Photo & strip with BTS (live mode) in Easy Mode

A single photo or a photo strip with a frame, plus a short moving clip of the guests posing: the BTS (behind-the-scenes) video, which many people call live mode or a live photo. In Easy Mode you set it up in a couple of minutes, without opening a studio.

Before you start

• Q-Booth is in Easy Mode (the button at the bottom left reads Switch to Expert mode).
• A camera is connected and shows a live view (see Camera settings).
• Have your frame ready: a PNG with transparent holes where the photos go, in the shape of the print (for example 1200 × 1800 for a 4×6, 600 × 1800 for a 2×6 strip).

Which card to use

In the event wizard, step 2 Templates shows the cards. Two of them make plain photos:

Open the Strip / Collage card

1. Click Event in the side menu. Press Create on the New Event card, or Edit an event you already have.
2. Go to step 2, Templates.
3. Click Strip / Collage. The Make a strip or collage window opens. It starts as a classic strip: 2:6 Strip, 3 photos, Double.

Example 1: a photo strip with BTS

1. Template name: type a name guests will read, for example Coffee Strip. The cover is made automatically from the layout; click the cover box to use your own picture instead.
2. Size: keep 2:6 Strip.
3. Frame: click Choose File..., then File, and pick your strip PNG. A see-through PNG is laid over the photos; a solid picture goes behind them. Q-Booth works that out by itself.
4. Photos: use − and + to match the holes in your frame (3 here).
5. In the preview on the right, drag each numbered box onto its hole, and drag a corner to resize it. Reset layout puts the boxes back in a neat stack.
6. Strips per print: Double prints the same strip twice on one 4×6, ready to cut down the middle. You only lay out one.
7. Under Extras, turn on Behind the scenes (BTS).
8. Click Save Template.

Example 2: a single photo with BTS (live mode)

1. Click the Strip / Collage card again and type a name, for example You & Me Live.
2. Size: choose 2:3 Portrait (4R) for a 4×6 print (or the shape your frame was drawn for).
3. Strips per print: choose Single.
4. Photos: press − until it shows 1.
5. Frame: choose your PNG, then drag and resize box 1 so it covers the frame's window.
6. Under Extras, turn on Behind the scenes (BTS). Turn Slideshow video off: with one photo there is nothing to cycle through.
7. Click Save Template.

The Extras switches

How BTS works at the booth

• The camera records the last 3 seconds of the countdown, while the guests get ready. A small blinking dot shows while it records. If the event's countdown is shorter than 3 seconds, it runs for 3.
• At zero the recording stops and the photo is taken as usual. The print is always that photo, so it keeps the camera's full quality.
• The clip has no sound. The camera filter the guest picks is applied to the clip as well.
• In a strip, every shot gets its own clip, and the video plays them together in their boxes. With Double the video shows both strips, like the print.
• The Live View on/off button is not offered on the camera page for these templates: the live view has to run to record.
• If the photo fails, the guest still gets the clip.

Your templates

Saved templates appear under Your templates on the right. A strip is marked Strip / Collage, a one-photo template Photo. Use the pencil to edit, the bin to remove, and the arrows to change the order. Click Next to continue with Look and Start, and Save the event.

What guests get

1. The guest taps the template on the start screen. The countdown runs and the photos are taken, one per box.
2. On the Result page they step through the results with the arrows: the photo or strip, the BTS video, then the plain photos and the slideshow if those are on.
3. The print is the photo. The QR code takes the results home on their phone.

For the full event flow see Run an event.

More control in Expert mode

In Easy Mode the BTS clip is always 3 seconds. A template made with the Strip / Collage card is a normal Collage Studio template. Click Switch to Expert mode, open it, and in Options › Behind The Scene (BTS) set Video duration (sec). Collage Studio also adds text, a QR code layer, AI photos and more; see Collage Studio.

Tips

• Tell guests to start moving during the countdown, not only at the end: that is what the video catches.
• BTS adds a few seconds of processing for the video, more on a long strip. Test with the real camera before the event.
• Draw the frame in the same shape as the Size, and fit every box to its hole before saving.

Common problems

Next steps