Category Archives: Breeze Booth

Breeze Booth, Breeze Booth Event Editor, Breeze Booth for iPad, Getting started

How to build your own events for Breeze Booth for iPad

This post explains how to create and edit your own  events for Breeze Booth for iPad using the Breeze Booth Event Editor on a Windows PC, and covers

  • what’s new in this release
  • how to download, install and run the event editor on your PC
  • loading a list of existing events into the event editor
  • creating a new event
  • linking an event to it’s asset folder(s)
  • portrait and landscape events
  • editing an event
  • transferring events to your iPad(s)

December 22nd: I have updated the section Method 1: Sync via Dropbox adding more detail to make it easier to follow.

Breeze Booth Event Editor v1.0 beta 20181116 works with Breeze Booth for iPad beta build 20, and was released on November 16th, 2018

Introduction

The Breeze Booth Event Editor is a powerful Windows based program which can be used to create and edit events for Breeze Booth for iPad.

Do join the beta program and explore Breeze Booth for iPad before using the editor. Play with ‘Designer‘ (the first event) to get a feel for what you can achieve with Breeze Booth for iPad.

New in this release…

  • Installer – easier to download and install the Event Editor on your computer
  • Sample events are automatically downloaded and copied into PC Documents folder – no need to unzip them
  • Menu screens to select styles, mirroring, virtual props etc (less need for profiles)
  • Support for choice of up to 10 different virtual props
  • Ability to add logos and resize, rotate and position them in the print layout
  • Updated sample events

Download and install Breeze Booth Event Editor

Breeze Booth Event Editor runs on a Windows 10, 8 or 7 computer. Download it from here.

You will also automatically download the designs  for nine  sample events we provide for Breeze Booth for iPad. When you install the event  editor, these files will automatically be saved in your Documents folder as shown here

C:\Users\sue\Documents\Breeze Booth for iPad\events

The Breeze Booth Event Editor installer will create this folder of sample events. C:\Users\sue\Documents\Breeze Booth for iPad\events

The first event is called Designer and showcases many of the features included with Breeze Booth for iPad.  You are welcome to use this design (or parts of it) with Breeze Booth for iPad at your own events.

The remaining 8 events are much simpler. They are intended to help you create your own designs.

This post will show you how to copy one of these simple events (Photos with virtual props) and edit it for your own use.

Photos with virtual props takes one photo and shares it on a custom background. Guests choose between 3 virtual props. They can also choose whether to shoot in color, B&W, sepia, comic effect or using a filter. The photo can be shared by email .

Copy the asset folders from Photos with virtual props

Start by copying the Photos with virtual props folder to a new folder called My virtual props event

Creating a new assets folder for a new event

Run Breeze Booth Event Editor

Start the Event Editor, and select Open.

Open the Breeze Booth Event Editor

Load the list of existing events by selecting events.xml

Select events.xml to load the list of events into Breeze Booth Event Editor

Initial list of sample events displayed in BBEE

Initial sample events folder (Breeze Booth Event Editor) Note: this list of events was created from the events.xml file we opened

Create a new event ‘My virtual props event‘

Select New event to create your new event..

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1) Give the new event a name

2) Add a description

3) Select the landscape version of ‘My virtual props event‘, by

4) finding the correct folder, opening it and

5) selecting settings.xml

6, 7, 8, ) Repeat for the portrait version of My virtual props event

 9) Save your new event

Portrait, landscape or both?

Breeze Booth for iPad lets guests switch between portrait and landscape orientation on the fly (great for roaming booths like the Ring Roamer).  My virtual props event can  be used in both portrait and landscape orientation, so has designs for both.

If you will always run an event in the same orientation, you don’t need to create both designs.

Editing an event

Select an event and choose Edit event..

We will just edit the portrait version of My virtual props event (10) today. Click on the portrait  Edit button:

Editing the portrait version of My virtual props event

This brings us to the Photo Booth Settings screen, where you can start to customize your design

Tabs on Photo Booth Settings screen (Breeze Both for iPad build 20)

The original Photos with virtual props takes one photo and shares it on a colored background with a custom logo. Guests choose between 3 virtual props. They can also choose whether to shoot in color, B&W, sepia, comic effect or using a filter. The photo can be shared by email .

We are going to change My virtual props event to

  • take 2 square photos
  • remove the branded background print layout
  • add a new background color, 2 logos* and a caption to the print layout
  • create a slideshow GIF from the 2 photos
  • customize the wording of the email
  • share the slideshow GIF instead of the print layout

*You can add up to 5 different png or jpg logos to each print layout in addition to the background and overlay. This is a simple way of branding a design for a particular event, and can also be used as a quick way to add an image of the bride and groom (taken earlier in the day) to wedding photo booths.

Photo Booth Settings Screen

The Photo Booth Settings Screen is displayed for the profile you selected.  It has 5 tabs : General, Photos, Slideshow GIFs, Burst GIFs, and Share. You can access powerful editors  to design your screens, prints and GIFs from these settings.

