All posts by Sue Breeze

Breeze Booth for iPad 3.4.1 – AI image generation

Breeze Booth for iPad 3.4.1. was released today, linking AI image generation services to the power of Breeze Booth for iPad’s photo booth app.

To create AI  images of your guests use Breeze Booth for iPad’s new post processing feature with a third party AI generation service*

This release also includes an easy to use survey builder.

Create AI effects

Booth 3.4.1’s new  post processing option supports third party image processing, making it possible to create, print and share AI generated images of guests at events.

*Third party services adding AI effects to images

We Fly Kites and Printaparty are currently building AI Image generation services designed to integrate with Breeze Booth for iPad.

Steve Bliesner and Faisal Achmad have kindly let me try pre-release versions of both. See the results below:

Print containing photo converted to Manga
I love this  Manga cartoon created in Breeze Booth for iPad using Printaparty.sg ‘s AI Generation service
Photo before AI Manga effect added
Original photo

Steve’s AI Image generation demo wowed visitors to the Breeze stand at Photo Booth Expo Europe last month.

Ageing effect courtesy of We Fly Kites The event included a survey to let users choose how much to age themselves.

Advanced Breeze users can build their own  interface to third party AI services such as Stability AI.

Breeze Booth for iPad screenshot
Enabling post processing and selecting the AI generation service URL (Breeze Booth for iPad 3.4.1)

New Breeze Booth for iPad Survey Builder

Booth’s new survey builder is a fast and simple way to build custom surveys. The following screenshots show how to build a survey with an age gate, autoemail and choice of cartoon style:

The survey builder can include check boxes, radio buttons and text, optional or mandatory fields. To automatically email my photo select autoemail:

Defining the survey screen (Breeze Booth for iPad 3.4.1).

Tip: Choose meaningful field names for your surveys.

Survey tokens

Special survey tokens are created which can be used in many ways, including

  • separating output into different folders
  • print captions
  • using radio buttons to offer a choice of effect (here Manga, Pop or basic cartoon) by selecting different post processing URLs
Touch screen settings for the same survey (Breeze Booth for iPad 3.4.1)
The same survey in action.

 AI Yearbook, Cartoon Booth and Time Machine

Faisal has kindly allowed me to share these videos of Breeze Booth for iPad/Printaparty AI events:

New to Booth for iPad?

Try Breeze for iPad completely free of charge. The demonstration and sample events are free to use as well.

You will find help to get you started, fabulous free events and tutorials here

There’s also a detailed online manual.

Trial version/While logged out: There’s no need to use a subscription while you test Breeze for iPad or work on new events. Watermarks are added after the first 10 images each day.

Free upgrades: included with all subscriptions.

Download Breeze Booth for iPad

Existing user?

There’s no charge to upgrade to Booth 3.4.1 and the latest release of the companion apps

© Breeze Systems October 2023

AI Image generation with Breeze / PBX London 2023 Round Up

The first European Photo Booth Expo (PBX) in London was a great success last week, with attendees flying in from from Australia, Canada, the USA, and South America, across Europe and the UK.

The hot topic at the show was undoubtedly integrating AI image generation with photo booths.

AI Image generation with Breeze

The next release of Breeze Booth for iPad includes the ability to post process photos using AI or PhotoShop Droplets using third party services such as Stability AI.

Similar AI Image processing can already be applied using post processing and third party processing in DSLR Remote Pro.

  • Breeze Booth AI Image processing support includes both text to image and image to image processing.
  • Text to Image AI allows the background to be switched in repsonse to text chosen in advance or entered during survey questions.
  • Image to Image AI changes photos in response to a text prompt. Again text can be chosen in advance or entered during survey questions.
Visitors waiting at the Breeze stand Photo Booth Expo London 2023 tradeshow
Visitors queuing to see the Breeze demos at the tradeshow on Monday afternoon (Image courtesy of Photo Booth Expo).

There was frequent laughter as guests saw themselves age in Steve’s AI demo.

Aged image of woman's face on retro TV screen from AI Photo Booth with Ageing effect (Breeze Booth for iPad )

Audio Booth Integration

Steve’s integration of a phone for audio and video recordings with Breeze Booth for iPad was also a huge hit at the Breeze stand.

Guests picked up the handset to record an audio or video message for their mother, or took a selfie. Recordings/photos were emailed directly to Mum.

