Connecting a photo booth live

With Live Upload you connect a photo booth, camera or computer directly to your event. Every photo the device sends appears in the gallery and on the photo wall within seconds — no manual uploading needed. The connection works over FTP/FTPS (the device pushes photos to us) or over WebDAV (you mount the event like a network drive).

Note

Live Upload is a premium feature, and since the admin rework it is a page of its own rather than a settings tab: sidebar Event ▸ Live Upload, route /admin/live-upload. The entry only appears if your event plan includes the feature; opening the address without it shows a locked page instead of a dead link. Unlock it under Pricing & upgrade.

The old deep link /admin/settings?tab=live-upload still works — it redirects to the new page automatically.

Who needs this?

Live Upload is for hosts/owners who run a photo booth or an FTP-capable camera at the event. Only the host can create and manage accesses. Operators matter when you hand out an access with the Full event permission. Moderators are only indirectly affected: moderation still applies to live uploads — unless an access deliberately bypasses it (see Skip moderation).

Opening the Live Upload page

1. Open your event’s admin area. If you are in the gallery, tap your profile menu at the top right and choose Management → Admin portal. See also Reaching your event admin.

2. In the sidebar, in the Event group, click Live Upload. Direct link: /admin/live-upload.

Tip

The admin search (magnifier at the top) jumps straight into individual areas of this page: there are hits for the access wizard, the access list and the connection details. The hit opens the page and highlights the area briefly.

Tip

Live Upload deliberately sits next to Settings rather than inside them: this is device management — credentials, folder filters, WebDAV, album mappings — not preferences. Accordingly there is no page-wide Save button. Creating, pausing and revoking accesses, plus setting a logo or password, take effect immediately. Only the edit dialog collects its changes and applies them via Save.

How the page is laid out

From top to bottom you will find these areas:

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The connection details for the device on top, the accesses you created below.

Connection card — this goes into your device

At the very top is the card Connection — enter in your camera or photo booth. It shows the three values that belong in every photo booth or camera — each with a Copy button:

• Server — the address (host) the device connects to. On photogala.net it is ftp.photogala.net.
• Port — the connection port. The default is 21.
• Security — either FTPS (TLS) (encrypted, recommended) or FTP (no TLS).

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These three values are what the device needs: ① Server, ② Port, ③ Security. The small button next to each value copies it to the clipboard – there is nothing to type out.

Below it sits the WebDAV box Mount as drive (WebDAV) with its own WebDAV URL (https://dav.photogala.net/) and copy button. With this you open the event on a computer like a network drive — upload, browse and delete (deleted files go to the recycle bin).

Always use the values from your own card

If your event runs through a partner with their own domain (white label), the addresses are different: ftp.<partner-domain> and https://dav.<partner-domain>/. The photogala addresses above will not work then. So always copy the values from your connection card instead of typing them from here.

The three connection modes

The server accepts photos over three routes — old camera and photo booth firmwares often speak only one of them:

Mode	Port	When to use it
Explicit FTPS (AUTH TLS)	21	The normal case. FileZilla calls it Explicit FTP over TLS. Recommended.
Implicit FTPS	990	When your device offers only “FTPS” or “FTP with SSL” without a choice and does not connect on port 21. TLS from the first byte.
Plain FTP (unencrypted)	21	Only if the device has no TLS at all. The password travels in the clear.

Port 990 is not printed on the card

The connection card always shows port 21, because that is the standard route. Many professional cameras (especially older Canon and Nikon firmwares) speak implicit FTPS exclusively — those need port 990. If the camera will not connect on port 21 with SSL/TLS enabled, try 990 before falling back to unencrypted FTP.

Passive mode and firewall

FTP opens a second connection for every file. To get that through routers and event Wi-Fi:

• Set the client to passive mode (PASV/EPSV). Almost all booth programs and cameras do this by themselves; FileZilla calls it Transfer mode: Passive.
• The network at the venue must allow outbound: 21/tcp (or 990/tcp) for the control connection and 31000–31099/tcp for the data connections.
• At the same time, 64 connections per server and 16 connections per IP address are allowed. Several booths behind one event router share those 16.