Photo Booth Settings – General tab

11) Change the aspect ratio of the photos to square

Breeze booth Event Editor Phoot Booth Settings General tab
Changing the photo aspect ratio to square (Breeze booth Event Editor)

You can find a full list of Breeze Booth for iPad screens here

Photo Booth Settings – Photos tab

12) Change the number of photos to 2

13) Change the countdown text color to black

14) Open the Print Layout Editor

Breeze Booth Event Editor Photo Booth Settings Photos tab
Changing the number of photos, color of countdown text and opening the Print Layout editor in Breeze Booth Event Editor

Print Layout Editor

Use the Print layout editor to customize your prints. In the slideshow below I will:

15) Remove the branded background

16) Add a new background color to the print

17) Change the printed photo to a square

18) Right click on the background to add the second photo

19) Resize and reposition the two photos

20) Add the two logos

21) Right click on the background to add a caption, then right click again to edit it

22) Save my changes

Note: You can add up to 5 different JPG or PNG logos to a print

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Photo Booth Settings – Slideshow GIFs tab

Check Create animated GIF,... to create an animated GIF from the two photos

Breeze Booth Event Editor Photo Booth Settings Slideshow GIFs tab
Creating a slideshow GIF from the photos

Photo Booth Settings – Share tab

23) Check Share slideshow first to share the GIF instead of a print layout

24) Open the slideshow email editor to customize the message

Breeze Botoh for iPad Photo Booth Settings Share tab
Telling Breeze Booth for iPad to share the slideshow GIF

 

Breeze Booth Event Editor altering email content
Breeze Booth Event Editor email editor for slideshow GIFs

Change the subject and email text. You can use Breeze tokens (25) in emails

Before you leave the event editor….

When you have finished editing the event, check OK to save all your changes. You will need to update the list of events (events.xml), the manifest for My virtual props event  (manifest.xml) , and the settings file for the event (settings.xml)

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Add an extra countdown GIF and sharing screen to the asset folder

The new event includes has two photos instead of one so we need a second countdown GIF 2.gif . We also need a screen called share_slideshow.jpg to share the new slideshow GIF.

I have copied the existing 1.gif and share.jpg screens to 2.gif and share_slideshow.jpg in C:\Users\sue\Documents\Breeze Booth for iPad\events\My virtual props event\portrait

Content of C:\Users\sue\Documents\Breeze Booth for iPad\events\My virtual props event\portrait
C:\Users\sue\Documents\Breeze Booth for iPad\events\My virtual props event\portrait showing 2.gif and share_slideshow.jpg

When you make any changes to this folder you must also go back to the Breeze Booth Event Editor and regenerate the manifests

Regenerating the manifests in Breeze Booth Event Editor

Copying events from a PC to your iPads

There are currently 3 ways to copy events from your PC to an iPad:

Method 1: Sync via Dropbox

  • Install the official DropBox app on your iPad (this can be downloaded from the Apple App Store).
  • Select Sign in to Dropbox in Breeze Booth for iPad’s app settings and authorize the app. This will create a “Breeze Booth for iPad” folder in your DropBox “Apps” folder.

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  • Now on your PC copy the whole Breeze Booth for iPad folder

from C:\Users\yourname\Documents\Breeze Booth for iPad

Copying the whole Breeze Booth for iPad folder

to C:\Users\yourname\Dropbox\Apps

Dropbox folder structure for events

Note: When you sync the events using Dropbox on your iPad, the program will look for this folder. You must name it correctly, or the App will not find your events.

  • As there are several ways to sync events, you need to tell your iPad which to choose. In Breeze Booth for iPad go to Settings and select the Sync via Dropbox.

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Method 2: Sync via a secure https web server

Upload the events folder to a folder on a web server, then go the to the settings screen in Breeze Booth for Ipad and edit the URL for the sync server to point to this folder. Then use the events screen in Breeze Booth for iPad to sync the events.
Important: This method can only be used with secure servers that have https e.g. https://breezesys.com. It will not work with http URLs.
Sample events are available by setting the sync server to https://bb4ipad.com/sync in the iPad’s app settings.

Method 3: Copy the files via iCloud

Copy the event folder to a folder on iCloud that is visible on the iPad. Then use the Files app to copy the files to Breeze Booth for iPad’s assets folder.

Update Breeze Booth for iPad to use the new event

Before you can run a new event on an iPad, Breeze Booth for iPad needs to update it’s list of events. Once My virtual props event has been added to this list, sync the event to download the new assets and xml files

Synching an event in breeze Booth for iPad

Syncing the iPad is covered in more detail here

Printing your photos

You can print using AirPrint or Breeze Hub

Breeze Booth for iPad Settings screen
Using AirPrint to print directly from Breeze Booth for iPad

25) To print directly from the iPad connect up your printer ( which must support AirPrint) and choose Print using Airprint on the Breeze Booth for iPad Settings screen

26) To print using a Windows PC you need Breeze Hub.  Choose Connect to Breeze Hub on the Breeze Booth or iPad Settings screen

Summary

This has been quite a marathon post. I have outlined the new features in Breeze Booth Event Editor, how to download and install this program on your PC, how to create your own event based on one of the samples provided by Breeze, and how to download the new event to use on your iPads.

