This guide walks you through your first event on BrandStudio. By the end, you'll have an event set up, photos captured, and guests receiving their photos on their phones. No prior setup required.
1. Download the App
BrandStudio runs on iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Grab whichever you need — the iPhone app is enough to run your first event. If you don't have an account yet, request access and you'll be set up in minutes.
Also available on iPad and Apple TV for booth capture and live slideshows.
2. Create Your Event
Open the app and tap New Event. Give it a name and a date. That's it — you can add details later. The event is your container for everything: photos, guests, sessions, and galleries.
If you're testing things out, just create a “Test Event” and play around. You can delete it later.
3. Brand It
Go to your event settings and upload your logo. Set your brand colors. These automatically apply to everything — the gallery your guests see, the messages they receive, the photos they download. Every touchpoint carries your brand, not ours.
If you want to go further, you can add a branded overlay that places your logo directly on every photo. But for now, logo and colors are enough to make it feel professional.
4. Start Capturing
There are a few ways to get photos into your event, depending on your setup:
iPhone / iPad (simplest)
Open your event in the app and tap Capture. Take photos directly from your device. Each photo uploads to the cloud instantly and appears in your event gallery.
Tethered Camera (professional)
Connect your camera to a Mac via USB. Open the desktop app, select your event, and enable tethered capture. Every photo you take flows directly from the camera to BrandStudio — branded, processed, and ready for delivery in seconds.
Watch Folder (for Lightroom users)
Already shoot tethered to Lightroom or Capture One? Point a watch folder at your export directory. BrandStudio picks up new files automatically. Edit in your existing workflow, export, and it handles the rest.
5. Deliver to Guests
This is the part that changes everything. Instead of sending a gallery link days later, guests get their photos while they're still at the event.
Sessions (recommended for your first event)
A session is a mini photo set for one guest or group. Start a session, enter the guest's name and phone number (or scan their badge), take their photos, and end the session. They get an SMS with their gallery link immediately.
Face Recognition (for larger events)
At scale, face recognition handles delivery automatically. Guests register with a selfie when they arrive. As your photographers capture photos throughout the event, the system matches faces and routes the right photos to the right people. No manual tagging, no sorting.
QR Code Gallery
For the simplest setup, share your event's QR code. Guests scan it and see the full gallery on their phone. They can browse, download, and share — all branded with your logo.
What's Next
You've got the basics. Here's where to go from here:
- Set up a photo booth — self-service branded photos with GIFs, overlays, and instant delivery
- Run a live slideshow — photos on screens throughout your venue, updating in real time
- Gate your gallery — collect email addresses before guests can download, turning photos into leads
- Schedule follow-up messages — send On This Day reminders weeks or months later to keep the brand alive
- Track engagement — see who viewed, downloaded, and shared their photos
Every tool works together. Add them as you need them — there's no wrong order, and everything connects to the same event and guest data.
Make the most of your event photos
Branded galleries, instant delivery, and face recognition — all from one platform. First event is free.