Caution

The classic symptom of blocked data ports: login succeeds, but the directory listing stays empty or the transfer hangs at 0 %. In that case the 31000–31099 range is missing, not the password.

“How it works & compatible devices” fold

Collapsed by default. It explains the flow in three steps and lists compatible devices:

• Photo booths: most booth software (e.g. dslrBooth, Breeze, Darkroom Booth) has built-in FTP upload.
• Cameras with FTP: many professional cameras (e.g. Canon EOS R, Nikon Z, Sony Alpha) can push every shot right from the camera menu — set image transfer to JPEG.
• Computer: mount the event as a network drive via WebDAV (e.g. with Cyberduck, WinSCP or rclone).

The expanded fold: the three steps on top (create an access, enter the details on the device, done), the three device groups with their icons below. Right underneath sits the second, still collapsed fold QR code straight to the photo, followed by the Access credentials list.

“QR code straight to the photo” fold

Appears only if your event supports QR deep links. Many booth apps show a QR code per printed or displayed photo that leads straight to that exact photo in the gallery — guests land there even while the upload is still finishing. To do this, you enter a link template with a file-name placeholder in the booth software.

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The QR code takes guests straight to the freshly uploaded picture.

The template has the form …/<username>/{filename}. The placeholder syntax depends on the software:

• Photobooth App: {filename}
• Darkroom Booth: %file%
• dslrBooth can only show its own FotoShare QR. Use a static QR code to the gallery there instead.

Every active access also gets a QR copy button in the list (Copy QR link template for this device) that copies the finished template with the correct username.

What the guest sees when scanning depends on where the photo currently is:

• Photo already there: the gallery opens with the picture in the lightbox.
• Photo still on its way: a waiting page that refreshes itself — as soon as the picture arrives, it jumps to it.
• Photo awaiting approval: likewise a self-refreshing waiting page, with a note about moderation.
• Photo rejected or deleted: a notice, without auto-refresh.

Note

Printed QR codes stay valid even if you revoke the access later — the links keep working, only new photos stop arriving. An unknown username looks exactly like “photo still on its way” to the guest.

Note

There is no printable info sheet for devices here. What exists is the copyable QR link template on this page and — for a sign at the device — the QR poster print template in the Design Studio.

Creating an access

Scroll all the way down to Create new access (lock icon).

The Permissions dropdown, opened. Highlighted is the default Own uploads (recommended) – the device only sees its own photos, and deleting on the booth moves the photo to the event recycle bin. The other two levels are Upload only and Whole event.

Tip

Create one access per device (e.g. “Booth entrance”, “Booth bar”). That way you can pause or revoke a single device at any time without disturbing the others. Up to 50 accesses per event are possible — revoked ones count towards that.

1. Enter a Label (required). Example: “Photo booth entrance”. Without a label the Create access button stays disabled.

2. Choose Permissions. The dropdown offers three levels:

   • Upload only — the device can never delete anything. It sees an empty folder over FTP/WebDAV.
   • Own uploads (recommended) — the default. The device sees only its own photos; deleting on the booth moves the photo to the event recycle bin.
   • Full event — browse and delete everything (operators only).

3. Optional: Display name in the gallery (max. 50 characters). Empty = the label is used. Uploads appear under this name — handy for smart albums and filtering by booth.

4. Optional: expand Advanced options (see below).

5. Click Create access. A green panel then shows the fresh credentials once, large.

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① the Label – while it is empty the button stays greyed out. ② the Permissions (default: Own uploads). ③ the Create access button. Below them sit the optional display name and the Advanced options panel.

What the username looks like

The platform assigns the username automatically from the event and the label, followed by four random characters — for example anna-wedding-booth-entra-9f2c. It contains only lower-case letters, digits and hyphens and is at most 32 characters long. That is deliberate: it can be typed on a booth touchscreen or in a camera menu without any special characters.

How long an access is valid

The server sets the expiry date itself when the access is created — event date + 7 days. If your event has no date, or the date is already in the past, 30 days from now applies instead. The date cannot be changed on the page; in the access list you only see it indirectly, as the red expired badge.