If you found this post useful please share it with others.

Thanks,

Sue

© Breeze Systems 2018

Breeze Booth, DSLR Remote Pro

Greenscreen Gifs with animated backgrounds and overlays

Have you tried Breeze transparent greenscreen? It’s a great way to make your GIFs stand out.

This tutorial assumes you can already shoot simple green screen photo booth images with DSLR Remote Pro, and explains how to add animated backgrounds and overlays  to a slideshow GIF.

Usually when you shoot in greenscreen, each photo is saved with a single green screen background. Transparent greenscreen removes the background from an image and stores it as a png with a transparent background. This lets you add a variety of backgrounds later.

Selecting transparent greenscreen processing in Breeze DSLR Remote Pro 3.11.4

 

The original photo is shot against a greenscreen background

 

DLSR Remote Pro removes the green background and saves the photo on a transparent background

Breeze lets you combine these images into a slideshow GIF which has an animated background.

Add the GIF backgrounds

To make a slideshow GIF with an animated background,  you need to add a series of GIF backgrounds to your PhotoBoothImages folder.

My GIF has 3 photos. Each of these photos will have 3 different background images.

9 GIF backgrounds in the PhotoBoothImages folder (Breeze DLSR Remote Pro 3.11.4)

The background images are named GIF_background_1.jpg through to GIF_background_9.jpg

Add the GIF overlays

My GIFs will  have 9 overlays called GIF_overlay_1.png through to GIF_overlay_9.png

9 GIF overlays in the PhotoBoothImages folder (Breeze DLSR Remote Pro 3.11.4)

Add the on-screen background

To keep things simple I am using 1 still background image for the on screen preview. This is called greenscreen_background.jpg as usual.

Greenscreen background image in the PhotoBoothImages folder (Breeze DLSR Remote Pro 3.11.4)

Select your animated GIF settings

First enable animated GIFs .  How to make slideshow GIFs

  1. There are 3 backgrounds and overlays for each photo
  2. Each photo will be shown for one second
  3. The GIF will be displayed for at least 3 seconds

Printing transparent greenscreen images

The photos are saved with transparent backgrounds, so you can print them against a white background, or on a single background image. The images can be a different color from the background.

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Learn more

Thank you for taking the time to read this post.

Sue

© Breeze Systems 2018

Breeze Booth, DSLR Remote Pro, Getting started, Screens, Webcam Photobooth

How to brand and animate Breeze welcome screens

This post explains how to add a custom attraction or standby screen to  DSLR Remote Pro. Breeze calls this a welcome screen.

Use your welcome screen to attract people to your booth, as a quick method of branding, and to protect your camera*. The welcome screen can be a still image, animated GIF or video. You can add sound to attract people’s attention.

*Running live view for long periods drains battery power and can cause the camera’s sensor to heat up. If the photo booth is idle Breeze  automatically cancels the live view and displays the welcome screen.

This post shows how to replace the standard welcome screen with a movie or your own still image. You can customize Webcam Photobooth in the same way.

Breeze Multi-Camera has a similar screen called standby.jpg which can be customized and animated in a similar way.

Note: This post was updated in September 2019 to make it clearer that you need to set the inactivity timeout value

Get started

You can use the photo booth setup wizard to create a working set of screens for your booth.

Default screen set created by the photo booth setup wizard, showing the initial attraction screen welcome.jpg (DSLR Remote Pro 3.11.4)

Add a custom welcome screen

Rename the original welcome.jpg in case you want to use it again. (Mine is called welcome-old.jpg.)

Copy your new image into the same folder, and call it welcome.jpg To fill the screen, make the new image the same size in pixels as the image it replaces.

Shows PhotoBoothImages folder with custom welcome.jpg in DSLR Remote Pro 3.11.4
Paste a new welcome.jpg into your PhotoBoothImages folder. This should be the same size (in pixels) as the original (DSLR Remote Pro 3.11.4)

Inactivity timer

To control how long the booth waits before going into standby mode and displaying the welcome screen, adjust the inactivity timer. Go to Advanced Settings, and set the number of seconds you want to wait until the booth goes into standby mode:

Shows how to set the inactivity time in DSLR Remote Pro 3.11.4
Setting the inactivity time in DSLR Remote Pro 3.11.4

Run the booth, wait a while for it to go into idle mode and your welcome screen will be displayed.

Add a welcome screen with a movie

Add your movie to the PhotoBoothImages folder and name it welcome_loop.mp4 if you want the movie to loop, or welcome.mp4 to run it just once.

Note: You need both the background image ( welcome.jpg) as well as the animation in the PhotoboothImages folder. The background image is often plain black (mirror booths) or a copy of the first frame of your movie. It may appear briefly before the animation starts running.

