Photo Booths, DIY-Style

By Anna Sachse
CTW Features

But if you're dead-set on the classic photo booth, with its boxy shape and four-picture strips, another option is to make one yourself. Nick Henscheid, a student at Western Washington University in Bellingham, Wash., did exactly that for his older sister's recent nuptials. "She thought a photo booth would be a cool, but didn't want to spend the money," says Henscheid, who ended up shelling out all of $150.

After perusing images of other DIY booth options on the Internet, he built the six-foot tall, four-foot long, 24-inch wide cabinet out of plywood, complete with a curtained entrance on each side, a cushioned bench, a light fixture in the ceiling and a compartment to hold the necessary technology. Using the Breeze Systems photo booth software for the PSRemote Canon PowerShot camera, guests were able to see a live view of themselves on a monitor, as well as a countdown to the picture being taken. In place for six hours, the booth produced over 170 sessions, which only used 1 GB of space. The pictures were printed in strips automatically, but they also were saved to a computer, making them available for later reprinting, uploading to Web galleries or copying to a CD.

Building the booth might make a good task for the groom - or a handy, and thoughtful, little brother.

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