Caution

For multi-day events and for late uploads weeks afterwards this means: once expired, the device can no longer log in. Simply create a new access and enter the new details on the device — photos already uploaded are unaffected.

Advanced options

Behind Advanced options sits the Password (optional) field first, and below it three collapsible option groups. You will meet the same three groups again in the edit dialog.

Password (optional) — leave empty to generate one automatically. A custom password must be 10–64 characters, contain only printable ASCII (no spaces, no accented characters) and use at least 4 different characters. Otherwise it is rejected.

Generated passwords are deliberately easy to type

Generated passwords look like k3fm-x8p2-wq7n: three groups of four with hyphens. Easily confused characters do not occur — no 0 and no O, no 1, no l and no i. Whatever looks like a zero is not one. This saves most failed attempts on a booth touchscreen.

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Label, permissions and the advanced options for a new access.

Group “Moderation & gallery access”

The two checkboxes in this group: 1 Skip moderation (photo wall booth) – uploads from this access go live without review (off by default), 2 Include default password in the QR link – guests scanning the booth QR skip the password prompt (on by default).

• Skip moderation (photo wall booth) — uploads from this access are published immediately without review. The access list then shows the moderation bypassed warning. Off by default; only enable it deliberately for photo wall booths.
• Include default password in the QR link — guests scanning the photo-booth QR skip the password screen; the gallery code is filled in automatically. On by default. Only works when the event is password-protected and has a default code.

Group “Folders, albums & filters”

The Turn subfolders into albums checkbox sits at the very top of the group. With it on, an upload to `/Ceremony/photo.jpg` automatically creates the album “Ceremony”. It is off by default – the three filter fields follow below it.

• Turn subfolders into albums — if the device uploads to /Reception/photo.jpg, the album “Reception” is created automatically. Nested folders create several albums (the photo is added to each; the albums sit side by side, not inside one another). Off by default.
• Upload filters — three comma-separated lists decide what actually ends up in the gallery. Useful when booth software pushes its entire folder structure. Non-matching files are skipped silently (the device sees no error):
  • Only these folders (comma-separated) — e.g. processed_full or media/processed_full.
  • Never these folders (comma-separated) — e.g. *_original, tmp.
  • Only these file types (comma-separated) — e.g. jpg, png, mp4. A leading dot is stripped automatically.
• Assign uploads to albums — row by row you map a Folder (empty = all) to an Album. Add assignment adds a row, Remove deletes one. An empty folder covers all uploads of this access. Missing albums are created automatically. Rows without an album title are dropped on save.

Each list holds up to 20 entries (up to 120 characters each, file extensions up to 16), plus up to 20 album assignments with album titles up to 60 characters. Duplicates are merged and backslashes are straightened to /.

The three filter fields in the Folders, albums & filters group: ① Only these folders, ② Never these folders, ③ Only these file types. The Turn subfolders into albums checkbox sits at the top of the group, Add assignment at the bottom.

The three filter fields in detail

• Entries are case-insensitive and understand wildcards: *_original matches every folder whose name ends that way.
• An entry without a slash matches any folder segment of that name, however deep. An entry with a slash (media/processed_full) is compared from the front.
• Never these folders always wins over Only these folders.
• The most common pitfall: as soon as Only these folders is filled in, files directly in the root (i.e. without a folder) no longer pass. If your booth drops its images flat, leave that field empty.
• Excluded folders are rejected before the transfer even starts (FTP answers 550 Folder is excluded by the upload filter., WebDAV with 403). That saves bandwidth, but it shows up as an error in the booth’s log even though everything is working as configured.

Which folder names never become albums

Generic folders are skipped when albums are derived: dcim, img, imgs, image, images, photo, photos, pic, pics, picture, pictures, upload, uploads, misc, tmp, temp, cache, camera, media, files, output, export, exports. Also skipped are camera auto-folders following the 100CANON, 101NIKON, 100MSDCF, 100GOPRO pattern, and purely numeric folders (typical year or timestamp folders). Deep paths produce at most 8 albums, each name segment at most 60 characters.

If an expected album fails to show up, its folder name is almost always on that list — then use Assign uploads to albums instead of the automatic derivation.

Group “Sync behavior (photo booths)”

1 Re-uploading the same file name replaces the photo in place – edited booth versions update the image while likes and comments survive. 2 Don't let the booth re-upload deleted photos – photos you sorted out stay gone on the next sync. Both are on for new access credentials.

• Re-uploading the same file name replaces the photo in place — edited booth versions update the picture in the gallery, and likes and comments are kept. On by default for new accesses. Applies to images only and requires at least the Own uploads permission.
• Don’t let the booth re-upload deleted photos — deleted photos still count as present in the sync listing (but cannot be downloaded), so the booth does not re-send them on every sync. This stops photos you sorted out from reappearing and saves bandwidth. On by default; turn it off for a pure download access to keep the file list clean.

Caution

Careful with cameras that use counter file names (IMG_0001.jpg): with replacing enabled, a device can overwrite its own older photos once the counter wraps around. In that case turn the option off for this access.

Example

Your photo booth at the entrance saves every shot twice: the raw file in originals and the finished version with its frame in processed_full. Only the finished version should reach the gallery, and it should get there immediately, because it feeds the photo wall.

Under Create new access you enter Photo booth entrance as the Label, leave Permissions on Own uploads (recommended) and write Photo booth as the Display name in the gallery – so it is obvious later which images came from the booth.

In Advanced options you leave Password (optional) empty so one is generated. In the Moderation & gallery access group you switch on Skip moderation (photo wall booth) – the access list will then flag it as moderation bypassed, which is exactly what you want here. In the Folders, albums & filters group you put processed_full into Only these folders, originals into Never these folders and jpg into Only these file types. Under Assign uploads to albums you leave Folder empty and write Photo booth as the Album; the album is created automatically with the first upload.

Create access – and from now on the raw files in originals are skipped silently. The device gets no error message for them, so if nothing arrives at all, the filter is the first place to look.

Saving the fresh credentials

After creating (and after every new password) a green one-time panel shows Username and Password, each with a copy button. Enter these along with Server, Port and Security into your device and confirm with Done, I saved it.

Username and password are shown in the clear here – in this picture they are masked on purpose.

Note

No need to worry if you need the password later: you can reveal it again anytime in the access list via the eye icon.

Connecting a device — step by step

Every device needs the same handful of values:

Field on the device	Value
Server / host / address	from the connection card, e.g. ftp.photogala.net
Port	21 (with implicit FTPS 990)
Encryption	FTPS / TLS — explicit on 21, implicit on 990
Username	the access username, e.g. anna-wedding-booth-entra-9f2c
Password	the password from the green panel
Target folder / path	empty or / — unless you want albums from folders
Mode	passive

Tip

Always test the connection beforehand, not at the event. The quickest way is FileZilla on a laptop (see below): upload a test image, check the gallery, done. That way you find out in time whether the network blocks the data ports.

FileZilla (for testing and for a laptop)

1. File → Site Manager → New site.

2. Protocol: FTP – File Transfer Protocol. Host: the address from the card. Port: 21.

3. Encryption: Require explicit FTP over TLS. (If no connection is established, try Require implicit FTP over TLS with port 990.)

4. Logon type: Normal. Below it, enter the user and password of the access.

5. On the Transfer Settings tab: Passive.

6. Connect. The first time, you confirm the certificate.

On the right you then see the contents of the access (deliberately empty with Upload only). Drag a test image in — it should show up in the gallery within seconds, or in moderation first if moderation is active.

A camera with FTP (Canon, Nikon, Sony and others)

The menus differ per manufacturer and firmware, but the values are always the same. You will usually find the settings under Network, Communication or FTP transfer.

1. Get the camera onto the Wi-Fi (the same network that allows outbound 21/990 and 31000–31099).

2. FTP mode: FTPS or FTP with SSL/TLS. If the camera lets you pick between explicit and implicit: explicit + port 21. If there is no choice: try 21 first, then 990.

3. Enter the address and port from the connection card, plus the username and password of the access.

4. Leave the target directory empty (or /). Only enter a folder name here if you want albums from folders — and then enable Turn subfolders into albums.

