Start a session

There are two ways to get there:

• From an existing session's page: a Viewing session tab is available. Click "Launch viewing session" (or "Open viewing session screen" if a session is already in progress).

• From the module settings page: "Start a session" button, which lets you pick the session from a list.

The Viewing session tab on the session page also shows you, read-only, a summary of what has already been done (rated photos, carts in progress, quote generated, composed collections, lists). Handy to pick up where you left off without reopening the full-screen view.

Import your photos

On the first screen, in the Session photos step, two buttons let you load your photos:

• Choose a folder…: selects a whole folder (and its subfolders), sorted automatically in natural order (e.g. IMG_2 before IMG_10).
• Specific photos…: to select exactly the files you want, without sorting them into a separate folder first.

Once a first batch is imported, the step offers Add A folder… or Photos… to import more batches one after another (the step then shows the number of batches and photos). Change folder, on the other hand, replaces everything imported so far, after a confirmation if there are several batches.
A photo whose file name has already been imported is skipped: the module identifies each photo by its name.

Once the session has started, + Add photos (and the folder icon right next to it, for a whole folder) adds to your selection from the Browse screen, without reloading everything.

No photo is ever sent to Fotostudio's servers: they're read directly from your computer. As long as no photo is loaded, the other screens stay locked.

Put a batch in one of your lists

Right after each import, a Put these N photos in line appears ("These N photos in" from the Browse screen). Choose one of your lists in the menu, or + New list… to create one (for a folder, its name is pre-filled), and the batch you've just imported goes straight into it. Leave No list to skip this.
Handy to import, for example, an "Album" folder then a "Prints" folder, each into its own list. If the list has a quota and it's full, the extra photos are still imported, outside the list.

Start the slideshow

The slideshow plays automatically (adjustable speed), with a cross-fade between photos and a slight random zoom/pan effect on each photo.

• Music: one or more tracks set in your default settings or chosen for this session. Several tracks play one after another rather than looping on a single one.
• Opening and closing cards: show the client's name, the session label and date, then a customizable thank-you message. Background and logo come from your visual identity.
• Fixed total duration (if set in the settings): each photo stays on screen for the time needed to fit that duration, instead of at a fixed speed.
• Live favorite: click the heart (or press "1") to rate the photo on screen "Love it" without leaving the slideshow.
• Full-screen mode: dedicated button or "f" key. A black "door" appears first, so your client never sees the slideshow already running while you connect the projector.
• Filtered slideshow: from the Browse screen, start a slideshow showing only the photos currently visible with your filters (e.g. only the "Love it" ones).

The Browse screen: rate, sort and filter

The main screen: a contact sheet on the left or at the bottom (adjustable), the photo in large format, and a rating panel on the right.

• Rating: Love it / Like it / No (buttons or keys 1/2/3), with automatic move to the next photo.
• Filter the display: combine the 4 states (Love it/Like it/No/Not rated yet) to show only what you want.
• Multiple selection: Ctrl/Cmd + click on several thumbnails to send them straight to Compare.
• Drag and drop: reorder the photos with the mouse, or drag a photo straight onto one of your lists to add it.
• My lists: on top of the rating, put a photo in one or more custom lists according to its use (e.g. "Album selection", "Free prints"). Unlike Love it/Like it/No, a photo can belong to several lists at once, and you can reorder them independently of the overall order.
• Black and white preview: button at the top right of the photo, to judge a crop or an emotion without being swayed by color.

• Copy file names: handy to find the same photos in Lightroom.
• Delete a photo: dedicated button or Delete/Backspace key.

Compare photos

Select 2 or more photos (Ctrl/Cmd + click from Browse): the switch to this screen is automatic as soon as the 2nd photo is selected. Each photo shown has a visible number, so your client can simply say "number 3".

Inspection tools:

• Zoom, adjustable, with a clickable focus point
• Loupe, synchronized on all photos at the same spot
• Blink: automatically alternates between the selected photos, in the same frame, to compare a specific detail

Each photo keeps its own rating buttons, and a "Keep this one" button rates the clicked photo "Love it" and all the others "No" in one click.

The client screen (2nd screen)

For a projector or TV connected to the same computer: open the client screen ("..." menu in the top bar) in a new window and move it to that 2nd screen. It only shows the photos (no control buttons) and syncs in real time with what you're showing. The slideshow music plays only on this screen, never on yours.

Everything is saved automatically

Ratings, lists and cart are saved continuously, with no "Save" button. You can close the tab and pick up later exactly where you left off.
To start from scratch on a session you've already started (e.g. after a test), use "Reset session" ("..." menu). Quotes already generated are never deleted.

Learn more

• Sell during the viewing session: actual-size products, room view, collections, cart and quote

Updated on: 27/10/2026