This guide covers recommended camera settings for photo booth use, including focus, lighting, and troubleshooting blurry photos.

Note: You can adjust camera settings directly in the app, see the "Adjusting Camera Settings in the App" section below.

Did you notice how the front iPad camera always seems to take photos that are in focus? That's because (in mid-2023) all iPad front cameras are focus-free, there is no focus. Real cameras add complexity here: they aren't focus-free. Autofocus is slow on many lens and camera body combinations, and autofocus fails in low light on all but the best/most expensive cameras. So we highly recommend using manual focus.

Here's how to set the camera's initial focus after you have positioned the backdrop and camera:

You're all set for focus!

Make sure you have enough light. Photo booth guests like to move around: the more movement, the more light you need. You usually need more light than you think! Slow-mos need a LOT of light because they run at high FPS. We recommend using manual mode "M" on your camera so that you can use all of the settings in the app to control lighting.

You'll be using either strobe flash (a flash connected to the camera) or constant lighting (like an LED panel, not connected to the camera). Note that with strobe flash you can't take slow-mos/videos (it'll be too dark).

If you're using strobe flash, keep in mind that many cameras will behave differently if it is a first-party flash (i.e., Canon camera with Canon flash) versus a third-party flash (i.e., Canon camera with Elinchrom flash): some lower-end Canons don't support firing a third-party flash while tethered (connected to any app).

You should notice that changing your shutter speed does not make the picture brighter or darker: if it does, then your flash isn't the dominant lighting source, and that likely isn't what you want for a photo booth.

Some lighting units such as LED panels have an adjustable intensity: start with your lighting set at its brightest/highest intensity.

Unlike strobe flash, with constant lighting you do adjust shutter speed and ISO.

Start with these settings and gradually adjust in this order:

There are two main causes for this: either your camera's focus is wrong, or your shutter speed is too low.

You can quickly try setting your shutter speed to 1/250 to rule out shutter speed being the issue. See the "Use Manual Focus" section above for how to fix your focus.

If you have a Canon camera and you configure your camera settings to shoot with a flash, you'll find that you have a very dark liveview.

More detail: Troubleshooting: Dark Liveview (Canon).

To configure an external camera, touch the camera icon on the dashboard (start screen) or from the first tab in event settings to open the Camera Settings screen.

The mode set on your camera changes what settings you can change in the app. For example, if your camera's mode is set to "P", you likely cannot change shutter speed in the app. Change the camera mode to "M" for the most control in the app.

Keep in mind if the shutter speed is 1/60 or slower you might get blurry photos if you're not using strobe flash.

Camera mode For most cameras you cannot change the camera mode in the app, you can only see what it is set to; this is because the mode is set with a physical knob on many cameras.

Auto-exposure lock (AE lock) If your camera and current camera mode supports AE lock, you'll have the option of turning it on. This causes the camera to use the same exposure for every shot.

Focus mode (AF) For many cameras this will remain locked if autofocus can be toggled on the camera body or camera lens.

ISO ISO means how sensitive the camera sensor is. A higher ISO means grainier photos, which is usually not what you want, so we recommend making sure your booth has enough light that the ISO is lower. iPads max out their ISO at about 1728 (it differs for each model), if you're seeing 1728 ISO then you're at the limit, and photos/videos are probably going to be too dark.

Shutter (shutter speed) The faster the speed you select, the more light you need to make the photos come out. Make sure your booth is brightly lit.

Aperture The lower the number, the wider the lens aperture is, which means the more light enters the camera and the brighter the image becomes. As you make this number lower, the depth of field becomes narrower, which can create problems if you have larger groups of guests in the photo booth. There's also flash to consider: if you are using strobe flash, you'll find that lower apertures cause very tight depths of field, which means that not much is in focus. With a flash you probably want to stay in the range of F8 to F16.

In Camera Settings, the white balance near the top is for the photo, and the one further down is for the live view. A yellow tint in photos usually means the white balance needs changing.

Best practice is not to use Auto ISO. Set a fixed ISO and use a flash. Auto ISO can change the brightness from shot to shot (see Photos sometimes coming out "all white"?).

Set your camera to save JPG. We recommend the JPG size closest to 3000 × 2000 pixels (often called "JPG M" or "JPG S2"). If photos look pixelated because the photo is far bigger than the template's photo area, choose a smaller size such as S1.