PhotoBoothImages folder with attraction movie
Here a movie called welcome_loop.mp4 has been added to the PhotoBoothImages folder (DSLR Remote Pro 3.11.4)

That’s it! Start DSLR Remote Pro and check everything is working. You will need to wait for the inactivity timer to kick in before you see your video.

Finer details

What happens if my video is smaller than the screen?

If your video is smaller than your screen, it will be displayed in the center of the screen with your welcome.jpg behind it:

Showing video small than screen in Breeze DSLR Remote Pro 3.11.4
Here the attraction video is smaller than the screen (DSLR Remote Pro 3.11.4)

Can I add GIFs, sound and .MOV movies?

Yes. See the program help files for details

Can I customize the other screens in my booth?

Yes, you can customize most other screens in the same way. Replace the original screen in your PhotoBoothImages folder with another still (.jpg), add a movie (.mp4 or .mov) or GIF file with the same name. For more details, see

Does this work for magic mirrors?

Yes. To add animations and sound to magic mirrors include them in your PhotoBoothImages folder in the same way.

Where can I find animations for my booth/mirror?

There are lots of sources of animations on the web. These are some of the vendors who offer animations and complete Breeze themes for photo booths and mirrors

The movie used here was sourced from Text in Motion , who add your text to their own videos. (Thanks Bob Hajvert for spotting this supplier.)

Breeze Systems is not responsible for the content of external sites.

© Breeze Systems October 2018

Breeze Booth, DSLR Remote Pro, News, Prints

Breeze DSLR Remote Pro 3.11.4 adds virtual props & emoji

New in DSLR Remote Pro 3.11.4 …

  • Photo booth and magic mirror guests can add virtual props, emojis and stickers to their prints
  • Print and +/- icons can now be placed at the top of the reprint screen
  • Print preview in the drawing and signing screen can be placed at the top of the screen
  • Improved support for the mirrorless Canon EOS M50
  • Ability to reprint from video ready screen

and a couple of fixes

  • fixed – issue where video sharing screen showed previous print layouts
  • fixed – rotated images showing black in print layouts ( only affected 3.11.3)

Virtual props, emojis and stickers

July 2019 update: DSLR Remote Pro 3.14 adds the ability for guests to choose their own frame for the print. Details here

To let your guests draw on, sign and now add virtual props, emojis and stickers to their prints, select Advanced Settings, then Output Options Settings. Check the box marked Sign or draw on photos before printing, and OK as you leave.

Shows how to allow guests to add props & emoji, sign & draw on prints using DLSR Remote Pro 3.11.4

You can create your own icon sets, but we have included these emoji/basic props for starters:

Icons supplied by EmojiOne

Guests can rotate, expand and shrink the icons. You can restrict them to decorating part of the print, and even prevent them from defacing part of it if your clients are sensitive.

Rotating a virual prop DSLR Remote Pro 3.11.4

Create your own folders with custom/branded props, emoji and stickers  Profile users can offer a different set of icons with each profile.

Specially for magic mirrors – move reprint button to the top of the screen

Here’s how:

How to position the reprint icons at the top of the screen (Breeze DSLR Remote Pro 3.11.4)

DSLR Remote Pro 3.11.4 is a free upgrade for all registered users who purchased DSLR Remote Pro after 11th September 2017. Customers with older licenses need to buy an upgrade license to use this release.

Download DSLR Remote Pro 3.11.4

© Breeze Systems 2018

Breeze Booth, DSLR Remote Pro, Troubleshooting

Where are the images from my event?

“Where are the images from my event? I am sure I saved them and have looked everywhere on the computer …..”

DSLR Remote Pro holds the key

Start DSLR Remote Pro, click on File then Preferences

Shows how to display existing preferences in Breee DSLR Remote Pro 3.11.3
Select File then Prefernces to show the DSLR Remote Pro prefernces screen (DSLR Remote Pro 3.11.3

This brings up the Preferences window, which tells you which folder images are saved in:

Breeze DSLR Remote Pro Prefernces screen (v.3.11.1)
The DSLR Remote Pro Preferences screen shows the folder where images are stored, and displays an  example image name

In this example the original photos are stored in a folder called C:\Users\sue\Documents\PhotoBoothImages\2018-09-06

Shows part of PhotoBooth Images folder with dated subfolders of images
PhotoBoothImages folder showing sub folder 2018-09-06 containing images taken on 6th September, 2018

Where are copies of prints, slideshow GIFs, green screen and other processed photos stored?

Usually you will find these in a sub folder of the main image folder, eg C:\Users\sue\Documents\PhotoBoothImages\2018-08-27\prints

DSLR Remote Pro gives you a huge amount of control over what  and where you save images. Advanced users often use tokens as part of their file naming.

Use the Output Settings window to check where to find still images and slideshow GIFs.

