Hi guys and gals, for awhile photobooth is saying no camera connected and screen is black. I tried alt command+p r but no avail. Any help on this For any iSight problems, first try restarting the Mac. Errors with the VDCAssistant background process may prevent camera connectivity on your Mac. Wonder Woman 1984 Pixar's Soul Stimulus checks Last-minute gifts Gift cards The Midnight Sky Second. Manifesting as a black screen with a camera logo that is crossed out with the text “There is no connected camera”, the error message can appear across just about any Mac, be it an iMac or a MacBook Air / Pro, and any version of OS X from Lion to Mavericks and OS X Yosemite, and with almost any app that wants to use the front camera.
Add Photo Booth Connected for more uploads. Social Booth integrates easily with Photo Booth Connected to allow you to use Social Media Kiosks away from the booth. Use a PC, laptop, all in one touchscreen PC, Windows tablet, iPad or Android tablet, and offload the lines at the booth. We know how important it is to keep your photo booth up and running. Oftentimes there is a simple answer or quick fix to common support questions. I asked Wally Carnes, Operations Manager and Booth Guru at Darkroom Software to compile a list of the issues he and his support team hear most often from customers using Darkroom Booth.
At a recent wedding Lauren and I had the opportunity to set up a photo booth.
These have become a popular addition to weddings and are a ton of fun for party goers.
So here’s a look at how we did it, so hopefully you can get a few tips for one of your own!
First, a little disclaimer: there is likely no single right way to setup a photo booth.
I’ve seen a variety of awesome setups all producing great shots, so feel free to adapt these instructions to your liking! Experiment! Have fun!
The Setup
1. The Lights
We used a single Studio flash placed right beside the camera in order to reduce shadows. We bounced the light out of a white umbrella.
This is one of the most affordable lights on the market and I feel it worked excellently for the booth.
2. The Background
Our lovely couple provided the awesome background.
It was fabric they had purchased from an outlet. They had created a rather elaborate PVC structure to hold the fabric, but you could just as easily tape fabric or paper to the wall. Interestingly, you need much less fabric or paper than you would think. I think you would be more than safe with an area covering about 5 feet high and about 8-10 feet wide. If you’re super fancy, white seamless paper on a proper stand would be very lovely. I’d suggest trying this out before investing a lot on gear though, since you can do it very simply! Renting or borrowing paper and a stand are other options.
3. The Triggers
We used PocketWizards to sync the camera and the light, but since you only need one light and it’s extremely close to the camera you could easily just use the free sync cord that comes with the light.
4. The Camera & Settings
The camera was a Canon 5D on a tripod set to shoot large JPEGS (I didn’t want to process all the RAW files!). We set our shutter at 1/200 (can’t sync the light faster than that). The aperture was set at f/5.0 in order to get larger groups in focus. Aperture was set to 125 ISO, and the light was set to almost it’s lowest setting. We also set the camera to all points focus, in order to hopefully maximize the sharp shots given that many people would be in the shots and not all standing on the properly marked X. :P
5. The Lens
Surprisingly we used a 50mm lens. I thought we would need a wider lens but the 50 just perfectly covered the amount of fabric background. If you had a larger background using a wider lens, shooting from farther away, or shooting vertically would all be interesting options to experiment with.
6. The Remote
We used a cheap eBay remote to allow the guests control of the camera. I think this is a pretty great part of the photo booth. You could try to man the booth yourself, but I think you’d get very different photos from the ones they would take themselves. This is where the all points focus and the larger aperture of f/5.0 help out. Update: These are the wireless remotes we now use which are more robust and reliable.
7. The Instructions
It’s useful to have some instructions printed out explaining what people should do. Our couple had a sign up that invited guests to grab a friend. I would probably also add where to stand, where to look (yes, some people looked at the light, not the camera) and how to use the remote. All simple things, but very helpful!
8. The Props
Props and costumes are part of the fun! Have a box next to the booth filled with stuff from the dollar store and you can’t go wrong.
The Details
- If you can swing it bring a spare remote. It would suck to have the remote break half way through the shoot!
- Make sure you bring extension cords, you never know how far away the outlet could be
- Bring gaffers tape to tape down cords, and masking tape to mark out where people should stand
- You might want to switch your camera to single shot mode. Or reduced burst mode. For some reason people like to hold the button down and then you end up with a ton of less-than-funny, usually-unflattering images.
- If you can, bring your tripod and light stand in a bag, and bring your lights, extension cords, and cables in a large lidded bin. It makes tear down and setup pretty quick.
- Try to setup your photo booth near or even on the dance floor. I think there was a lot more traffic through the booth because of this.
- Put a “Please Do Not Touch” sign on the back of the camera. A lot of guests want to see the image, but the camera will invariably get bumped and the settings will get changed if they’re all over it. In fact, check back frequently to make sure everything is setup properly (and framed correctly).
Next Time
Because this was our first photo-booth there are a bunch of things that we would do differently next time. These are untested ideas!
- Possibly setup a monitor to allow guests to review images. Even though guests kept knocking the tripod, and ignoring the Do Not Touch sign they loved seeing the photos of themselves. Seeing the images is obviously an important part of the experience. I’m not sure exactly how we would do this, if we would plug a monitor into the camera (which you can do) or shoot tethered into Lightroom, and have the photos automatically go into a slideshow.
- Another option I know other photographers do is make prints available right away. I personally think this is too much work (either figuring out how to automate everything and setup a printer, or hiring someone to man a booth (which has it’s own draw backs)).
- While it would be awesome to get a print into the hands of every photo booth guest I think the better option is to have cards available with information for where they can view and download/purchase the photos online. We’re giving the full set of hi-res jpegs to the couple, but it might be difficult for guests to easily get the shots. In the future I would try to make web resolution images available online for sharing as quickly as possible (great marketing potential via Instagram / Facebook photos!). This also means that they have to visit your site! Double great marketing!
- I might spend some more time thinking about more props and costumes. I don’t think they have to be super elaborate, just more options. It’s fun to get variety in the photos, and also to see how your guests creatively use the props. I think almost all the props got used!
- A larger background might be nice in order to get more people in front of the camera.
- Potentially move the light right behind the camera to reduce shine and shadows even more. Also would reduce confusion about where to look.
- I might reduce the shutter speed to 1/160. It was a bit dark near the bottom of the images which might have had something to do with the sync speed of the flash.
- If we had a bigger background we’d use a wider lens (a 35mm would probably be perfect) to fit in more people easily. The large groups are always great fun.
Again, this being our first photo booth, we don’t claim to be experts at them! There’s plenty of room for experimentation and improvement! It was a very fun experience though, and I can’t wait to share the images with the bride and groom!
Here are a few examples!
Happy Shooting!
If you have any great photo booth tips, feel free to share them in the comments below!
We know how important it is to keep your photo booth up and running. Oftentimes there is a simple answer or quick fix to common support questions. I asked Wally Carnes, Operations Manager and Booth Guru at Darkroom Software to compile a list of the issues he and his support team hear most often from customers using Darkroom Booth.
Booth crashes or freezes during operation
Check all the USB cable connections especially to the camera. If you are using a hub check that as well. Connections may have loosened during transport and cause an issue. You may need to replace bad cables.
Check all the USB cable connections especially to the camera. If you are using a hub check that as well. Connections may have loosened during transport and cause an issue. You may need to replace bad cables.
Booth freezes at “Creating camera control” or “Creating printer control”
This is also the result of a bad or loose cable connection to the camera or printer. Check or replace all cables or hubs.
This is also the result of a bad or loose cable connection to the camera or printer. Check or replace all cables or hubs.
My printer is detected but I get an error message when I go into booth mode that no printer is available
This message is a warning that the printer does not have the correct media or size setting to do the size print you have selected. Check your media and size.
This message is a warning that the printer does not have the correct media or size setting to do the size print you have selected. Check your media and size.