5. Enable passive mode if the camera offers that option.

6. Transfer: JPEG — with RAW+JPEG, send the JPEG only, otherwise every shot takes needlessly long. (RAW files are accepted, but they are too large and too slow for live display.)

7. Switch on automatic transfer after each shot.

Caution

Certificate checking on cameras: some models want the server certificate imported as a file up front. Since our certificates come from a public certificate authority and are renewed regularly, a file imported once will eventually be out of date. So pick “do not verify certificate” where possible, or re-import it shortly before the event.

Photo booth software (dslrBooth, Breeze, Darkroom Booth, photobooth-app)

1. Open the FTP upload section in the software’s settings and enter server, port, encryption, user and password.

2. Leave the remote path empty (/).

3. Have exactly one output folder uploaded — usually the one with the finished, framed images. If the software insists on uploading everything, filter on our side: set Only these folders to the finished folder (e.g. processed_full) and Never these folders to the raw ones (e.g. originals).

4. For photo wall use, enable Skip moderation (photo wall booth) on the access so pictures appear without approval.

5. If the software prints a QR code per picture: copy the QR link template from the access list and enter it in the booth as the QR target (placeholders see above).

Lightroom Classic (FTP export)

In the export dialog choose Export To: FTP, enter the address under Server, the user and password of the access, leave the server path empty, enable passive mode and pick FTPS/TLS as the protocol if offered. Export as JPEG with a limited edge length — then every picture is up within a second or two.

rclone (computer as the source, unattended sync)

rclone is explicitly supported: its “upload as a temporary file, then rename” pattern is mirrored on our side, as is setting modification times (MFMT) so comparisons stay stable. You do not need --inplace.

An FTP remote (rclone config, type ftp) needs: host, port 21, user, password, explicit_tls = true, passive = true. Alternatively a WebDAV remote (type webdav) with the WebDAV URL, vendor = other and user/password — WebDAV uses basic authentication over HTTPS.

After that a call like rclone copy "C:\Booth\finished" photogala: is enough — in a loop or as a scheduled task it keeps feeding by itself. WinSCP and Cyberduck work the same way; both speak FTPS as well as WebDAV.

Mounting WebDAV as a drive

Below the connection card sits the Mount as drive (WebDAV) row. The highlighted button copies the WebDAV address – paste it into Explorer, Finder or rclone. Username and password are the same as for FTP.

Windows: Explorer → This PC → Map network drive → enter the WebDAV URL from the card → Connect using different credentials → username and password of the access.

macOS: Finder → Go → Connect to Server (⌘K) → enter the WebDAV URL → Connect → username and password.

Caution

• Authentication is basic auth over HTTPS only. Clients that insist on digest will not get through.
• When copying, Windows Explorer first creates an empty file and fills it afterwards. We discard such 0-byte files silently — that is normal and not an error, the finished picture does arrive.
• Copy in small batches over WebDAV rather than thousands of files at once: Explorer likes to abort large batches without saying so.

What happens to your files

Which files are accepted

The file type is detected from the content, not from the extension. Accepted are:

• Images: JPEG, PNG, WebP, BMP, TIFF, HEIC/HEIF, AVIF, JXL
• RAW formats: including CR2, CR3, CRW, NEF, NRW, ARW, ORF, RW2, RAF, PEF, DNG
• Videos: MP4, MOV, AVI, MKV, WebM, 3GP and more
• Motion pictures: GIF as well as live/motion photos

Note

Because the type is detected from the content while the Only these file types list goes by the extension, this applies: a file with a wrong or missing extension still arrives as long as no extension filter is set — with a filter it drops out, even if it is a perfectly good JPEG.

Size: up to 2 GB per file. Anything larger is rejected with 403 over WebDAV; over FTP the file is transferred in full and then discarded silently — so the booth reports a successful upload while nothing appears in the gallery. With long videos it is worth checking the file size.

