Whether you’re running a photo booth or photography business, the roaming photo booth is a great addition to offer to your clients. It can help you differentiate yourself from the competition and generate extra income, by offering a service that is different from the standard photo booth.
The main advantage of the roaming photo booth is its flexibility. Unlike the standard photo booth which is fixed at a location, the roaming photo booth can move around the venue freely. That way, you can go up to your guests to engage them, instead of waiting for them to come to you.
By being active, you create more engagement at the event. This increases the value you provide to your clients and guests, which drives up your business over time.
In this article, we’ll walk you through the two main types of roaming photo booths, and teach you how to set them up.
The two main types of roaming photo booths are:
- iPad-based
- DSLR-based
iPad-Based Roaming Photo Booth
The most common configuration for the iPad-based roaming photo booth is with a hand held ring light, with the iPad in the center of the ring light.
The advantage of this approach is how easy it is to set up. All you need is to run your photo booth software on the iPad, and it will take care of the rest.
Most photo booth software have the same photo-taking process. There is a live view, which helps your guests with posing, since they can see themselves on screen. Once you take a photo, you can preview the photo and download it by scanning a QR code or entering your email address.
If you need to print the photos, you will have to set up a separate printing station. Most photo booth software can upload the photos to the cloud, or connect to a file sharing service like Dropbox. At the printing station, you will download and print the photos.
Some photo booth software have the option to connect wirelessly to your printer via AirPrint, so that you can print directly from the iPad. However, because it has limited range, you will not be able to roam too far from your printer in order to stay connected.
The biggest disadvantage with the iPad-based roaming photo booth is the image quality. You’re taking photos with the front camera of the iPad, which really isn’t great. Hence, you’re charging your clients to take photos that are worse in quality than what they can take with their phones.
That’s where the DSLR-based roaming photo booth comes in. It gives you great image quality, while still providing the same instant sharing and printing features.
DSLR-Based Roaming Photo Booth
There are two possible configurations for the DSLR-based roaming photo booth.
- With one photographer, who will carry a monopod with the DSLR and iPad mounted on it.
- With one photographer and one assistant. The photographer will hold the DSLR while the assistant holds the iPad.
The process is similar for both configurations. After you take a photo with the DSLR, it will show up on the iPad. Guests can view and download the photo by scanning a QR code. Then, you can print the photos wirelessly.
The advantage of the second configuration is speed and flexibility. A monopod is heavy to carry around, and it takes time to adjust the angle of the camera. With the second configuration, the photographer can move around the venue quickly and frame the photos efficiently. Since the photographer is only focused on taking photos, they can move from group to group much faster. The assistant’s job is just to follow the photographer, and share the photos that were just taken.
We recommend using Honcho for the DSLR-based roaming photo booth. In fact, we’ve been using Honcho ourselves for hundreds of events.
Honcho has several advantages over other photo booth software:
- The second configuration is only possible with Honcho, since it transfers photos wirelessly from the photographer’s camera to the assistant’s tablet. You can’t use a wired connection between the camera and tablet, although it will be funny to watch!
- You can share the photos with face recognition, which makes it really easy for guests to find their own photos—without having to scan the QR code or enter their email addresses multiple times.
- You can print wirelessly and it gives you unlimited range between the camera and printer. Hence, you don’t have to worry about staying within connection range of the printer, and can roam the venue freely.
Let’s go through the different features of Honcho and how to use them for your DSLR-based roaming photo booth. You can also create a free account and start right away.
In addition, you can join our affiliate program and earn up to USD$88.50 for every new customer that you refer to us. That’s a generous commission!
Upload Photos Instantly, From Camera to Cloud
With Honcho, you upload photos instantly as you take them. The photos are immediately available in an online gallery, which you can open in the browser on any device. For your roaming photo booth, you will show the online gallery on your iPad.
To set it up, connect your camera to your smartphone with the Honcho app installed (available for iOS and Android). The app automatically detects your camera and uploads each photo to the cloud right after capture.
You can choose the upload resolution, from full-quality images to compressed versions at 640px on the longest side, with smaller files uploading almost instantly.
With Honcho, you can share selected photos with a QR code, or allow guests to find their own photos in the online gallery with face recognition.
QR Code
In the online gallery on the iPad, select the photos you want to share with the guests, and tap on the Share icon.
Guests can scan the QR code to view and download only the selected photos.
Face Recognition
Share the link to the online gallery with the guests, where they can view all of the photos from the event. If privacy is a concern and you don’t want the guests to view all of the photos, we provide a solution in the next section.
Guests can tap on the Find Me button and upload a selfie. Honcho automatically finds just the person’s photos and creates a personalized gallery, by matching the photos to the selfie with face recognition.
This is especially convenient if you take multiple photos of the same guests, since they do not have to scan the QR code repeatedly throughout the event.
Blur Photos in the Online Gallery
As mentioned in the previous section, you can distribute your photos with face recognition, by sharing the online gallery with the guests. Guests can then open the online gallery and find their own photos by uploading a selfie.
However, guests will be able to see everyone else’s photos in the online gallery, which might be a privacy concern.
Honcho provides a simple and innovative solution: blurring all the photos in the gallery. Only images found through facial recognition are unblurred, allowing each guest to view only the photos they appear in.
This approach makes it possible to share the entire gallery while preserving privacy, allowing each guest to access only their own photos.
Play Live Slideshows to Engage the Audience
The roaming photo booth is not just for capturing photos of guests. More importantly, it’s about creating an immersive and engaging experience, to add to the overall experience of the event.
One powerful way to add to the experience is with a live slideshow. Displaying photos on a large screen engages the audience, sparks conversations, and enhances the event’s atmosphere.
It’s also an excellent opportunity to showcase your service in real time. When someone in the crowd needs a roaming photo booth for their own event, who do you think they’ll remember?
Honcho makes setting up a live slideshow easy. Just open the online gallery, click “More,” and choose “Slideshow”—no additional software required.
Print Wirelessly
With Honcho, you can print wirelessly with unlimited range. That means you don’t have to worry about staying within the connection range of your printer, and can roam the venue freely.
Let’s start by getting your printer set up.
First, download and install the CloudPrint app on your laptop—it’s available for free for all Honcho users.
Then, connect your printer to your laptop. In CloudPrint, you can choose your printer and paper size.
Finally, give a name to your printer so that you can easily find it in Honcho.
Click on Connect. Your printer is now online and ready to print wirelessly.
In the Honcho mobile app or website, select the photo to print. Then, tap on the Print icon.
Select the name of your printer and tap on Print. And that’s it, you have successfully printed with Honcho.
Since it works wirelessly, you can print on any device. For example, you can open up Honcho on your phone, and send the prints wirelessly to your printer—which is connected to your laptop.
This gives you flexibility in your workflow. For example, you can have an assistant to manage the printing—accessing Honcho from the same laptop that the printer is connected to. Or you can print the photos yourself from the mobile app.
Conclusion
The roaming photo booth is a great way for you to complement your other photo booth services. Unlike other photo booths, you can freely move around the venue with the roaming photo booth, to actively engage the guests.
While the most common type is the iPad-based roaming photo booth, it falls short in image quality. If you truly want to give your clients the best experience, work with a DSLR-based roaming photo booth.
Honcho is the best software for the DSLR-based roaming photo booth. It gives you flexibility in your configuration, allows you to share photos with face recognition (which feels magical for the guests), and gives you unlimited connection range to your wireless printer.
Sign up for a free Honcho account today and discover how it can transform your photo booth business.
In addition, you can join our affiliate program and earn up to USD$88.50 for every new customer that you refer to us. That’s a generous commission!
