Projects & event phases

Organizations keep work tidy with two simple containers: a project is the whole job ("Acme Annual Conference"), and an event is a single shoot inside it ("Keynote & Awards Night"). One client, one project, as many events as the job needs — a multi-day or multi-shoot engagement stays together instead of scattering across loose albums. Web

Create a project

A project is just a labelled folder for one client's job. Make it first, then hang events off it.

1. In the org top bar, open the Projects page, then click New project (top-right). — the New project form opens with a Projects › breadcrumb.
2. In Project name (the only field with a red *), type the job name, e.g. Annual Conference 2026. — leaving it blank stops the form; everything else is optional.
3. Pick a Client from the dropdown (defaults to — No client —). — linking a client now is what later lets you deliver galleries and track the relationship. You can also leave it unlinked and add it later. See Clients.
4. Choose a Shoot type (defaults to — Select type —): Wedding, Corporate, Portrait, Event, Commercial, or Other. — this is a label for your own sorting; it doesn't change any AI behaviour.
5. Add an optional Description for internal notes.
6. Click Create project (bottom-right). — the project's detail page opens.

The project detail page. ① the Client link (jumps to the client record), ② the green Active status pill, ③ the New session button (top-right), ④ the Sessions table — one row per event with Name · Date · Phase · Photos columns and a View → link.

The Sessions table shows every event under this project with its current Phase at a glance, so you can see across a multi-day job where each shoot stands. Click View → on any row to open that event.

Add an event (a "session")

On the project page, an event is called a session — same thing, two words. Each session is where you choose what this particular shoot needs, all up front.

1. On the project page, click New session (top-right). — the New event form opens with an Events › breadcrumb and a blue banner "New session for ."
2. Set the Workflows card first (the big card at the top). These switches decide which phases your event will have — see the next section.
3. Scroll to the Event details card and fill Event name (the red-* required field), then optional Event date, Delivery deadline, Shoot type, Target photo count, Client, Description, Client email (for gallery-ready emails) and Gallery password.
4. Click Create event (bottom-left). — the event opens, and a new row appears in the project's Sessions table.

The Workflows card — every switch explained

The Workflows card is grouped into delivery switches and AI-recognition switches. You can turn on as many as the job needs; greyed-out cards with an Upgrade / Pro / Enterprise pill need a higher plan. Here is every control in order.

Delivery & gallery workflow

• Live delivery — real-time gallery updates; photos appear seconds after upload. Ticking it reveals two sub-options:
  • 📷 Auto Instagram — auto-post new photos to Instagram Stories. Reveals an account picker, a Minimum rating to post dropdown, and a Crop landscape photos to 9:16 checkbox. See Instagram & socials.
  • ✏️ Editor gate — hold raw uploads back from the public gallery until an editor approves each one. See Live delivery & editor gate.
• Sneak peek — mark individual photos to share early while the rest of the gallery stays private. (Pro.)
• Rate & Cull — rate photos 1–5 stars with keyboard shortcuts for fast triage. See Culling & ratings. (Pro.)
• Gallery visibility — a dropdown, not a toggle. Choose Auto (recommended), All photos — raws + finals, Raws only — camera uploads, or Finals only — edited photos. This controls which photos guests see on the share link.
• Client proofing — the client picks their favourites; you get the list to edit and deliver. Ticking it reveals two indented sub-options:
  • Internal review — your team (manager) approves or rejects photos before the client ever sees them.
  • Watermarked preview — show watermarked thumbnails during proofing so clients select without getting full-res files. See Internal review, proofing & delivery.
• Finals delivery — upload edited finals (from Lightroom, Capture One, etc.) back into SnapFlow; finals are stored separately and can replace raws in the gallery.
• FTP camera upload — allow cameras to push frames straight in over FTP. This one is ticked by default. Untick it to block camera FTP only — Lightroom and editor credentials keep working. See Uploading photos.

AI recognition (these appear when your plan family includes them)

• People detection — detect and group faces so you can deliver a set to each person. Ticking it does two things: it shows an amber legal-basis box you must confirm (below), and it unlocks four nested sub-pipelines:
  • 🎯 Read numbers (jersey, bib, car, sail, saddle, bike) — AI reads visible numbers and matches them to your athlete/vehicle registry. See Reading numbers.
  • 🎽 Match athletes to their team New — groups athletes by uniform/livery. See Teams & kits.
  • 🚗 Vehicle detection Beta — finds cars, motorbikes, bikes, boats and horses. See Vehicles.
  • ⚽ Helmet-paint recognition Beta — matches drivers/riders by helmet design. See Helmet recognition.
• AI metadata Studio — auto-generate a caption and keywords for every photo, embedded into downloaded files for press and editorial delivery. This is a standalone toggle, separate from People detection. See Metadata workflows.

The Workflows card on the New event form, mid-setup. ① the People detection toggle, ② the amber "I have a legal basis to process biometric data at this event." box you must tick, ③ the four nested recognition sub-options (Read numbers, Match athletes to their team, Vehicle detection, Helmet-paint recognition).

The event lifecycle: phases

An org event moves through an ordered sequence of phases, and the phase decides what your team and the client can see. The big idea: a half-finished edit never reaches the client early, because the gallery obeys the phase.

The phases are built from the toggles you turned on. SnapFlow assembles the ladder for you:

1. Uploading — always present. Photographers are pushing frames in.
2. Internal review — added only when Internal review is ticked (which itself only exists when Client proofing is on). Your team approves or rejects before anyone outside sees the photos.
3. Client proofing — added only when Client proofing is on. The client picks favourites.
4. Finals upload — added only when Finals delivery is on. You upload the edited set.
5. Delivered — added when either Client proofing or Finals delivery is on. The gallery is officially handed over.

Moving between phases

The phase strip sits near the top of the event page: numbered dots, the current phase label, and one button to step forward (and ← Back to step back). The forward button is labelled for the next step:

Next phase	Button label
Internal review	Start review →
Client proofing	Open for proofing →
Finals upload	Upload finals →
Delivered	Mark delivered → (green)

1. On the event page, find the phase strip (numbered dots + current-phase label). — the active dot is filled brand-blue; completed dots show a ✓.
2. Click the forward button (e.g. Open for proofing →). — the event advances one phase and the share gallery updates to match.
3. Made a mistake? Click ← Back (left of the forward button). — the event drops back one phase.

Confirming delivery

When Client proofing is on and you reach the Delivered phase, a green Ready to deliver card appears (for owners and managers).

1. Reach the Delivered phase. — a green Ready to deliver card appears above the gallery.
2. (Optional) Type the client's address in the client@company.com (optional) box. — leave it blank to skip the email and just mark it delivered.
3. Click Send & mark delivered. — the client gets a link to their finished gallery, and the event is stamped as officially delivered. This is a deliberate "it's ready" moment, not the client watching edits trickle in.

What to do next

• Put photographers on the event so their uploads are attributed — Team & roles.
• Link or create the client you'll deliver to — Clients.
• Run the review → proofing → delivery loop — Internal review, proofing & delivery.
• Understand how captions and keywords travel into the delivered files (the AI metadata value for press/editorial) — Metadata workflows.