Use the same concept at weddings to record messages for bride and groom.

Breeze Booth for iPad linked to At The Beep retro phone to record audio and video recordings for Mum

Keynote Talks

Steve Bliesner, Nicholas Rhodes and Alan Berg were amonth the Keynote speakers on Monday and Tuesday afternoons.

Nicholas Rhodes (thought provoking keynote talk A New Era with A.I. Photo Booths

Master Class

Steve also demonstrated how to create Football Player cards using Breeze Booth for iPad in the Breeze Master Class on Monday afternoon.

Demos

Once again Steve came up with amazing demos and an attention grabbing backdrop for the Breeze stand.

Thank you!

Thanks to all of you who visited the stand – it was a pleasure to meet every one of you. Special thanks to Steve Bliesner, Owen McCrink and  Jürgen Mayr for their tireless hard work, and to Peter Bodingbauer for the amazing chocolate cake.

Finally our thanks to Peter Holding, Steven Honeyball and Rob Savickis for organising the first Photo Booth Expo Europe.

Organisers of Photo Booth Expo at the Entrance Doors
Peter, Rob and Steven at the Expo Entrance

 

Chris Breeze and Sue Breeze smiling at the end of Photo Booth Expo London 2023
Chris & Sue exhausted but happy at the end of the Trade Show ( Photo by Peter Bodingbauer using Breeze Booth for iPad’s Photographer mode)

© Breeze Systems 2023

Breeze Master Class at PBX – Last chance to book

There are still a few places left at the Breeze Master Class next Monday at Photo Booth Expo (PBX) Europe.

Breeze Master Class Monday 18th September at 16:00

Steve Bliesner  will offer  a deep dive into some of the newest features from Breeze, with practical examples of using the powerful AI background removal tools, image blending modes and how to bring it all together with a custom user interface.

Book your place on Monday 18th September at 4pm here

Keynote presentation

Steve will also give a   Keynote presentation My rules for running a successful event business on Tuesday morning at 8.30am. 

Steve Bliesner: My rules for running a successful event business

Tuesday morning  08:30

Keep things simple. Be early, but not too early (and definitely dont be late). Make friends. Look out for each other. Learn your tools and RTFM. Experience first. Money second. The end.

Who’s Steve?

Breeze Ambassador Steve Bliesner is the founder and Creative Director of Australian based companies: The Photo Booth Guys and At the Beep. With nearly 15 years experience in the Photo Booth, and Events Industry, and regarded as an “out of the box” thinker…  Steve is probably now considered to be a Dinosaur, who’s probably run out of fresh ideas. But this old T-Rex somehow managed to have some of his best years in business through-out the pandemic, and might just have something worth listening to.

Check out Steve’s Glamazon activation

Tradeshow

Chris, Sue and Steve also look forward to welcoming you to the Breeze PBX trade show stand on Monday and Tuesday afternoons.  The Breeze  stand is right at the entrance.

More about PBX Europe 2023

© Breeze Systems 2023

Breeze Multi-Camera 2.1.4 released

Breeze Multi-Camera 2.1.4 was released today, adding support for four new mirrorless cameras.

High end events to Hollywood blockbusters.

With a proven track record in high end events, blockbuster movies, advertising campaigns and even the National Geographic, Breeze Multi-Camera gives you full creative control with branded overlays, custom screens, green screen support and more.

What’s New in Multi-Camera 2.1.4?

This release adds

  • Support for four new mirrorless cameras: Canon EOS R8, Canon EOS R7,Canon EOS R50 and Canon EOS R100
  •  Run at Start Up option for the Multi-Camera Animator.

Multi-Camera 2.1.4 also fixes  an issue capturing CR3 raw files.

We are switching to a new single price for Multi-Camera upgrades, effective today 9th August 2023. This is a huge price reduction for owners of larger Multi-Camera rigs.

Chris’ comments on the new cameras

The Canon EOS R100 is the best value camera for camera arrays. If you need better image quality from a full frame camera the Canon EOS R8 offers the best value.

Canon EOS R100 camera showing hot shoe with center contacts
Canon EOS R100 – Best value for camera arrays
Canon EOS R8 camera body
Canon EOS R8 – Best value full frame camera

The Canon EOS R50 is fine for product photography, but not suitable for camera arrays because it does not have a remote release socket.