Output Settings

Click on Advanced Settings, then the  Output Options Settings… button  to reach this window:

Breeze DSLR Remote Pro 3.11.3 Output Settings screen
DSLR Remote Pro Output Settings screen (Breeze DSLR Remote Pro 3.11.3)

(1) Copies of each print are saved in a subfolder called Prints if Output is set to Save and print JPEG copy or JPEG copy only

(2) Copies of processed photos are saved in a subfolder called Processed. This includes images which have been rotated, cropped, digitally zoomed, green screened, converted to B&W, toned, had Instagram style filter applied or are post processed using Photoshop.

(3) If you select deletion of images which guests choose not to print, DSLR Remote Pro does delete them!

(4) Slideshow GIFs are either (a) stored in a sub folder called GIF or  (b) in the prints sub folder

Shows folder and subfolders for animated GIFs from event
(4a) Folder showing images taken on 2018-08-27. Original images (IMG_0001.JPG etc) are in the main folder, slideshow GIFs  in sub folder GIF, MP4 copies of the GIFs in sub folder MP4, print layouts in sub folder prints
Showing falternative file structure for slideshow GIF images from event
(4b) Here the slideshow GIFs are stored in the prints sub folder with the JPG print layouts (DLSR Remote Pro 3.11.3

How to create slideshow GIFs from photo strips

(5) Extra folder with copy of prints. Choose your own folder. If you leave this blank DSLR Remote Pro will create a subfolder called Copy

For more details see Output Settings and Animated GIFs in the program help files

Where are boomerang GIFs stored?

Boomerang GIFs are created from video, and are usually stored in either in (a) sub folder GIF or (b)  sub folder prints

(a) Folder showing images taken on 2018-08-27. Boomerang GIFs in sub folder GIF, MP4 copies of the GIFs in sub folder MP4. (DSLR Remote Pro 3.11.3)
(b) Here boomerang GIFs are stored in the prints sub folder (DLSR Remote Pro 3.11.3)

Look in the Animated GIF Settings (Video Booth Mode) window to check where to find your boomerang GIFs. Click on File, then Video Booth Settings, then select the Animated GIF settings button to access this window:-

The Animated GIF Animated GIF Settings (Video Booth Mode) window shows where boomerang GIFs are stored. Select File, then Video Booth Settings, then Animated GIF settings to reach this window (DSLR Remote Pro 3.11.3)

(6) Check to save PNG copies of live view image frames used to construct GIFS will be stored in sub-folder GIF_frames,

(7) Check to save boomerang GIFs in the prints sub folder

(8) Checked to create MP4 copies of boomerang GIFs

(9) MP4 copies of GIFs can be stored in sub folder MP4, subfolder prints or the same folder as the GIFs

For more detail see the  video booth section of the help files

Automating folder names for different events & using survey responses to group images into different folders

Learn how to use Breeze tokens to give meaningful names to folders and separate images into different folders during an event

Finally

I hope you have found those lost images by now. If not, do email me at support@breezesys.com !

Sue

© Breeze Systems 2018

Breeze Booth, DSLR Remote Pro, Getting started

How to email photos, animated GIFs and videos from DSLR Remote Pro

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Guests can email photos, animated GIFs and Canon M50 slowmo videos and other videos* they create in  DSLR Remote Pro 3.11.3. If Internet access during the event is poor, you can send the emails later.

Update March 2021: This post has been replaced by a new tutorial

This post explains  how to email images from a touchscreen photo booth running DSLR Remote Pro. You will also learn how to tell the program about your email server settings, brand and customize the emails you send.

Let’s run through this in more detail, starting with the setup wizard:

Run the Photobooth Setup Wizard

Start DSLR Remote Pro and run the Photobooth Setup Wizard (1). Choose which options to offer guests at Step 2 (2). In this example guests can choose between still photos and boomerang (aka burst) GIFs (3). You can offer video  (or photos and video) instead at this point.

Check the option Email photos (4) .

DSLR Remote Pro setup wizard step 2 screen
Checking the box Email photos at Step 2 of the setup wizard ( DSLR Remote Pro 3.11.3)

Select any other options you need before clicking on <Next> and completing Step 3 of the wizard.

You can set up your own booth with this sharing screen using just the 3 step wizard:

Showing email sharing screen created by the d Breeze DSLR Remote Pro 3.11.2 Photobooth Setup Wizard Breeze DSLR Remote Pro 3.11.2
Email sharing screen created by the Photobooth Setup Wizard (DSLR Remote Pro 3.11.3)

Setup the email server settings

The first time you email from DSLR Remote Pro you need to set up the  email server settings:

Select File (5) then Photobooth Settings (6) to access these settings

This will display the Photobooth Settings screen.

Go to the Output Settings (8) and check Email (9). You can then select Email Server Settings screen at (10)

To send an email you need to specify the host name and port number of your email server. Most email servers also require a username and a password. For additional security check Use SSL for secure email.

The values of Host, Username, Password, Email and Port (11) you enter on the Email Server Settings screen are specific to the email provider you are using.

Before you move on, check everything works by sending a test email to your own email address (12). DSLR Remote Pro displays Email sent successfully (13) when this message has been sent. Check that you receive the test email.

Remember to click OK (14) to save your settings as you leave this screen.

