Category Archives: Prints

Breeze Booth, DSLR Remote Pro, Prints, Tutorial

Automatically Changing Print Layouts in DSLR Remote Pro

Breeze Booth (Windows + DSLR) aka DSLR Remote Pro and Breeze Booth for iPad both give you the power to

  • surprise guests with varied and personalised designs,
  • build custom promotions into fixed installations in advance
  • use custom designs and unique vouchers at  regular and one-off occasions such as Happy Hour and New Years Eve. Pre-program end off event specials

I have just added the first of two tutorials which explain how to set up custom Breeze Booth (Windows + DSLR) print and GIF designs which change either randomly or in predetermined ways.

  • Part 1 shows how to create randomly selected layouts, prize notifications, and automatically change the overlay and/or print at specific times and dates. Part 1 uses print layouts as examples.
  • Part 2 will show how to use the same approach with GIFs.

Find How to vary print and GIF designs automatically (Part 1) here

© Breeze Systems 2020

Animated GIFs, Breeze Booth, DSLR Remote Pro, Prints, Tutorial

AI Background Removal with Breeze

Articial Intelligence (AI) based background removal is a fantastic alternative to green screen. The quality is awesome, there’s no cumbersome backdrop, and lighting is much simpler. It doesn’t even matter when your guests wear green.

Use background removal with both DSLR Remote Pro and Booth (iPad + iPhone) slideshow GIFs and prints

Who hasn’t wanted to escape to a different place recently?

  • Transport guests to the location of their dreams
  • Replace less than perfect backgrounds
  • Make the most of small spaces and dispense with backdrops
  • Attract visitors by facing your booth towards them

Three background removal services to choose from

At present Breeze supports background removal services from AI Background Remove, Gadbooth, and removebg . These are paid services offered by third parties. More

Please see Partner Information below for important information on 3rd party programs and services.

Reliable Internet: AI based background removal is a web based service, so you need a reliable internet connection at the event.

More about background removal with DLSR Remote Pro and Booth (iPad + iPhone)

Find the new introductory tutorial here

Step by step instructions for replacing backgrounds in DSLR Remote Pro

More on replacing backgrounds in Booth (iPad + iPhone)

Partner Information

The ability to upload to and download from third party applications such as AI Background Remove, Gadbooth, and removebg is subject to each third party concerned continuing to allow such interactions.

These features are tested before they are released but may cease to function or be removed without notice if the third party concerned no longer allows such interaction, or changes the method/protocol required.

© Breeze Systems 2020

DSLR Remote Pro, Prints, Screens, Setup Wizard, Tutorial

New tutorial: printing from the DSLR Remote Pro Sharing Screen

Check out the new tutorial explaining how to print from the sharing screen in Booth (DSLR + Windows) aka DSLR Remote Pro.

This is a great way to streamline the booth workflow when your guests choose whether to print and/or email their photos.  The tutorial also covers limiting the number of prints, customizing the text on the sharing screen and adjusting the preview image for best effect.

Find How to print from the sharing screen here.

Note: Webcam  users can also use the setup wizard to print from the sharing screen.

Breeze Booth (DSLR + Windows) aka DSLR Remote Pro is a highly configurable, yet simple to use photo booth application, easy to configure for small operators and scalable for organisations running hundreds of photo booths across multiple cities and countries. Learn more and try for yourself.

© Breeze Systems  April 2020

Breeze Booth, Breeze Hub, Getting started, Prints

New Tutorial: Printing from Breeze Booth for iPad

Breeze Booth for iPad supports both Windows printing and Apple’s AirPrint.

The new tutorial  explains the advantages of both, and how to set them up in Breeze Booth. Find Printing from Breeze Booth here

You can try Breeze Booth without having or signing in to an account but it will be limited to ten photos or GIFs per day before a watermark is added to the output. Start here.

© Breeze Systems February 2020

Breeze Booth, DSLR Remote Pro, Magic Mirror, News, Prints, Screens

DSLR Remote Pro 3.14.2 supports new PowerShot cameras with 120fps slow motion

What’s new in v3.14.2?

  • Support for two new Canon PowerShot cameras G5 X Mark II and G7 X Mark III
  • Photo booth printing now automatically bleeds both the background and overlay to fill the printable area
  • Optional gray background to frames and emoji/stamps on the drawing/signing screen
  • New monochrome icon set on the signing and drawing screen
  • Video playback window is hidden until the video starts playing

Support for new PowerShot cameras

Many long time photo boothers loved the simplicity, compact size and automatic zoom of Canon PowerShot cameras. Sadly Canon stopped making suitable PowerShot models for over 10 years.  We are delighted to  add support for the new PowerShot G5 X Mark II and G7 X Mark III to DSLR Remote Pro.

