How to get everyone's party photos in one place

The usual problem

Everybody took pictures, and now they're scattered across a dozen phones. Here's how to get them under one roof.

After a party, the photos are spread across everyone's phones and a few group chats. Group chats shrink them, people who aren't in the chat never see them, and the best shots stay on the phone of the person who always means to send them later.

Group chats

They're easy, and everyone already has one. They work for a small group that already talks every day. They compress photos, though, and they bury them among messages, so finding a photo from last year's party later is a chore.

Shared albums

Shared albums built into phones suit families who all use the same kind of device. Mixed groups run into trouble, with invitations, accounts, and at least one relative who can't get in.

A QR code at the party

A code on the table asks for almost nothing from guests. They point a phone camera at it, and their photos go to one gallery. That's the approach we use at Aegir's Hall, and it works with a sign as simple as a printed sheet of paper in a frame.

What makes people share

Ask at the right moment: while people are sitting down with their phones out, not during the speeches. Tell them why you want the photos, as "I'd love to see the party through your eyes" works better than a request for files. And share the finished gallery with them afterward, because then they'll happily do it at the next party too.