Including your name with the email address

To include the name of the sender with the email address enter the name followed by the email address enclosed in angle brackets e.g. Sue’s Blog <demo@breezesys.com>.

Here the sender name is ‘Sue’s Blog’ and the email address demo@breezesys.com (DSLR Remote Pro 3.11.3)

Logging guest email addresses & sending them after the event

You can keep a log of email addresses used by guests, providing valuable data for your own or corporate client’s use.

If an event Internet connection is flaky or non-existent you can save the email details and send them later.

See the program help files for more details

Be aware that

  • The port number is usually 587 when using SSL secure email or 25 otherwise (but check the port numbers used by your ISP).
  • Emails look more professional when sent from your own  domain.
  • Most free email services require the sender’s email address to the be the same as the email account specified by the username and password.
  • Gmail users should set access for less secure apps to Turn on in your Google account settings otherwise GMail will refuse to send the email.

Customize and brand your email messages

Use the standard email message

You do not have to customize the message sent with your photos and animated GIFS. If you use the standard settings in DSLR Remote Pro all emails will include the image(s) captured in the booth and the text Your photo booth photos taken on 14 August 2018 (or whatever date the images were taken).

Customizing the email subject and message

The emails guests send can be a powerful marketing tool for your business. Make them work for you by customizing the message sent with your image(s). Use Breeze tokens, your own text, images and html in the Email Settings screen.

Select File, then Output Settings, then Email settings to reach this screen:

Select File, then Output Settings, then Email settings to customize emails sent from DSLR Remote Pro

The first time you see the email settings screen it contains the default message DSLR Remote Pro sends with your emails. Edit this to meet your needs.

DSLR Remote Pro Email Settings screen showing default settings
Default Email Settings screen in Breeze DSLR Remote Pro 3.11.3

You can change the both the subject and content of the emails sent with guest images.

Reduce the time and bandwidth taken to send and receive emails by choosing a suitable maximum image size.

Breeze tokens can be used to generate the date, event name and much more. See the full list of tokens.

Creating a standard email template using the {eventName} token

{eventName} is a special Breeze token which can be shared between Breeze programs. You can use {eventName} in your emails and print layouts to save time customizing your booth for each event.

Here I have both changed the text and used {eventName} to customize the email subject (17), plain text (18) and html (19) versions of the content. I also changed the message seen by guests if they type an invalid email address (20).

When the email is sent Images from {eventName}  will be replaced by Images from Sue & Chris’s Big Party. The text sent with the email will also say Having a great time at Sue & Chris’s Big Party. These are my images from the Breeze Booth on 14 August 2018.

{eventName} can also be used in print captions, and as part of folder and file names. For my next event I just need to change {eventName}  to John & Jane’s Wedding ….

Note: %L is another Breeze token, which will be replaced by the date the images were taken.

How do I enter and change {eventName}  for each event?

Start DSLR Remote Pro, click on File then Photobooth event info… to reach the Photo Booth Event Info screen
Photo Booth Event Info screen in DSLR Remote Pro 3.11.2
Photo Booth Event Info screen with {eventname} set to Sue & Chris’s big Party (DSLR Remote Pro 3.11.3)

You may have spotted Event Strings on this screen. You can  use  {eventString1} to {eventString5} in the same way as {eventName} .

Why do I need to send both plain text and html?

The emails  DSLR Remote Pro sends from your booth may be viewed on lots of different devices including Apple and Android smart phones, tablets and PCs. Most modern devices can read html emails; we also send a plain text version in case the html version cannot be read.

Thank you for reading this post. I have covered how to send emails from DSLR Remote Pro, outlined how to brand and customize the emails, create your own standard template which is automatically updated for different events, and tell the program about your email service provider.

If you are ready for more, Steve’s video is a great introduction to using tokens. You can also learn more about customizing emails in the program help files.

If this post is helpful to you, please share it with others in our industry.

* DSLR Remote Pro 3.11.3 was released today 15 August 2018, and is a free upgrade for anyone whose license was issued in the last year. This release introduces the ability to share videos captured in video booth mode, including Canon M50 slow mo videos.  Please note that emailing large attachments during events will slow the booth down.

Update 16 August: You can run this new script alongside DSLR Remote Pro 3.11.3  to rotate and resize videos and add an optional overlay and soundtrack before videos are shared. We expect to include these features into DSLR Remote Pro in a future release.

© Breeze Systems 2018

Animated GIFs, Breeze Booth, DSLR Remote Pro, Flipbook Photobooth, Multi-Camera, News, Prints

Print animated GIFS & 3D multi-camera images as flip books

New in Flipbook Photobooth 1.8

  •  Print flip books from boomerang GIFs
  • Print flip books from 3D Breeze Multi-Camera images
  • Create and print flip books from MP4 videos
  • Support for new cameras: Canon EOS 6D Mark II, 200D, Rebel SL2,1500D, 2000D, Rebel T7, 3000D, 4000D

What is Flipbook Photobooth?

