack if you want to record high quality audio with your video recording.
Another change is that the Microphone/Headphone combo jack
is now a default option in almost all computers. This makes it challenging when
you are using video recording (video booth).
The introduction and popularity of our new video booth
requires your computer to have a specific hardware for video recording. The following computer hardware must be
available for the successful execution of the video recording:
.
Separate USB port for the external Webcamera if
you are using the traditional Canon camera for taking photos and a Webcamera
for video recording. The Webcamera must have its own separate USB port. That
makes it total of 3 dedicated USB ports. One for the Canon camera, a second for
the Webcamera and a third for the Printer.
If you are using a touch screen monitor connected to your laptop/pc then
you will need a fourth USB port for touch screen functionality. As you can see,
a minimum of four dedicated USB ports are required for the video booth
functionality.
Dedicated microphone jack. It is imperative that you have separate dedicated microphone jack if you want to record high quality audio with your video recording.
Does
the brand matter?
We have not seen any differences in brands for one
laptop to the next. The only exception
is a reports that we received from our customers saying that the Lenovo laptops
were having trouble communicating with certain brands of printers. In the end the laptop you choose
should be a matter of personal taste and choice.
TIP: A good indicator of which brands of laptops to avoid
is to take a look at the store computer repair/return section and see what brands
are being returned / repaired. In our case we have had great luck with the Toshiba
laptops because of its reliability and performance. We are currently using them today. At the
writing of this article we recommend Toshiba laptops for use in the Photo Booth
applications.
DOWNLOAD PAGE: http://www.ptbooth.com/photobooth-software-download.html
DOWNLOAD PAGE: http://www.ptbooth.com/photobooth-software-download.html
Laptops
for the Photo Booth should be BRAND NEW!
Think about it! Your business is going to be
completely dependent on whether or not your computer is working. We have heard
a lot of horror stories resulting from situations in which ignoring this rule
caused all kind of problems (failure to launch the software, not recognizing
devices, windows crashing, bad sectors on the hard drive) When buying new dedicated computer it means
that you have reduced the chances of sudden failures. With an average 24 working hours per week
your PC will retain a lot of juice for years to come.
TIP: WHEN IT
COMES TO YOUR PHOTO BOOTH COMPUTER FOLLOW THESE RULES:
1. DO NOT USE YOUR PHOTO BOOTH COMPUTER FOR ANYTHING
ELSE BUT THE PHOTO BOOTH! That means no internet browsing, no games, use of
others usb flash drives, no watching movies, YouTube, no installing other
software etc. Keep your computer as
clean as possible. Remember your
business reputation is on the line!
2. CLEAN UP YOUR SYSTEM AND BACKUP YOUR HARD DRIVE. Even
brand new PCs often come with LOTS of pre-installed software that can cause that
new machine to come to a crawl. It's important to clean up your system before
you install your photo booth software. You can either ask computer specialists
or do it yourself using free tools such as PC Decrapifier
(http://pcdecrapifier.com). This will help remove programs, unnecessary startup
items and icons that can slow down your PC.
After you
have cleaned up your system and installed the photo booth software, all necessary
drivers for your devices and tested the system you should immediately perform a
SYSTEM BACKUP. It will protect you in case
of you need to recover files during a system restore if needed.
3. HAVE A BACKUP COMPUTER. Accidents happen. It's
always a good idea to have a backup laptop just in case you run into unexpected
circumstances. Always have a back-up laptop.
SUMMARY
PHOTO BOOTH COMPUTERS NEED TO HAVE:
1. Independent power source
2. Small form factor and light weight
3. Easy to carry protective shipping case
4. 3-4 USB ports for all your photo booth devices
5. Enough computing power to accommodate your photo booth software and devices
2. Small form factor and light weight
3. Easy to carry protective shipping case
4. 3-4 USB ports for all your photo booth devices
5. Enough computing power to accommodate your photo booth software and devices
WE
USE: Toshiba LAPTOP, Intel CORE i3, 4GB Ram, with
VGA and 3 USB Ports. The 3 USB ports are
used for our camera, printer, touch screen monitor.
Once you get your computer:
1. DO NOT USE YOUR PHOTO BOOTH COMPUTER FOR ANYTHING
ELSE BUT THE PHOTO BOOTH!
2. CLEAN UP YOUR SYSTEM, INSTALL PHOTO BOOTH
SOFTWARE AND DRIVERS FOR ALL YOUR DEVICES.
3. BACKUP YOUR HARD DRIVE.
4. HAVE A BACKUP COMPUTER.
5. KEEP YOUR COMPUTER PROTECTED FROM FALLING, IN
ROOM TEMPERATURE, DO NOT ALLOW WATER CONTACT, AND USE OTHER MEANS TO PROTECT
THE HEART AND BRAIN OF YOUR PHOTO BOOTH.
We hope this article will help you to make sound
decisions when it comes to buying and using your computer for your Photo Booth.
The series of articles "How To Build A Photo Booth" for DIY Photobooth builders consist of:
- How To Build A Photo Booth: Part 1 - Computer for the Photo Booth
- How To Build A Photo Booth: Part 2 - Photo Booth Software
- How To Build A Photo Booth: Part 3 - Photo booth Camera
- How To Build A Photo Booth: Part 4 - Photo Booth Printer
- How To Build A Photo Booth: Part 5 - Photobooth Monitor
- How To Build A Photo Booth: Part 6 - Photobooth Lighting
- How To Build A Photo Booth: Part 7 - Photo Booth Enclosure
- How To Build A Photo Booth: Part 8 - Photo Booth Accessories