What gets discarded silently

Always discarded, with no feedback to the device:

• thumbs.db, desktop.ini, .ds_store
• anything starting with ._ or with a dot
• files ending in .tmp, .part, .partial, .crdownload, .filepart
• 0-byte files

Caution

The second point surprises people most: any file name that starts with a dot never arrives. If your software saves images as .photo-1234.jpg, change that.

Duplicates and deleted photos

• Identical files are detected and discarded silently — even under a different name. That is why an access’s upload counter can be lower than the number of files sent; duplicates are not counted.
• Photos you deleted once (recycle bin) cannot be re-uploaded over FTP/WebDAV for 30 days — regardless of the file name and regardless of the Don’t let the booth re-upload deleted photos switch. This stops photos you sorted out from returning with the next sync. Via the normal browser upload page it would still work.
• Aborted transfers need no cleanup on your part: orphaned partial files expire by themselves (after about 12 hours over WebDAV).

What happens after the upload

Every accepted file goes through: type detection → duplicate check → storage → gallery entry (with or without moderation) → preview size rendering → AI check (unsuitable content, faces) → live notification to every open gallery.

Which means: even with Skip moderation it can take a moment until the picture is ready in all sizes. If a photo visibly stays “processing”, it is the processing that is stuck, not the transfer.

The access list “Access credentials”

This lists all active accesses, with the count in brackets after the heading. At the top right, the Show revoked link (with a count) leads to revoked accesses — it only appears when some exist. If there is no access yet, you see a hint to create the first one below.

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Every access with its label, username, permissions and the actions for it.

Each row shows:

• Logo (if set) or a camera icon.
• Username (monospace) with a copy button; active accesses also get the QR copy button.
• Password masked as dots. Show password (eye icon) reveals it on demand; a copy button then appears and the icon switches to Hide password.
• Label and optionally “appears as …” (display name), plus the amber moderation bypassed warning if applicable.
• Activity: “last active …” or “no uploads yet” and the number of uploads.
• Permission badge (blue): Upload only / Own uploads / Full event.
• Status badge: active (green) / paused (amber) / expired (red).

Actions per access

The highlighted button copies the QR link template for this device – the booth fills in the file name and prints the QR straight onto the photo. The password to its left stays masked as dots; only Show password reveals it.

• Edit (pencil) — opens the edit dialog (see below).
• Pause (active accesses only) — stops the device. The prompt “Pause access?” appears — the device stops uploading until you resume it.
• Resume (paused accesses only) — reactivates the device.
• Revoke (trash) — revokes the access for good. Prompt “Revoke access?” — the device can no longer upload. Revoked accesses disappear from the main list but remain in the revoked dialog for traceability.

Note

Pausing, revoking and a new password take effect immediately — they are checked before every single file. An already open connection is not cut, but nothing gets through from the next file onwards.

Caution

Revealing via the eye icon can silently fail for very old accesses without a stored plaintext password; the same happens after a server-side key rotation. (We store the password encrypted, not in the clear.) Fix in both cases: set a new password in the edit dialog.

Edit dialog

The pencil icon opens Edit access (subtitle = username). Here you adjust:

• Label
• Display name in the gallery — existing uploads switch to the new name immediately.
• Permissions (same three levels)
• The three option groups Moderation & gallery access, Folders, albums & filters and Sync behavior (photo booths) — identical to the advanced options when creating, including upload filters and album assignments.
• Display logo — upload an image (JPEG/PNG/WebP) as the uploader avatar for all uploads of this access. A small × removes it. The logo takes effect immediately.
• Section Set a new password — password field (empty = automatic), then Set new password with a prompt. The old password stops working immediately; the device stays offline until you enter the new one. The new password then appears in the green one-time panel.

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The edit dialog top to bottom – the subtitle carries the access account’s username, the Set new password section sits at the very bottom.

At the bottom you close with Cancel or apply with Save.

Note

Important: the display logo and a new password take effect immediately. All other fields (label, display name, permissions, moderation, folders/albums/filters, sync behavior) are only applied with Save.

