Idea 005 - Scream Photo Booth
This post is part of the 100 project ideas project. #The100DayProject. I am looking for feedback. Comment below or DM me via social media Instagram, Twitter.
One Line Pitch
A photo booth where the camera is only triggered when you scream loud enough. Producing a photo with real emotions.
Description
Create a photo booth that is sound dampened. In the photo booth is a screen that shows the current viewfinder from the camera and a volume gauge, as well as some simple pictographic instructions. The camera only triggers if you scream loud enough.
This should reduce people’s ability to try and look cute or presentable, and instead a more raw emotional state. Screaming can be exhilarating, a release. Especially since we are taught so often that we should be quiet and calm.
Afterwards I would print out the photo using a portable photo printer like Canon SELPHY CP1000
Prior art
I was able to find two simlare projects
Triggertrap Scream Photo Booth post motem
Let’s start with the lighting: I added a Canon ST-E2 infra-red flash transmitter to the camera’s hotshoe, and I set up a couple of Canon EX580 II flashes on super-cheap lighting stands with umbrellas. I fired the flashes on manual output (1/16 each), then set up the camera in manual exposure (1/180 second and f/10, ISO 640) and manual focus. This meant that all the shots were completely repeatable, and I wouldn’t have to make any adjustments throughout the day.
A quick crop. This was necessary because we didn’t have a lot of time to frame people properly, and besides, a lot of people either jumped or hunched over as they were howling at the camera, so the framing was almost always off anyway.
The other idea that came up, was that perhaps we should have been recording people’s screams! Playing the screams, along with a slide-show of all the photos, would have been a fantastic project, I think – but it didn’t come up as an idea until someone mentioned it to us about half-way through the day. Again, I have no idea how you’d deal with the logistics of matching up the sounds to the pictures… But it would have been great.
Market
This would be a good idea for a maker faire or a festival
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