These compact cameras both offer 120 frames/second slow motion capture at 720p and 1080p, as well as a power zoom.

Note: The PowerShot G5 X Mark II, G7 X Mark III and SX70 HS have no hot shoe so it is difficult to trigger flash. Watch out for more details about their pros and cons for photo booth use soon.

Automatic bleed for print background and overlay

You no longer need to oversize print layouts to allow for printer positioning. DSLR Remote Pro 3.14.2 will automatically bleed print background and overlay (background.jpg and overlay.jpg) to fill the printable area.

For example classic  dye sub. 6″ by 4″ prints at 300 dpi can now be sized 1800 by 1200 pixels.

‘Old style’ oversized print layouts eg 1844 by 1240 pixels will still work.

Optional gray background to frames and emoji/stamps on the drawing/signing screen

To display white frames and emoji, switch to a new mid gray background on the signing and drawing screen. The icons to the left of this screen are now monochrome on a white background.

Frames and emoji can be shown on a gray or white background in Breeze DSLR Remote Pro 3.14.2

Note: You can also use your own icons on this screen or keep using the original colored set if you prefer.

More about customizing this screen.

Hiding the video playback window until the video starts playing

This upgrade prevents a blank window appearing while a screen animation is loading.

Fixes

DSLR Remote Pro 3.14.2 also includes fixes for

  • issue loading ‘profile X + start‘ touch screen action when there is a looping ready screen animation
  • using filenames to position GIF and MP4 animations ( only affected v3.14 and 3.14.1).

More details

Upgrade to DSLR Remote Pro 3.14.2 today

DSLR Remote Pro 3.14.2 is a free upgrade for all registered users who purchased DSLR Remote Pro after 22th October 2018. Customers with older licenses need to buy an upgrade license to use this release.

Download DSLR Remote Pro    Buy DSLR Remote Pro

Do share this post with others who may find it useful.

© Breeze Systems 2019

Hotfolder Prints, News, Prints

Hotfolder 1.8 adds Gallery Uploader

Breeze Hotfolder Prints 1.8 (released on Monday) includes a new Gallery Uploader, and the ability to add logos to prints.

What is Breeze Hotfolder?

Hotfolder is a  suite of invaluable tools for event photographers and photo booth operators. From tools that help format images, to specialist hashtag monitors and image uploaders, each tool is designed to save the user time and stress when it comes to managing a large batch of images.

Hotfolder monitors a folder for incoming images (JPEG and PNG), then automatically formats them for printing, saving and/or emailing. Images can be sourced from a tethered camera, a cloud drive (Dropbox etc), shared network folder or a folder on your PC.

New Gallery Uploader

Icon for Gallery Uploader Breeze Hotfolder 1.4
Icon for the new Gallery Uploader

Realtime uploading of photos, GIFs and videos to online sharing galleries

*Photobooth Online Gallerie’s German site

Add logos to print layouts

Logos provide a quick and easy way to add graphics to prints without using an image editor such as Photoshop. PNG and JPEG logos can be imported,  moved,  resized and rotated just like photos in the print layout.

For a quick video tour of the Print Layout Editor look here.  NB To find Hotfolder’s Print layout editor start the program, go to Preferences, then select Custom Layout Settings.

Shows Preferences screen in Breeze Hotfolder 1.8, with button linking to Print Layout Editor highlighted
Breeze Hotfolder 1.8 Preferences window showing link to Print Layout Editor

New tokens

  • {dateLess8h} prints today’s date less 8 hours
  • {captionNoURL} is used for extracting Twitter captions without the trailing URL

Why ‘date less 8 hours’? Use this token when events run past midnight, but you don’t want the images created after midnight to be stored under a different date. 

SmugMug Uploader improvements

  • Improved handling of login access tokens 
  • New option to save settings to file

Try for yourself

Hotfolder Prints 1.8 is a free upgrade for all registered users who purchased Hotfolder after 9th September 2018. Customers with older licenses need to buy an upgrade license to use this release.

Download Hotfolder 1.8               Buy Hotfolder

Thank you for taking the time to read this. Do share the post with others who may find it useful.

Partner information

The ability to upload to and download from third party applications such as SmugMug, Twitter and Instagram is subject to each third party concerned continuing to allow such interactions.

These features are tested before they are released but may cease to function or be removed without notice if the third party concerned no longer allows such interaction, or changes the method/protocol required.

© Breeze Systems 2019

DSLR Remote Pro, Prints, Quick Tips

Adding guest names to prints with DSLR Remote Pro

Several of you want to include guests names on DSLR Remote Pro prints. This post shows you how.