What the device sees over FTP/WebDAV

What shows up in the file list depends on the permissions and on the Turn subfolders into albums switch:

• Upload only — an empty folder. The device may send, but must not see or delete anything. That is by design.
• Own uploads — only the photos this device sent itself.
• Full event — all photos of the event.
• With “Turn subfolders into albums” the event’s albums additionally appear as browsable folders. You can enter them and upload into a specific album; a new top-level folder creates an empty album. Deleting a folder does not delete an album.
• Without that switch the view is flat — all photos side by side. If a sync program creates folders anyway, that is tolerated.

The original file name is shown in a cleaned-up form. Only for duplicate names is a short photo ID inserted (IMG_0001.aB3xY9.jpg) — nothing is lost.

Caution

The file list shows at most the 5000 most recent files. At very large events a sync program therefore no longer sees older pictures — which explains apparently “vanished” files and repeated uploads. To back up the complete gallery, use the gallery download rather than an FTP sync.

Reading and deleting photos

With Own uploads or Full event the device may also download the originals — over WebDAV as well as over FTP. An interrupted download can only be resumed forwards; programs that want to seek backwards will fail.

Deleting never deletes for good: the file moves to the event’s recycle bin. With Own uploads only its own pictures, with Full event all of them. Renaming existing gallery files is not possible.

Controlling a device from its profile

Every live-upload access has its own profile in the gallery — that is where its uploads appear. Open that profile as an admin and you get the Device settings card, so you can handle the essentials without switching to Settings:

• The status badge active / paused and the button Pause uploads or Resume uploads.
• Logo — Set logo (JPEG/PNG/WebP) and Remove logo.
• Display name in the gallery (max. 50 characters) plus Save.

Password, permissions and revoking stay deliberately on the Live Upload page — reach it via the sidebar Event ▸ Live Upload. For device profiles the usual moderation actions (edit user, ban) are hidden.

Revoked accesses

The Revoked accesses dialog lists accesses that can no longer connect. They are kept for traceability — who was allowed to upload, and when. Each entry: username, label, “created …”, “last used …” or “never used” and the revoked badge. If there are none, it reads “No revoked accesses.”

Partner devices

If you run the event with a photo booth partner or reseller, two extra areas appear.

Device permission for the partner

The card Partner devices from … controls whether your partner may connect their upload devices without asking:

• Allow automatically — the partner may connect photo booths to this event at any time.
• Revoke — with a prompt. The partner’s devices are disconnected immediately and can no longer access the event or upload. After that the partner needs your approval again for every single device.

Without the permission the partner has to request your approval before each connection.

Connected partner devices

The Connected partner devices section only appears when a device is actually bound. It shows the name, a brand badge, the usernames and the last activity. Via Disconnect you detach a device at any time; it stays with the partner, who can only reconnect it with your consent. For the partner side of this, see Managing devices as a reseller.

Note

A partner device only uploads into your event during its booked time window (plus a short grace period). Outside of it the device is connected, but its photos do not land with you. “Connected but nothing arrives” is therefore usually not a fault but a question of the booking.

Time, time zone and order

For a normal event access: the camera’s clock is irrelevant. What counts is the moment the photo arrives with us — so a wrongly set camera clock shifts nothing and misfiles nothing.

Assignment by capture time (including time zone, from the EXIF data) exists only for partner devices in the reseller area, because one device there serves several bookings in a day. See Managing devices as a reseller.

What takes effect immediately vs. only with “Save”?

• Immediately: creating an access, a new password, setting/removing a logo, pause/resume, revoke, disconnecting a partner device, granting/revoking the device permission, every action in the Device settings card on the profile.
• Only with Save (edit dialog only): label, display name, permissions, the three option groups including upload filters and album assignments.

Troubleshooting

The connection is not established at all

• Login rejected although the password is right: after 5 failed attempts the combination of username and device is locked for 15 minutes — even with the correct password. Wait a moment instead of fiddling with the password; a successful login resets the counter.
• Login rejected, password is new: a new password invalidates the old one immediately. Enter the new one on the device.
• Login rejected although the access is active: check whether the access is paused, expired or revoked — and whether your plan still includes Live Upload. Downgrading a plan stops running uploads immediately, without anything changing on the access itself.
• Connection drops while encrypting: wrong FTPS variant. Explicit belongs on port 21, implicit on port 990.
• Login works, directory listing stays empty or the transfer hangs: the data connection is not getting through. Enable passive mode and open 31000–31099/tcp outbound in the network.
• Several booths, only some get through: 16 simultaneous connections per IP address are allowed. Behind a shared router all devices share that quota — reduce the number of parallel uploads in the booth software.

