Originally posted at Tangzine.com on 9/5/09

When I was a kid, one of my favorite things to do at the arcade was to get my photo taken at the photo booth. I have always wanted to make my own photo booth, so a few weeks ago I decided to make a cardboard version of one for a music festival that I helped host. I originally planned to make my photo booth out of plywood, but to save money and time I decided to use materials that I had lying around my house. I ended up using an old-fashioned one-piece school chair that I found in my attic and two large upright boxes that were the perfect size to form the frame around the desk set. I cut a large opening out of one of the boxes and placed the front of the desk halfway into the opening. Two blue curtains hung from curtain rods that I duct-taped across the tops of the boxes. Red sheets tacked to the back wall of the booth provided a backdrop for the photos. My wife painted pictures and signs on the sides of the booth and attached a mirror to the outside, which unfortunately fell off during transport to the festival. Using a box cutter, I cut out a slot for placing money and attached a mailer tube inside the box to direct the money into a paint can.

To take the pictures, I used the Photobooth program and the camera on my Macbook laptop computer, which I set on the top of the desk inside the booth. The Photobooth program allows users to take photographs of their mirrored images right at their computer. The program offers a lot of visual effects including several distorted views that add a funhouse mirror effect to the picture. In order to give the participants the full photo booth experience, I attempted to print out the pictures using a printer and some photo paper. I wanted to print out the pictures in a vertical strip like they have in the real photo booths, but the best I could do was to print out horizontal strips using the contact sheet format and cut the strips with a paper cutter.

I’ve attached some photos of the booth and a few pictures that my wife and I took inside the booth.

This is just a soft opening for folks looking for some unique last-minute gifts for the holidays. Expect new and exciting things coming in the new year as we develop this humble abode.

Take a look around the Web site and let us know what you think by e-mailing info@whiteelephantcreations.com.

White Elephant started as a collective more than 15 years ago and has been the handle for independent zines, books, concerts, short films, cards and an assortment of other creative ventures undertaken by members of the Ralph family and friends.