Breeze Flipbook Photobooth is Windows based event software for creating flip books using a Canon DSLR camera. Guests capture a short animation and play it back by flicking through the pages of a printed flip book.

Most the equipment is the same as you need for a DSLR based photo booth. Books are usually printed on a dye sublimation printer capable of printing 6×2 strips.

  • Green screen support
  • Branding and customisation – front cover, individual flip book pages, and screens can all be branded and customised
  • Breeze flexibility as standard! Offer guests a choice of green screen backgrounds or  book covers.  Add an extra dimension by changing the background or overlay as the book progresses. Upsell larger books or more pages. Use multiple printers at large corporate events. Breeze Flipbook Photobooth supports dye sub media, laser and inkjet printers.

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See Flipbook Photobooth in action

Thanks to Nick Andrews of Open Air Photobooth for allowing us to show this demo of Flipbook Photobooth at Osheaga 2014

Nick runs events and sells photo booth/flip book station packages using Breeze event software.

Printing flip books from boomerang GIFs created in DSLR Remote Pro

Flipbook photobooth 1.8 comes with two scripts  which create flip books when guests make boomerang GIFs in DSLR Remote Pro. One script creates a flip book for every boomerang GIF, the other asks the guest whether to print the flip book.

You can find these scripts in the Flipbook Photobooth installation folder. This is usually C:\Program Files (x86)\Breezesys\Flip Book Photobooth (1) as as shown here:

Breeze Flipbook Photobooth 1.8 includes 2 scripts you can use to create flip books from DSLR Remote Pro boomerang GIFs

Note: These scripts use the free Windows scripting tool, AutoHotKey.  You need to download and install AutoHotKey before you run them.

auto_print.ahk (2)  prints the flip book automatically when the animated GIF is accepted in DSLR Remote Pro.

auto_print_with_prompt.ahk (3) ask the guests whether to print the flip book.

See the program help files for more details

Creating and sharing animated GIFs of flip books

Breeze also provide a free script which creates a GIF animation of each flip book sequence. This script uses the free Windows scripting tool, AutoHotKey and the ImageMagick convert command line tool.   AutoHotKey must be downloaded and installed before you run the script.

  • Download the script and unzip all the files in the ZIP file to a single folder
  • Double click on  flipbook2GIF.ahk to run the script.
  • Open the script in a text editor such as Notepad for detailed instructions.

Please note that this script is provided free of charge and comes without any warranty or support.

You can share these GIFs using Breeze Kiosk or third party sharing software

Where to find Flipbook Photobooth 1.8

Download Flipbook Photobooth 1.8 and try it for yourself for up to 14 days before buying a license.

How do I buy it?

Each Flipbook Photobooth license costs just US $250 (excluding any tax) and includes one year’s free upgrades. Buy your license online from the Breeze website

Buy full Flipbook Photobooth license     Buy upgrade license

Note: Breeze DSLR Remote Pro, Breeze DSLR Remote Pro Multi-Camera and Breeze Kiosk need to be purchased separately.

Breeze Systems are not responsible for the content of external sites.

© Breeze Systems 2018

Breeze Booth, DSLR Remote Pro, Quick Tips, Troubleshooting, Webcam Photobooth

Aargh! My booth has forgotten it’s settings

It’s great to hear that many more of you are using profiles. One common problem we come across runs something like this

I have been using profiles to do [… wonderful things I could never offer before]. Today I am running a different event, but whenever I start the program/each group of guests finish their session it goes back to the old settings. What is wrong?

When you use profiles you may have checked the boxes to load default profiles at start up/ after each session / when the program starts. You need to uncheck these boxes when you no longer want to use these proflies.

When you don’t want to use profiles for an event follow these steps:

DSLR Remote Pro

1. Start DSLR Remote Pro and select Advanced Settings

2.Go to the Profiles setting screen

3.Default loaded at startup and after each shooting sequence should be set to None

4. Load default profile when launching DSLR Remote Pro should be unchecked.

5&6.Remember to save your changes in both the Profiles screen and Advanced Settings

Webcam Photobooth

Click on File then Profiles settings to access the Profiles screen (Breeze Webcam Photobooth 2.4)

1.Start Webcam Photobooth and select Profile Settings…

Controlling whether profiles are loaded automatically in Breeze Webcam Photobooth 2.4

2.Set Default profile loaded at startup and after each shooting sequence to None

3.Click on OK to save your changes

Learn more about profiles

Getting started with profiles blog post

Using profiles with tokens

More on using profiles in DSLR Remote Pro

More on using profiles in Webcam Photobooth

 

Breeze Booth, Breeze Booth Event Editor, Breeze Booth for iPad, Breeze Hub, Breeze Kiosk, DSLR Remote Pro, Hotfolder Prints, Multi-Camera, Video tutorial, Webcam Photobooth

Breeze Tokens – your new best friend

Powerful, surprisingly simple, logical.  In this video tutorial Steve  introduces Breeze tokens and explains how they can be your new best friend.

