Now that you know what PhotoDay’s Capture App is, it’s time to learn how to use it. This article will walk you through the basics with step-by-step instructions and screenshots. More of a visual learner? Check out our fun workflow video below:
Before Picture Day
Start by downloading PhotoDay - Capture in the Apple App Store or Google Play Store onto your mobile phone or tablet.
To use Capture for an upcoming job, first you'll need to create a Private Gallery job in your Studio Panel. Once you have created the job, you will see an empty gallery, along with a panel to the left where you can upload a CSV file that contains your subject data. This file will contain basic information such as the individual’s first and last name, as well as other possible identifiers including email address, school name, organization name, grade level, school ID, teacher name, etc. (More information on Subject Data can be found here).
The data you upload here will also appear in the Capture app so that on picture day you can “check in” each subject by capturing their reference photo. This reference photo is used to match the data with your professional images.
TIP: If you don't have subject data in advance, you can always set up the job with just one "dummy name" and then add individual names on site as you check them in on the PhotoDay Capture app.
Now that you have your private gallery created and your subject data uploaded, it’s time to open the Capture app.
As a PhotoDay user, you automatically have access to the PhotoDay Capture app and can login with the same email address and password you use to access your Studio Panel.
However, if you want other photographers on your staff to take reference photos, you can add them as users. We do not recommend sharing your login, but rather creating user accounts for them. Find out how to do that here.
On Picture Day
Before you get to the shoot, be sure to connect to WiFi and open the Capture app on any and all devices with which you will checking in subjects. While Capture doesn’t need WiFi or cell service when you’re using it at the shoot, it is necessary to open the app and load your jobs before arriving at the shoot.
Once logged in, you will see all of your private gallery jobs. It is sorted with the most current gallery at the top (based on the picture day date that's been set for the job). Go ahead and select the job you want by scrolling or using the search bar.
To make a job available offline (which is recommended before every picture day), click the sync 🔄 button to enable syncing. If it’s your first time accessing a gallery on the Capture App, you’ll be greeted with a popup asking if you’d like to enable syncing:
If you’d like to disable syncing, click the sync button again. Disabling syncing on a gallery will clear the cached data for that gallery and free up space on the device. Un-synced subjects will not be cleared.
When the sync icon is green, it means the gallery is synced and available offline. When the icon is gray, it means the gallery is not synced and not available offline.
Only 5 galleries can be synced on a device at a time.
Please note: If you delete the app from your device, all local data will be lost and syncing will be disabled for all galleries. If you're going to delete the app from your device, make sure all of your reference images/data have successfully synced to the studio panel first.
You can also filter your jobs within Capture, allowing you to display either your published or synced jobs. You may also choose to leave all of your jobs visible.
The Sort function allows you to view jobs sorted alphabetically or chronologically.
The Search feature allows you to do a “fuzzy search,” which will look for jobs whose name contains the string of characters you enter in the search bar.
Next click on the gallery you'd like to work on. Capture will populate a list of names gathered from the subject data associated with that job:
Now it’s time to check in each subject. You or an assistant can do this while they’re waiting in line, as they sit down to be photographed, or even after posing. Simply ask for their name and select it from the list of people, search for it using the search function in the check-in list, or add a new subject by clicking the + sign:
When you select a name from the list, you’ll then be brought to the camera function of Capture. This is where you will snap a reference photo of the subject you just selected. This reference photo will be associated with that subject’s data and will be used to match them with your professional images via FaceFind later on. Go ahead and snap a reference photo using the camera button at the bottom of the screen:
Once the reference photo is captured, the subject is fully checked in. Repeat this process for all of your subjects. As you check in each subject, they will move from the People tab on the bottom left of the screen to the Checked In tab on the bottom right of the screen.
Both pages show a Filter option on the top left that allows you to stack filters, giving you more control over the group of subjects you want to check in:
Capture internally matches the reference photo and the CSV data of each person with your professional images. When the mobile device you’re using detects a cellular or WiFi signal, the app will automatically synchronize its data with your Studio Panel. The folders in your subject data list will now contain the correct reference photo for each person.
In your Studio Panel, you can now upload your professional photos to the gallery and watch the magic happen! FaceFind is doing the hard work, so please be patient if it take a little while to finish.
TIP: Capture saves every reference photo you take right within your camera roll. It also creates an album with your job’s name right within your Photos app.
If you ever have a question or are experiencing an issue, just click the icon in the top right to reach our support team in the bubble.
Other helpful articles regarding private galleries and Capture: