DSLR Snap user guide

1. Install and first start

1. Download DSLR Snap from dslrsnap.com/download and run the installer. If Windows says "Windows protected your PC", choose More info → Run anyway.
2. On first start, choose where photos are saved. Each event gets its own folder there, with Photos, Prints, GIFs and Boomerangs inside, ready to hand to the client.
3. Open the operator menu: tap the top-left corner of the booth screen five times quickly, or press Ctrl+Shift+A.
4. Under Printer & devices → Operator PIN, set a 4 to 8 digit PIN so guests can't leave the booth screen.
5. Under Account, press Sign in to connect your plan (this removes the watermark) and the cloud gallery for QR downloads.

2. Connect your camera

DSLR Snap controls Canon cameras (and Nikon in beta) over USB. Before you plug in, set the camera like this:

• Mode dial on M (manual), so DSLR Snap can set the exposure.
• Image quality JPEG only (no RAW): it's much faster.
• Auto power off: disabled, and ideally a mains dummy battery: batteries die mid-event.
• Autofocus on, with the lens switch on AF.
• Close Canon EOS Utility or Nikon software: they hold on to the camera.

Plug the camera into the computer by USB and switch it on. The Camera dot in the operator menu turns green and live view appears. If you unplug it, it reconnects by itself when you plug it back in.

3. Camera and flash settings

Open Camera in the operator menu (or the Camera step when setting up an event). Your flash sets most of the brightness; the camera settings decide how much room light you keep.

1. Start from a built-in setting: Standard (most indoor events), Bright room, Dark venue or Outdoors.
2. Press Take test shot. The histogram and the message say whether it's too dark, too bright or good. Tap the photo to check focus.
3. Adjust with the ◀ ▶ arrows: ISO brighter or darker; Aperture f/5.6–8 keeps a whole group sharp; Shutter slower keeps more room light.
4. Happy with it? Press ＋ Save current settings as mine and give it a name, like "Speedlite ¼ power, ballroom". It appears under My settings for every future event on that computer. Saving the same name again updates it; × deletes it.

Settings are saved with the event and put back on the camera when the event starts and whenever the camera reconnects.

4. Printer setup (DNP) and 2×6 strips

1. Install DNP's official Windows driver for your printer (for example the DS-RX1HS), then plug the printer in by USB and switch it on.
2. DSLR Snap finds it by itself, whatever Windows named it. Printer & devices → Printer shows which printer it uses.
3. Press Test print 4×6. The red border should be just trimmed and the blue dashed box fully visible: that means correct size, no white edges.

Cutting 2×6 strips

Strips are printed two to a 4×6 sheet and cut by the printer. Windows can't switch the DNP cut on and off per print, so DSLR Snap uses a second printer entry with the cut always on. You set it up once:

1. Go to Printer & devices → Printer → Set up automatic 2×6 cutting (the same button appears in an event's Print step). Allow the Windows prompt if it appears.
2. If it says Done, you're set. If DNP's Printing Preferences open instead, set 2inch cut to ON (under Advanced or Options), press OK, and DSLR Snap comes back.
3. Press Test print 2×6: it should come out cut into two strips, exactly on the line. 4×6 prints stay uncut.

When you set up an event, the Print & share step lets you choose 4×6 postcard (uncut) or 2×6 strips (cut). Choosing a size switches to a template of that size.

Paper and the print queue

• Set how many prints the roll has left under Printer & devices → Paper; the booth warns you before it runs out.
• If the printer runs out of paper or the door is open, the job shows Failed. Fix the printer, then press Retry in the Print queue. Nothing is printed twice.

5. Create an event

Go to Events → + New event. Six steps, each saved as you go:

1. Event: name, date and booth type (photo booth, 360 booth or video guestbook), number of photos and countdown.
2. Template: the print design, 4×6 or 2×6.
3. Look: Colour, Glam (with skin smoothing), Classic B&W, Warm or Vintage. Optionally a colour copy as well.
4. Camera: settings and test shots for this venue (see section 3).
5. Print & share: print size, copies per session, automatic printing, QR downloads and the on-screen gallery.
6. Test & launch: a checklist of camera, printer and QR. Fix anything red, then launch.

6. Templates (design in Canva)

1. Design your print in Canva (or any design app) at 4×6 or 2×6, and leave see-through windows where the photos go.
2. Download it as a PNG with a transparent background.
3. In Templates, drop the PNG in. DSLR Snap finds each photo window automatically; drag to fine-tune. The preview matches the print.

The built-in layouts can also add your event name, date and logo.

7. Running the booth

• Press ▶ Start booth. With Booth lock on, the booth covers the taskbar and ignores close shortcuts; leave through the operator menu and its PIN.
• Guests tap Start, get a countdown for each photo, then see their print and (if on) a QR code.
• Foot pedal or clicker: under Printer & devices, press Learn key and press your pedal once.
• Phone remote: tick "Control the booth from my phone" and scan the QR. Allow the Windows firewall prompt on private networks.
• Photos & stats shows every session; the event folder holds the full-size files to give the client.

8. QR downloads and the cloud gallery

Signed in under Account with QR downloads on, each guest gets a QR code to download their photos. If the venue has no internet, the booth keeps a queue and uploads later; the QR links work once the photos are up.

At dslrsnap.com/account/events you see every event: share the whole gallery with the client, add a password, change the design, see views and downloads, run a live slideshow on a TV, or download everything as a zip. Galleries are kept for one year.

9. 360, video guestbook and effects

• 360 booth: plug a GoPro HERO9–12 in by USB and switch it on; it's found within seconds. Choose booth type 360 and the spin time; DSLR Snap makes the slow-motion video with your overlay and music.
• Video guestbook: choose your webcam and microphone under Printer & devices → Video guestbook.
• Green screen and AI backgrounds: choose a background in the event; test with your real lighting first.
• GIFs and boomerangs: a GIF is made from each session's photos; tick Boomerang in the event for a looping clip too.

10. Before every event

• Camera charged or on a dummy battery, dial on M, JPEG only, auto power off disabled.
• Enough paper and ribbon; one test print of the event's size.
• A test shot at the venue, saved to the event (or applied from My settings).
• Operator PIN set, Booth lock on, computer plugged in and set never to sleep.
• The Test & launch checklist all green.

11. Troubleshooting

• Camera not found: check the USB cable and that the camera is on; close EOS Utility; press Reconnect camera. Some cameras need the screen on.
• Controls locked on the Camera screen: the mode dial isn't on M.
• Dark band across photos: the shutter is faster than the flash can sync; choose 1/125 or slower.
• Print has white edges or is scaled: use DNP's own driver and print a test 4×6; send us a photo of it if it's still wrong.
• Strips not cut: see section 4.
• No QR code: sign in under Account, and turn on QR downloads in the event's Print & share step.
• Still stuck? In the app, Printer & devices → App shows your version and the log file: attach it when you chat with us or email support@dslrsnap.com.