You can either start from an existing design, or run the setup wizard to create something completely new. You then need to

  1. Create a keyboard where guests are prompted to type in their names
  2. Choose whether to enter names before or after taking the photos
  3. Add a caption to your print layout showing the name

Updates 21 August 2019

  • Reprint note: Fast reprint runs off a copy of the original print layout (with the data guests have already entered )
  • Post updated to correct error adding guest details after taking photos.

Create the keyboard where guests enter their names

Go to Advanced Settings and select the Touchscreen Settings screen

On this screen, click the Test Keyboard button, then choose Message keyboard from the dropdown menu

The Touchscreen Settings screen is accessed from Advanced Settings as here (DSLR Remote Pro 3.14.1)

Hold down the Shift and Ctrl keys and left click your mouse.

This will save five files to your photo booth images folder: message_keyboard.xml, message_keyboard_lowercase.tif, message_keyboard_lowercase_pressed.tif, message_keyboard_uppercase.tif, message_keyboard_uppercase_pressed.tif

PhotoboothImages folder highlighting the 4 tif files you need to delete and the xml file you need to rename

Go to your PhotoboothImages folder and

  • delete these 4 tif files
  • rename message_keyboard.xml as keyboard.xml 

My PhotoboothImages folder then looks like this:

PhotoboothImages folder after deleting and renaming files

Now open keyboard.xml in a text editor such as Microsoft Notepad (which comes free with Windows 10) and change the wording of the prompt from Please enter your message to Please enter your name (or whatever text you prefer).

Original keyboard.xml prompt
Original prompt text in keyboard.xml
Revised prompt text in keyboard.xml

Save your changes and close the text editor.

The edited version of keyboard.xml will build a touchscreen keyboard looking like this:

Keyboard screen for guests to type in their name. (The new prompt has been highlighted)

Advanced users: may wish to make other changes to the xml to customize this screen. See Collecting both guest names and a message below for an example.

Choose whether guests enter their names before or after taking the photos

You can control whether guests type in their names before or after taking the photos. Just select Email input at start of sequence  or Email input after taking photos on the Touchscreen settings screen as below

Use the drop down menu to choose whether guests type in their names before or after taking the photos (DSLR Remote Pro 3.14.1 Touchscreen settings screen)

Extra screen when collecting guest data after taking photos

If you choose to collect the information after the photos are taken, you need to add an extra screen to your PhotoboothImages folder called keyboard_input_ok.jpg. This will be displayed for a short time after guests enter their data and hit OK.

You can create this screen by taking a copy of a blank screen such as taking.jpg and renaming the copy.

Showing keyboard_input_ok.jpg screen in PhotoboothImages folder

So far we have created a screen for guests to enter their names. Now we need to adapt your print layout to add these names.

Add a caption to your print layout which displays these names on the print

Open the Print Layout Editor and right click anywhere on the print. Select Add caption

Right click anywhere on the print to add your caption ( DSLR Remote Pro 3.14.1 Print Layout Editor)

To display the guests names, your caption must include the token {user1_data}. Adjust the font, color, position and angle of the caption as usual:

Caption text including the token {user1_data}

When you run the booth the name(s) guests enter will replace {user1_data}

In this example the guests type Josie & Pete …

 

… and their names are included in the print

You can combine these dynamic captions with the signing and drawing screen, including the ability for guests to choose the picture frame

Guests can add also stamps, emoji &/or frames, as well as draw or sign on prints (DSLR Remote Pro 3.14.1)

Learn more

I have shown you how to add each guest’s name to prints. Taking this a bit further

Collecting both guest names and a message

Thanks to Caroline & Josh www.giggleandriot.com for allowing us to use these lovely examples

To collect more information such as a message make these changes to keyboard.xml:

  1. Make room to collect a second data item
  2. Add a second prompt and data field, 
  3. Change the background color of the screen.
  4. To display the extra information on the print add a caption including {user2_data} to the print layout
Here I have edited keyboard.xml to (1) Make room to collect a second data item (2) Add a second prompt and data field, and (3) change the background color of the screen. To display the extra data on the print add a caption including {user2_data} to the print layout

Useful links

Try for yourself

Download DSLR Remote Pro       Buy DSLR Remote Pro

Thank you for taking the time to read this. Do share the post with others who may find it useful.

© Breeze Systems 2019

 

Breeze Booth, DSLR Remote Pro, Prints

New in DSLR Remote Pro 3.14

DSLR Remote Pro 3.14 introduces a choice of frame after photos are taken, support for the latest Canon camera, and sharing counters.

