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A Slick DIY Self Contained photobooth

May 17, 2015 by Udi Tirosh 11 Comments

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Photographer John Nakatsu  of K+J Studios operates a photobooth on events. On of the challenges with these kinds of botoh is to make them portable, and easy to set up. John came up with quite a clever solution to make the entire botoh self contained and easy to port without losing quality and fun.

The pictorial below goes through all the steps, so you cna get inspired on creating your own. Here is how he did it:

Finished product!

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Here is how it looks like when working

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Bride and Groom loved it!

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More photobooth fun

Sample print

Sample print

props basket

props basket

Materials

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  • White ABS sheeting
  • Microsoft Surface Pro 1
  • USB fans
  • USB 3.0 powered hub
  • printer – DNP DS40
  • various miscellaneous items
  • Camera – Canon T3i

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Build

Cutting the plywood to size. The box is essentially a custom road case. I used 3/8″ sanded plywood for the sides. The edges are held together with aluminum extrusions. All the road case stuff was purchased through Reliablehardware

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We used aluminum throughout to help strengthen the photobooth without adding too much weight. Some 2x4s and a 2×6 attached to some aluminum for stability. This will be the bottom.

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I originally planned on having it mounted on a speaker stand. Here we are drilling the holes for the speaker mount. It works, but is kind of a pain to lift everything up onto the stand so I just sit it on a table instead now. I can still mount it, if I ever need to! The stand is meant for large speakers, and can accommodate up to 150lbs

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The sides are going up

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and the rest of the sides….

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Here you can see how the printer snugly fits inside

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This is the aluminum U-channel that will be used to hold the Surface.

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Holes cut out for the Surface and camera

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More holes for the fans and cords

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Door hole cut. The box is only assembled temporarily until I put on the ABS sheeting

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Added a crossbar for support

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Here are some views on the thing assembled:

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And an inside view on the cross bars

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Here is how the camera is mounted with another crossbar

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I have some hooks mounted on the bottom to strap down the printer, which turned out to be unnecessary.

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Here is where we got so far

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Adding a cable outlet and a fan

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Pre drilling holes to attach the wood and ABS to the aluminum case frame

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Gluing the ABS sheeting to the plywood

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Now the whole thing is starting to come together…

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Loctite on the bolts keeps it tight

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prettifying the lens and surface holes with aluminum framing

 

 

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I can slide the Surface into the U-Channel

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Here is how the printer door slot looks like

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And making sure that the hole is aligned with the printer…

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Here is the finished door (and slot) on their hinge.

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For the air intake I got a filter to help keep dust out. It just barely didn’t fit inside the fans cover

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So of course I sanded the edges down until it fit

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Everything installed. Lots of zip ties and velcro

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I also got a folding cart to make moving everything a bit easier. The printer is removed for transport since it weighs >30lbs. The other tubs have my props, a hand steamer for the backdrop, the backdrop, the printer, and some other various things. The backdrop and lightstands are in the bag in the front. The Pelicans have my photo and video gear

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Software

The booth is running DSLR Remote Pro by Breeze Systems on a Microsoft Surface Pro 1. I chose the Surface Pro since you can get the older models cheap now on eBay.

The software requires a full version of Windows to run, so you can’t use an android tablet or the Surface RT. It also functions as the touch screen with controls for the photobooth. Since it only has one USB 3.0, I have it plugged into a powered USB 3.0 hub (make sure it’s a powered hub!)

To see more of the photobooth in action head over to K+J studios.

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Filed Under: DIY Tagged With: K+J studios, Photobooth

Udi Tirosh: from diyphotography.net

About Udi Tirosh

Udi Tirosh is an entrepreneur, photography inventor, journalist, educator, and writer based in Israel. With over 25 years of experience in the photo-video industry, Udi has built and sold several photography-related brands. Udi has a double degree in mass media communications and computer science.

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Udi Tirosh: from diyphotography.netUdi Tirosh is an entrepreneur, photography inventor, journalist, educator, and writer based in Israel. With over 25 years of experience in the photo-video industry, Udi has built and sold several photography-related brands. Udi has a double degree in mass media communications and computer science.

Alex Baker: from diyphotography.netAlex Baker is a portrait and lifestyle driven photographer based in Valencia, Spain. She works on a range of projects from commercial to fine art and has had work featured in publications such as The Daily Mail, Conde Nast Traveller and El Mundo, and has exhibited work across Europe

David Williams: from diyphotography.netDave Williams is an accomplished travel photographer, writer, and best-selling author from the UK. He is also a photography educator and published Aurora expert. Dave has traveled extensively in recent years, capturing stunning images from around the world in a modified van. His work has been featured in various publications and he has worked with notable brands such as Skoda, EE, Boeing, Huawei, Microsoft, BMW, Conde Nast, Electronic Arts, Discovery, BBC, The Guardian, ESPN, NBC, and many others.

John Aldred: from diyphotography.netJohn Aldred is a photographer with over 20 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter - and occasional beta tester - of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.

Dunja Djudjic: from diyphotography.netDunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.

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