Canon EOS R50 camera showing hot show with no center contacts
Canon EOS R50 – No center contacts on hot shoe

What next..

Learn more about Breeze Multi-Camera software and download a copy of the program to try for yourself.

Breeze Multi-Camera 2.1.4  is a free upgrade for all registered users of DSLR Remote Pro Multi-Camera who purchased a license on or after 9 February 2022. Customers with older licenses can buy an upgrade license to use this release.

Download Breeze Multi-Camera 2.1.4        Buy full license

New Upgrade pricing

We have switched to a new single price for Multi-Camera upgrades, effective today 9th August 2023.

Existing Multi-Camera and DSLR Remote Pro Multi-Camera license holders can upgrade their existing license for just US $350 here

This is a huge price reduction for owners of large Multi-Camera rigs.

To upgrade a Multi-Camera license and increase the number of cameras,  contact sales@breezesys.com for a quotation.

Camera images courtesy of Canon Europe

© Breeze Systems August 2023.

Quick Tips – Print Preview Issues

A couple of quick tips for beginners using the Print Preview screen in their booth.

This post has been written for Breeze Booth (DSLR+Windows) aka DSLR Remote Pro, but also applies to Webcam Photobooth.

  • New users sometimes ask why the print preview shows a photo or strip in the wrong orientation, while the printed output is fine.
  • Another issue which occurs with the print preview is that the print covers all or part of the buttons.

Print Preview in wrong rotation

This is most often seen with DNP 4×6 media after running the Photobooth Setup Wizard:

Breeze DSLR Remote Pro Print Preview screenshot with double strip in wrong rotation
Breeze Print Preview double strip before fixing (Breeze DSLR Remote Pro)
Breeze DSLR Remote Pro Print Preview screenshot showing incorrect rotation
Breeze Print Preview single photo before fixing (Breeze DSLR Remote Pro)

Why does this happen?

DNP printers swap portrait and landcape when you print 4×6 inch (100 x 150 mm) prints.

This has no effect on the physical prints, but makes Print Preview screens look strange.

How to fix:

  1. Open the Print Layout Editor
  2. Click on Printer Setup
  3. Swap Orientation from Portrait to Landscape ( or Landscape to Portrait)
  4. Click on Preset Layouts
  5. Select your chosen layout – here Double Strip of 4
  6. Check Print Layout
  7. Check Print Preview

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The next most common issue reported for in print previews is that the print partly covers the buttons.

Print Preview image overlaps the touchscreen buttons

Breeze DSLR Remote Pro Print Preview screenshot with print partly covering buttons
Breeze DSLR Remote Pro Print Preview screenshot with print partly covering buttons

This problem usually happens when buttons are placed at the bottom of the screen and the print is in portrait (vertical).

How to fix:

Open the touchscreen actions window for confirm_printing screen and reduce the size of the print preview image:

Adjusting the print preview images in the Touchscreen actions window

If you are new to touchscreen actions, read the tutorial here

Open confirm_printing.jpg in touchscreen actions, and click on Print preview area

Drag and drop the Print Preview area until the buttons are no longer hidden:

Touchscreen action print area no longer covers buttons

Save your changes as you leave the touchscreen actions window,  and run a session to check everything works as expected.

Remember to close DSLR Remote Pro when you finish, to save your changes.

 

