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.