Important: Never use it at a real event
Never use it at a real event. While it’s on, guests never see a real photo of themselves.
Turn it on
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Go to Admin Panel → Camera.
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Slide the switch at the top of the tab to Simulated. It has three positions: DSLR, Webcam and Simulated.
Result: The tab then shows only a short note about the simulated camera.
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Press Save to keep the setting, then Start Booth.
Tip: No printer on this laptop?
Start Booth asks for a printer and paper size for each photo style, so on a laptop with no printer, choose any printer Windows lists (Microsoft Print to PDF, if it’s there) on Options → Print Settings first.
Your DSLR and webcam settings are hidden but not lost. Slide back to DSLR or Webcam and they’re just as you left them. See Setting Up Your Camera for the other two.
What guests see
| Where | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Live view | A cartoon person in a party hat walks left and right along a floor, with a flag on the left. The movement shows the live view is really running, and the person makes it obvious which way up the picture is. |
| Photos | The same person, standing in the middle with both arms up. The photos cycle through four colour schemes, so the photos in a Multishot or Strip each look different. |
| A banner along the top | Reads SIMULATED CAMERA – no camera connected, with the word LIVE and the time on the live view, or PHOTO and a number on a photo. The photo number counts photos since Booth Junkie started, not per guest. |
Good to know: The banner prints too
The banner is part of every picture, so it appears on prints and in online galleries too. That’s deliberate: a simulated photo can never be mistaken for a real one.
The pictures are 3:2, the same shape as a DSLR’s, so your layouts and Auto Fit behave just as they will with a real camera.
What still works
Everything after the camera works as normal, because a simulated photo is an ordinary photo: green screen, AI, drawing, printing, sharing and uploads. It’s a good way to test a full session from start to finish, including a print, without a camera.
Test Camera rotation
Camera rotation under Admin Panel → Options → General turns the live view and the photos, just as it does with a real camera. The person in the picture makes it easy to see what each option does:
- head up means the picture is the right way up;
- the flag and the banner text show whether it’s mirrored.
See The General Tab for the list of options.
What it doesn’t replace
The dial and settings on the DSLR side of the Camera tab, and the live picture in the Green Screen tab’s settings, still use a real camera or webcam. The simulated camera is only used when you run the booth.