© Breeze Systems 2023

Photobooth Expo International – London 2023

Rob Savickis writes
You’re probably aware that there hasn’t been any show or trade fair dedicated to the Photo Booth industry in the UK for some time. In fact, there has been nothing since 2019.
The great news is that all that changes this year! Not only is there going to be a UK show, it will be the first ever sister event of the world’s biggest Photo Booth Show – Photobooth Expo International
is traveling all the way from its birthplace in Las Vegas – to London!
And we will be there to greet you!
18th & 19th September 2023 at Novotel London West
SAVE MONEY ON FULL SHOW AND TRADE FLOOR ACCEESS ONLY PASSES
Right now you can buy full access all area key-passes for just £150, a £100 saving off of the full price (£250).
You can also buy a trade floor only pass for £25, a saving of £25 off of the full price (£50).
These prices are only valid until the end of JULY, so secure entry NOW to the biggest Photo Booth show the UK has ever seen!
Included in your key pass is:
• Entry to PBX Europe pre-show welcome and networking party on Sunday 17th September – your chance to have early conversations with the majority of the exhibitors, some of the speakers and not forgetting many like-minded colleagues.
• Access to all of the high-impact seminars on Monday and Tuesday (see website for more detail) and full access to the exhibit floor on both days (full list on the show’s website).
• Access to the trade floor featuring 50+ trade stands showcasing the latest Photo Booth equipment.
• PLUS entry to Monday nights after-show party featuring an extra special DJ line-up which includes Terry Hooligan, international festival DJ, label owner, remixer, beat maker and independent underground superstar!
Visit www.photoboothexpo.uk for more details and to secure your ticket, and you can even book your stay at the fabulous venue at preferential rates!
A number of rooms have been secured by the team at PBX and are available on their website – otherwise the hotel is sold out so hurry and book now!
Don’t miss out on this epic September event – join us for an unforgettable experience!
Chris, Sue and Steve look forward to seeing you at the Breeze stand. Find us right at the entrance to the trade show.
© Breeze Systems 2023

Buying upgrades for Breeze licenses

Breeze Windows apps all include one year’s free upgrades from the date your license is issued. When this year ends, you can keep using the license or buy an upgrade to the latest release using the Buy.. buttons on the website Upgrades page  here
We have automated the process of issuing upgrade licenses – generally you should receive your new registration in minutes instead of hours, providing
  • existing name and code are entered correctly
  • same email address is used as the original license
  • comment field is empty
  • the existing license is still valid – ie has not already been upgraded, refunded, cancelled etc
There are a few exceptions & Multi-Camera orders are always processed manually.
Processed manually means we check the order before issuing the new registration. This is almost always done within 12 hours of your payment being accepted. Occasionally at weekends and UK Public Holidays it takes a little longer. Very occasionally we take a break at a weekend or Public Holiday and you may might have to wait until the next business day to receive the new registration.
Sue
© Breeze Systems

Breeze DSLR Remote Pro 3.19.1: Canon EOS R100 support

Breeze Booth (DSLR+Windows) aka DSLR Remote Pro 3.19.1 was released today, June 28th.

This release adds support for Canon’s new EOS R100 camera.

Video post processing now supports vertical video for Canon’s EOS R100 and EOS M50 Mk II.

DSLR Remote Pro 3.19.1 also includes a new token {lessThan,str1,str2}, and fixes an issue loading settings from the Photobooth settings dialog when print layouts include rotated photos

EOS R100 support

Canon’s mirror-less EOS R100 is a compact and versatile camera offering good value for money. This camera offers

  • 120 frames/second slow motion at 720p
  • Wireless video capability
  • Center hotshoe contact allowing external flash to be triggered
  • Good quality face  detect autofocus in live view
Canon EOS R10 showing hotshoe with center contact (Image courtesy of Canon Europe )

Vertical Video post processing

Video post processing now supports vertical video for the EOS R10 and EOS M50 Mk II

DSLR Remote Pro already supports Canon’s EOS R50, R10, R8, R7,  R6 Mk II, R6, R5, R and RP models, several M series cameras, and almost all Canon DSLRs. Full list

Upgrade to DSLR Remote Pro 3.19.1 today

DSLR Remote Pro 3.19.1 is a free upgrade for all registered users who purchased DSLR Remote Pro after 28 June 2022. Customers with older licenses need to buy an upgrade license to use this release.

Download DSLR Remote Pro    Buy DSLR Remote Pro

Photos of EOS R100 camera courtesy of Canon Europe

© Breeze Systems Ltd

Breeze Booth for iPad 3.4 Quick Guide

These notes are intended as a quick guide to the latest release for existing Booth (iPad+iPhone) users.

For more detailed explanations please see the online manual

What’s in this release?

Breeze Booth (iPad+iPhone) 3.4

  • extends Photographer Mode introduced in v3.3
  • adds time limited photo booth sessions
  • adds a privacy option to encrypt guest email addresses and cell phone numbers.
  • adds actions to delete unwanted photos from the gallery
  • adds support for the Canon EOS R6 Mark II, Canon EOS R8, Canon EOS R50 and Canon EOS R100
  • includes EXIF data when saving individual photos from external cameras
  • processed photos can be placed within a larger canvas

Photographer Mode/Tethered Shooting

Shoot tethered without waiting for photos to download. Switch between landscape and portrait on the fly. Two free Roaming events optimised for mirrorless and DSLR cameras.