New in this release

  • Guests choose frame for their own print in the drawing/signing screen
  • Counters for the total number of emails, texts and tweets
  • Print logos are now placed on top of overlays
  • Support for new Canon EOS 250D/EOS 200D II/Rebel SL3 camera
  • Fix for reliability issue playing videos in photo booth mode caused by recent Windows updates.

Note: DSLR Remote Pro 3.14.1 (published on 31 July) fixes an issue which could cause logos not to be displayed in the print layout editor.

Guests choose their own print frame

Offer your guests a choice of print frames on the signing/drawing screen*.

Guests choose from a selection of print frames on the signing/drawing screen (DSLR Remote Pro 3.14)

Social sharing totals

Display Sharing totals by selecting Preferences then Photo Booth Event Info ( DSLR Remote Pro 3.14)

DSLR Remote Pro now counts the total number of emails, texts and tweets sent from the booth.

You can reset these counters between events. More details

Print logos placed over the print overlay

You have been able to add logos to your prints without using Photoshop® or other image editors since v3.12. Many of you asked us to place these logos over the print overlay – so we have made this change in v3.14

png and jpg logos added in the Print Layout Editor are now displayed in front of the print overlay (DSLR Remote Pro 3.14)

Support for new camera

DSLR Remote Pro supports almost all Canon DSLR cameras, plus the mirrorless M50 and EOS RP.

DSLR Remote Pro 3.14  adds support for the new EOS 250D/Rebel SL3/EOS 200D II/EOS Kiss X10.

*Enabling guest print frames

Enable signing and drawing on prints in the usual way.  (Select Advanced Settings, then Output Options Settings. Check the box marked Sign or draw on photos before printing, and OK as you leave.)

Enabling the signing/drawing on prints screen. Guests can choose a frame as well as drawing on the print and adding custom stamps/emoji (DSLR Remote Pro 3.14)

More details here

Your frames should be png images the same size in pixels as the print layout. Place them in the PhotoBoothImages folder for the event. The name of each frame must start frame_ as below:

I also customised the icons to the left of this screen by placing my own images in the PhotoBoothImages folder. You can customise all these icons in the same way. Make this screen your own.

Try DSLR Remote Pro 3.14 for yourself

DSLR Remote Pro 3.14 is a free upgrade for all registered users who purchased DSLR Remote Pro after 24th July 2018. Customers with older licenses need to buy an upgrade license to use this release.

Download DSLR Remote Pro Buy DSLR Remote Pro

Thank you for taking the time to read this. Do share the post with others who may find it useful.

Breeze Systems 2019

Breeze Kiosk, News, Prints

Breeze Kiosk 1.5.1 released


Breeze Kiosk 1.5.1 is the latest release of our flexible sharing software for corporate and social events.

 Kiosk runs on a low powered Windows tablet running Windows 10, 8  or 7. Use it to share and print images from all Breeze photo booth programs DSLR Remote Pro, Webcam Photobooth and Breeze Booth for iPad.

You can also use Kiosk with still (JPEG) and animated (GIF, MP4 or MOV) images captured by third party software.

What’s new in Kiosk 1.5.1?

Social sharing counters

Collect stats on emails, texts and tweets sent from each Kiosk as well as the number of prints.

Breeze Kiosk 1.5.1 Photo Event INfor screen shows number of emails, texts, tweets and prints from the kiosk at an event
Breeze Kiosk 1.5.1 includes new counters for the number of emails, texts, tweets and prints from the kiosk at an event

Flexible printing

  • Print up to 3 different print sizes
  • Control several printers
Print up to 3 different sizes of print on the same or different printers with Breeze Kiosk 1.5.1

Choose up to 3 different printer settings. In the screenshot above the default printer (1) is a Mitsubishi CP70D printing 4″ x 6″ layouts. Prints prefixed square (2) are printed square on the same CP70D printer. Single 2″x 6″ strips are displayed in Kiosk as single strips, but printed (3)  as double strips on 4″x6″media.

This feature can also be used to print to 3 different printers.

Slideshow plays full video before advancing

New option to play videos at least once when running a slideshow i.e. don’t advance the slideshow until the video has played from start to finish at least once.

Performance improvements

Performance improvements for swiping images when running on Microsoft Surface Go

Fixes

  • Fixed glitch with the selected thumbnail changing when new images are added with the “Display newest images first” option selected
  • Fixed issue which caused the wrong photo to being printed if a new photo was added while the print confirmation screen was displayed
  • Fixed issue setting the initial values of check boxes in keyboards

This release is a free upgrade for all registered users who bought a Kiosk license on or after 30th May, 2018.

Customers with older Kiosk licenses need to buy an upgrade to use this release.

New to Kiosk – learn more and download a free trial

Note: This post was updated on 3rd June 2019 to add details of the new social sharing counter.

 

Breeze Systems 2019