Steve takes you through how to

  • Make life easier for your staff setting up events
  • Make life simpler – automate folder naming for different events
  • Collect data about guest choices for corporate clients
  • Group images by team name, zip code or other attribute chosen by your client
  • Automatically group images into different folders based on response to survey questions
  •  GDPR/ privacy  – split images into different folders based on guest consent
  • GDPR/privacy  – label images to show whether guests consent to using them for different uses

This tutorial focuses on DSLR Remote Pro  3.11.1 . Breeze tokens can also be used in Breeze Booth for iPad, DSLR Remote Pro Multi-Camera, Hotfolder Prints, Breeze Kiosk and Webcam Photobooth.

The following notes are intended as a quick reference to some of the details in the video.

Some of the Breeze DSLR Remote Pro tokens used in this tutorial

Event tokens are special tokens which can be shared between different Breeze programs running on the same PC. They include the event name {eventName} , and several print counters.

Note: Tokens are case sensitive.

Print layouts

Tokens can be used to print information like today’s date less 8 hours {dateLess8h}) without editing the print layout each time it is used.

Why ‘date less 8 hours’? Use when events run past midnight, but you don’t want the images created after midnight to be stored under a different date. If your booths are always fast asleep before midnight you can use  %d or %L token instead

Print template names

{printTemplateName} can be used in the folder path for images captured at an event.

Combining tokens with profiles

{photoboothSubdir} can be used to sort images into folders based on guest choices

Tokens for data collection surveys

DSLR Remote Pro surveys can have multiple screens each with multiple questions

{survey1_text1} stores the text a guest enters in response to the first question on the first survey screen

Information screens containing detailed information such as a Privacy Statement ot Terms and Conditions can also be added in DSLR Remote Pro 3.11.1 and later releases.

Tokens for check box surveys

Example of a checkbox survey used to obtained consent to specific uses of images taken in a booth. Breeze DSLR Remote Pro 3.11.1

In this example {survey1_chkbox1} will contain the value 1 if the first box (live feed) is checked, or 0 if it is not checked.

{survey1_chkbox2} will contain the value 1 if the second box (use for advertising) is checked, or 0 if it is not checked.

Check box surveys can also have multiple questions over several screens.

Friendly names for folders and images based on check box surveys

Example of separating images into two folders – one for images where guests have agreed that they are shared in a live feed, the other for images where guests have declined this.
Tokens can be included in the pathname for the follder where images are stored during an event. In this example images are separated into two download folders based on the guest’s answer to the live feed question in the survey. (DSLR Remote Pro 3.11.1)
DSLR Remote Pro creates the folders and stores images in appropriate folders as they are created

Take this further

Download DSLR Remote Pro

For a full list of tokens see the help files for each program:

Print counters : DSLR Remote Pro 3.11 introduces tokens for accessing the print counters : {printQuotaUsed},{printCounterEvent} and {printCounterLocal}. Print counters can be used to automate a photo booth with a fixed print quota e.g. by loading a “share only” profile when the print quota has been used.. They can also be displayed in print captions.

Breeze Booth, DSLR Remote Pro, Getting started, Webcam Photobooth

Getting started: choosing a computer for your photo booth

February 2022: The information in this post has been replaced by a website page here

November 2021: Updated post to confirm support for Windows 11 as well as Windows 10 and Windows 8.

Breeze software is very efficient. DSLR Remote Pro aka Breeze Booth ( Windows+DSLR) and Webcam Photobooth both run on low powered Windows computers running Windows 11, 10 and 8. The programs may run more quickly and print faster on a more powerful machine.

Breeze software is incredibly flexible. You can use it in many ways to produce and share photos, animated GIFs, slow motion and other videos. Some operators demand lightening fast results, others offer a more leisurely service. This short post is intended to  help you choose  the right computer to power your photo booth.

  • A budget laptop with an i3 processor and at least 4GB RAM should be fine for still photos. If you are planning to capture and playback boomerang GIFs, HD video, use AI background removal or green screen you may need a more powerful computer.
  • Touchscreens are flexible and an easy way to offer guests choices, share images and collect data. Laptops with built in touchscreens are popular, but not essential.  Other ways to control the booth include contactless operation, buttons, coin operation, a wireless presenter and remote sensors.
  • Most photo booths need two USB 2.0 or 3.0 ports to connect the camera and printer. You can use a USB hub to increase the number of ports.

Background Removal, Green screen and burst GIFS

A more powerful PC will process background removal, green screen images and animated GIFs more quickly. A low powered PC is likely to take longer to produce the same result. Processing speed is affected by many other factors including the size of the image, background, overlay and print. Individual operators have different views about how fast their booth needs to work.

Try before you buy

If possible try the software either on the computer you plan to use, or a machine with a similar spec. You can download and try out DSLR Remote Pro and Webcam Photobooth for up to two weeks before buying the licenses.

Breeze Booth for iPad

This post covers our Windows based Breeze Booth software, DSLR Remote Pro and Webcam Photobooth. Find out more about Breeze Booth for iPad

Which DSLR camera is best?

Learn more here