Understanding server replies

These messages show up in your booth’s log:

Reply	Meaning
550 Folder is excluded by the upload filter.	The folder is in Never these folders (or missing from Only these folders). Not a fault — configured that way.
550 Credential no longer valid.	Access paused, expired or revoked.
550 Not allowed with this access scope.	This permission level does not allow the action — e.g. deleting with Upload only.
550 No matching file (or not yours to delete).	The file does not exist — or it belongs to another device.
250 File moved to the event recycle bin.	Deleting worked: the file is in the recycle bin.
403 (WebDAV)	File over 2 GB, or folder excluded.

Photos do not arrive (or not all of them)

• Photo does not appear in the gallery: without Skip moderation the photo waits in moderation. Also check server, port and security on the device.
• Some photos are missing: most likely the upload filters are kicking in. Non-matching folders and file types are skipped silently — clear the three filter fields to test. The most common single case: Only these folders is set, but the booth drops its images directly (without a folder) — then nothing gets through at all.
• Large videos missing, everything else arrives: 2 GB per file is the limit. Over FTP this happens silently.
• Certain files always missing: check the names — anything starting with a dot, plus .tmp, .part, .partial, .crdownload, .filepart and 0-byte files, is discarded.
• Sent, but neither in the gallery nor in the recycle bin: probably an identical duplicate — or the photo was already deleted once in this event (30-day block, see above).
• Expected album missing: its folder name is probably on the ignore list (images, camera, 100CANON, purely numeric …). Use Assign uploads to albums.
• A photo was overwritten: the device sent the same file name again and Re-uploading the same file name replaces the photo in place is on. Turn it off for cameras with counter file names.
• Deleted photos reappear after the next sync: enable Don’t let the booth re-upload deleted photos.

Around passwords and visibility

• Password cannot be revealed: old access without a stored password → set a new password in the edit dialog.
• Custom password rejected: 10–64 characters, printable ASCII only, no spaces, at least 4 different characters.
• The password keeps being “mistyped”: generated passwords contain no 0/O, no 1, no l and no i. Whatever looks like one is something else.
• Files not visible over FTP/WebDAV: Upload only shows an empty folder (by design); Own uploads only the own photos.
• Duplicate file names: a short photo ID is inserted automatically (IMG_0001.aB3xY9.jpg) — no data loss.
• Per-photo QR does not work with dslrBooth: dslrBooth can only show its own FotoShare QR — use a static QR to the gallery there.
• Guests still have to type a password despite the QR: enable Include default password in the QR link. It only works when the event is password-protected and has a default code.
• Partner device no longer binds: after disconnecting, or after revoking the device permission, the partner can only reconnect with your consent.

Best-practice tips

• Test it beforehand — connect once with FileZilla from a laptop and send a test image, ideally on the venue’s network.
• One access per device — for targeted pausing and revoking.
• Keep Own uploads as the default; Full event only for trusted operators.
• Set a display name → clean smart albums and filters by booth.
• Enable Skip moderation only deliberately for photo wall booths; otherwise keep moderation on.
• Use Turn subfolders into albums for booths with a station or folder logic — or map them precisely with Assign uploads to albums.
• If the booth pushes its whole folder structure, narrow it down to the finished output folder with Only these folders.
• Set the camera to JPEG transfer.
• Prefer FTPS (TLS) if the device supports it.
• Set a display logo per access so uploads appear with a brand or booth avatar.

Related help

• Set up the photo wall — booths that skip moderation feed the live wall
• Moderation — non-bypassed uploads land here
• Albums manager — smart, folder and assigned albums
• Recycle bin — WebDAV deletions
• QR cards & print templates — design a QR poster for the device
• Managing devices as a reseller — the partner side of device binding
• Pricing & upgrade — unlock the feature