Photo booth and method for personalized photo books and the like

Abstract

A photo subject station used to capture information regarding a subject suitable for integration into a personalized, printed product and method of using same with children so that a personal identification of a child need not be saved to deliver a customized product to the child when the child takes part of a session, for example, at a school. The station uses a stool, a color background device, preferably two digital cameras and lights located at fixed positions in the station and a computer. The computer creates and stores a subject file for each subject that contains photographs of the subject (e.g., three frontal and three profile photographs with three different facial expressions, plus a rear photograph), an image data file associated with the photographs (which contains x-y coordinates used for scaling the photographs), a data file containing an identification related to the subject and a bit map skin file (derived from one of the photographs for use in fixing personalized skin color). The method uses a coordinator whose identity is used for shipping personalized products and assisting in a session.