[JamesMcMinn]

This is a partial cheat, because there was software involved, by the coolest physical thing I've made is probably the photobooth I put together for my wedding, combining an old laptop with a broken hinge (which allowed it to become a cheap touch screen), my Sony A6300 and big Epson photo printer, all crammed into some ikea shelves that I boxed up with some stiff cardboard and decorated as nicely as I could to match our thankfully fairly rustic wedding [1].

It was very simple to use, completely automated, took no maintenance other than loading some paper every few hours, and people were free to print as many high-quality 10x15cm photos as they wanted, and if I recall correct, that number was somewhere in the region of 200. There's something special about a physical print compared to seeing a picture on a screen.

The reason I think it's cool is because even 5 years later, I still visit friends and family and see photos printed from the photobooth framed on their walls, and I've had multiple friends use it for their weddings too!

I think the advantage of keeping it unmanned and simple was that older couples had a bit more confidence to get up, press one big button, and get a photo without any fuss. We had an actual wedding photographer there too, and they got plenty of wonderful photos, but mostly of the wedding party. It's only been a few years since my wedding, but unfortunately, some older guests are no longer with us, and the photobooth has left us with some wonderful photos to remember them by, which otherwise I don't think we'd have.

Very DIY, bit in my rather biased option, very cool.

[1] https://i.imgur.com/ONFa9AU.jpg (the photobooth in action)

[2] https://i.imgur.com/DcldyHV.jpg (my wife and I taken using photobooth - we still have the damn ring of ivy floating round the house!)