Photo Booth Fix: Glare on glasses in booth photos

What guests and the attendant see

Guests with glasses get white blobs or a bright ring reflected over their eyes. It is worst when they look straight into the camera, which is every booth photo.

The attendant sees a circle of light in the lenses on the live preview, often the exact shape of the ring light. On a mirror, it may be a softbox shape or a reflection of a venue light.

60-second triage

1. Ask for a small chin-down: "Chin down just a touch for me." That alone removes most glare.
2. Ask for a tiny head turn toward one side if some remains.
3. Raise the light a few inches if the stand allows it quickly.
4. Check the preview before the countdown.

Likely causes, ranked

1. Light on the lens axis. A ring light around the camera reflects straight back into it.
2. Light too low. A light at eye height bounces off glasses directly into the lens.
3. Guests lifting their chin. Very common when people pose for a photo.
4. One bright light only. A strong ring light with no second light makes a bright, obvious reflection.
5. Venue lights. A window, uplight or chandelier behind the camera reflecting in lenses.

The full fix, step by step

1. Raise the key light to 12 to 18 inches above the camera lens and tilt it down. The reflection then bounces toward the floor instead of the camera.
2. Move the light off-axis. If you use a softbox or panel, shift it 30 to 45 degrees to one side.
3. Lower the ring light's intensity and add a second light from the side, so no single reflection is as bright.
4. Coach a small chin-down for guests with glasses during the guide step of your script.
5. Remove reflections from the room: turn the booth slightly away from windows and bright fixtures behind the camera.
6. On a magic mirror, keep lights above and to the side of the mirror, aimed down at the guest mark, and turn the mirror 10 to 15 degrees if a venue light you cannot control shows in the glass.
7. On a 360, stand lights placed beyond the stanchions, 7 to 8 ft up and angled roughly 30 degrees down, rarely cause glare; if an arm-mounted light does, set it to 30 to 50%.
8. Test with clear prop glasses after every change.

Prevent it next event

• Keep a pair of clear prop glasses in the kit for testing.
• Test for glare at every setup, after the lights are placed and before guests arrive.
• Start the iPad booth light high: 6 to 10 inches above the lens is the default, raised further if the test glasses show glare.
• Use a softbox on its own stand off to the side for mirrors and premium setups.
• Add "chin down a touch" to the attendant script for guests with glasses.

When to switch to a backup setup

If raising and angling the ring light cannot clear the glare, mount a separate light on its own stand above and to one side, and turn the ring light down to act as fill. That takes a few minutes, so do it at a lull rather than with a line.

For a single guest whose glasses still catch light, try one extra frame with a chin-down and slight turn. Some guests choose to take their glasses off for one shot; let them decide and never insist. Removing glare in editing is not practical at booth volume, so solve it with light placement.