Faster Shooting

Run tethered shooting as before. Chris has added a buffer so there is no need to wait for photos to download before taking the next shot.

Switching between landscape and portrait

Photos can be taken in either landscape or portrait orientation and a different print layout can be used for each. Simply rotate the camera to frame photos vertically  or horizontally – you don’t need to adjust the app settings.

To enable the automatic selection of the print layout you need to set the event up correctly in the Event Editor:

In the Event Editor

  • use one of the Roaming events below or create your own event with profiles for both landscape and portrait orientations
  • print layouts in the landscape profile should be in landscape orientation
  • print layouts in the portrait profile should be in portrait orientation
Download Roaming Events to the app using the QR code. Two events are downladed. Roaming ( Mirrorless) is designed for Canon’s mirrorless cameras. Roaming ( DSLR) is for Canon DSLR cameras. Live view is switched off, enabling the photographer to use the camera’s view finder.

To adapt these events to meet your requirements download this zip file to your PC and import the events into the Event Editor.

In the App

  • Connect your camera
  • Enable the orientation lock on the iPad/iPhone.
  • When photos are printed the app uses the orientation information stored in the EXIF shooting data to determine whether it was taken  in landscape or portrait.
  • Photos taken in landscape use the print layout from the landscape profile.
  • Photos taken in portrait use the print layout from the portrait profile.

Time limited sessions

Switch on Time Limited sessions and set start and end times in the App Settings.

Toggle Timed sessions on and off on the App settings screen. Select the start and end times and add a message for the Before opening screen if desired (Breeze Botoh for iPad 3.4)

Custom screen names: before_session.jpg, before_session.gif, before_session.mov/mp4, before_session.png; after_session.jpg, after_session.gif, after_session.mov/mp4, after_session.png

Hidden exit buttons

The Event Creator will automatically include before_session.jpg and after_session.jpg screens in the Screen folder. Both screens have a hidden exit in the top right corner of the screen.

When adapting existing Breeze Booth designs, add  before_session.jpg and after_session.jpg screens to the Screens folder and give these  exit actions. Exit actions are essential – without them you cannot exit the event outside booth opening hours. The exit action is called exitFromBeforeAfterSession.

Events running past midnight

End time can be before the start time for events running past midnight, eg  start time 21:00 and end time 01:00. (This only works when end time is before 8:00.)

Optional Booth opening message

Text including opening and closing times can be added to the before_session.jpg screen using the Msg field*

Messages can be made up of more than one line of text by adding \n to start a new line. The following tokens can be used:

{startTime} – this is replaced with the start time e.g. 19:00
{endTime} – this is replaced with the end time e.g. 22:30
{timeToStart} – this is replaced with the time until the photo booth opens e.g. 2:34:52

*before_session.jpg and after_session.jpg screens built by the Event Creator include text.  If you add your own message, you also need to replace  before_session.jpg and after_session.jpg in the Event Editor.

Touch screen actions

Remember to include a hidden exit touchscreen action so that you can exit the event outside opening hours.

You can also add actions to open early and add an extra 10 minutes.

These actions can all be password protected using the standard Exit Password.

Enhanced Privacy of personal data

For additional privacy select Encrypt email addresses and phone numbers for privacy. This will encrypt email addresses and phone numbers when they are stored in the XML email and text files and the journal files so that they can’t be read.

Encrypted addresses and phone numbers are decrypted when sending the email or text, but are always encrypted when saved to file.

There is no option to display the decrypted email address or phone number in the Breeze Booth for iPad app, Event Editor or Breeze Hub’s reporting tools.

Encrypting email address and cell phone numbers for enhanced privacy (Breeze Booth for iPad 3.4)

Removing  unwanted photos from the gallery

New touchscreen actions galleryDelete and galleryDeletePermanently allow unwanted or inappropriate images to be removed from the gallery sharing screen gallery_share.png. These options can be protected using a password if required. To do this set the exit password in the iPad’s App Settings screen.

  • galleryDelete does not delete any files, instead it marks the image as deleted
  • galleryDeletePermanently deletes the photo booth summary file and all associated photos, GIFs and MP4 files

© Breeze Systems 2023