My photos are completely white or black
If you are using an external flash this is the result of your exposure being too high or too low. With external flash, you should be using manual exposure. Start with the flash set to the medium setting and the camera at 1/100 for the Tv and 8 for the Av with ISO at 200. If they are too bright to decrease the flash power if they are too dark increase the flash power. This is a starting point and your settings may vary with the situation.
If you are using an external flash this is the result of your exposure being too high or too low. With external flash, you should be using manual exposure. Start with the flash set to the medium setting and the camera at 1/100 for the Tv and 8 for the Av with ISO at 200. If they are too bright to decrease the flash power if they are too dark increase the flash power. This is a starting point and your settings may vary with the situation.
My flash is not firing
With an external flash, make sure there is a pause set in the Live View tab of at least 1 second. If that setting is there, then this is most likely a cable issue from the camera to the flash.
With an external flash, make sure there is a pause set in the Live View tab of at least 1 second. If that setting is there, then this is most likely a cable issue from the camera to the flash.
I am getting an error message “Error converting file…”
This is usually the result of the Save Image 1 or 2, or Copy originals options set to a location that is blocked or does not exist like a thumb drive that is not plugged in. Check those options and disable them one at a time to see if that is the cause.
This is usually the result of the Save Image 1 or 2, or Copy originals options set to a location that is blocked or does not exist like a thumb drive that is not plugged in. Check those options and disable them one at a time to see if that is the cause.
Dslr Photo Booth App
The strips are not printing or being saved in the Prints tab
Make sure “Print Photo” is checked in the main tab.
Make sure “Print Photo” is checked in the main tab.
When I try to exit Booth mode it asks me for a PIN code
This is an option that is normally off in the Controls tab at the bottom. The default code is 0000
This is an option that is normally off in the Controls tab at the bottom. The default code is 0000
I am only getting a single 2×6 in the center of a 4×6 cut in half
In the main settings tab, make sure the quantity is set to 2 2x6s.
In the main settings tab, make sure the quantity is set to 2 2x6s.
I am getting a “Retaking” message.
This is generally due to one of two things; either the camera cannot focus due to some issues like low light, or the camera connection is not good due to a loose cable. First, try manual focus (this is a small switch on the left side of the lens on most cameras) if that works then you need to have more light so the camera can focus. In most cases, manual focus will be the most reliable. If that does not work, try replacing the USB cable or hub to the camera because it could be a communication issue.
This is generally due to one of two things; either the camera cannot focus due to some issues like low light, or the camera connection is not good due to a loose cable. First, try manual focus (this is a small switch on the left side of the lens on most cameras) if that works then you need to have more light so the camera can focus. In most cases, manual focus will be the most reliable. If that does not work, try replacing the USB cable or hub to the camera because it could be a communication issue.
My green screen photos look ghost-like or transparent
In most cases, this is the result of incorrect exposure on the camera images. In the Prints tab, are they dark? Is the green background bright green all the way to the corners? It can also be the images are too bright.
In most cases, this is the result of incorrect exposure on the camera images. In the Prints tab, are they dark? Is the green background bright green all the way to the corners? It can also be the images are too bright.
My photos are in Black and White instead of color
In booth mode press Ctrl-C on the keyboard to switch back to color mode.
In booth mode press Ctrl-C on the keyboard to switch back to color mode.
My emails are not being received
First, make sure you have an email account set up and it tests OK. Next, go to the Prints tab, select the print drop-down at the top and choose Show Print Queue. See if there are any errors shown.
First, make sure you have an email account set up and it tests OK. Next, go to the Prints tab, select the print drop-down at the top and choose Show Print Queue. See if there are any errors shown.
You should always carry the following to every event:
![There There](https://www.photoboothboutique.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/bts_retro2-1-e1523559940198.jpg)
Photo Booth There Is No Connected Camera
- Spare USB camera cables, printer cables, and a spare Hub if you use one
- A thumb drive with your version of Booth, your activation code and the Windows driver for your printer
- Spare flash hot shoe adapter and flash sync cable if using an external flash
- Scotch tape and a pair of scissors