Jackie and Thommy are getting married. The photographer will capture the formal, print-worthy shots. But we also want the real, unprepared moments—the angles only guests see, including times when the photographer is on a break. And we don’t want the post-wedding chaos of chasing photos in group chats or shared folders. Here’s how to set up the shared gallery, step by step.
You can use exactly the same flow for weddings, company events, birthday parties, sports tournaments, festivals, school events, or any other gathering where multiple people are taking photos and videos.
Choose a Say Cheese Package, start For free.
You have several great options.
You can start with a free package, which gives you a perfect opportunity to see how Say Cheese actually works. You can try out how to organise an event yourself. It’s really simple. That’s why we prepared these instructions—so you can check all the details of how to organise your event and set it up in a way that fits your guest list and the aim of your gallery.
Once you have chosen your package and started creating an event, you’ll walk through the steps below.
1) EVENT NAME
Enter the name that guests will see.
Example: Jackie & Thommy’s Wedding Party.
Tip: Keep the name obvious so guests recognise it quickly on the day. This helps the Master of Ceremonies (MC), host or moderator match their announcements, screen titles and signage with what people see on their phones.
2) EVENT DATE
Choose the event date. Guests can upload only while the event is live, so set this carefully. Most organisers match the real-world date and time. The MC can announce announce ‘Now the Say Cheese event is live—start posting!’ and that works too.
Example: For a ceremony where you want people to stay “unplugged”, you can set the start time to just after the formal part and announce it at the drinks reception or opening speech.
3) EVENT DURATION
Your package defines how long an event can run. Some events last days; most weddings do not.
For Jackie and Thommy we’ll set 2 days so guests can still upload the day after the wedding, before the final gallery is revealed or shared for download. You could set 1 hour if you want a tight window—the choice is yours.
Example:
2 days: great when you want “morning-after” brunch photos, travel shots or behind-the-scenes images from the next day.
A few hours: perfect for conferences, sports matches or concerts where you want a clean, focused story without too much extra.
4) PHOTOS PER GUEST
As the Event Organiser (EO), set the limit per guest. This tells each guest how many photos they may post. The limit depends on the package. With Essential Plus we’ll use 24 photos per guest (1,200 photos in total if 50 guests participate).
If you need a higher limit, contact us.
Example: For a small family celebration you might give each person 10–15 photos. For a large festival or all-day company offsite, 30+ photos per guest might make more sense.
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More options (Optional)
5) LIMIT GUESTS
You can cap the number of guests who can participate. Essential Plus allows up to 500 guests!
If Jackie and Thommy invite 40, set Max Guests = 40. You can share the link/QR more widely; only the first 40 unique devices that post at least one image will count towards the threshold.
Example: For a public event where the QR might circulate outside your target group, setting a max guest number helps you keep the gallery focused and within the limits of your package.
6) EVENT LOGO
Upload a logo that appears on the event page. (This isn’t available in the Free and Essential package.)
Example: Use a company logo for a corporate event, a club crest for a football tournament, or a custom monogram for a wedding or private party.
7) EVENT COVER IMAGE
Upload a wide cover image for the event page and link previews.
Example: This can be the main event visual, a photo of the couple, a hero shot from last year’s conference, or a key visual from your marketing materials.
8) EVENT DESCRIPTION
Write a short description that guests will also see—what the event is about and how to contribute to the shared gallery/album.
Example:
“Welcome to our Summer Offsite 2025 gallery! Scan the QR, share your favourite moments and help us capture the event from every angle. Please avoid posting confidential content or photos of slides with sensitive data.”
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Settings
9) GALLERY VISIBILITY
Choose when approved media becomes visible:
• Immediately when the event starts — watch the gallery grow live.
• When the event ends — until then, guests see only their own uploads. This is common when organisers want time to curate, choose the best media, split into albums, or refine before publishing.
• Manual publish — publish any time you want (before, after or while the event is active). Users choose this when they’re satisfied with the gallery and don’t want to wait until the end.
Examples:
Immediately: ideal for parties, sports events or casual meet-ups where the fun is seeing everything live on a screen.
When the event ends: good for weddings, gala dinners or formal conferences where you want to review content before everyone sees it.
Manual publish: useful when you plan a specific “reveal moment” (e.g. first dance, awards ceremony, end-of-season party).
10) ENABLE END-TO-END ENCRYPTION
Enable stronger security so only you and guests can ever see event media. You’ll set a master password, which is the only key to the encrypted media. We cannot recover your photos if you forget it!
Example: This is especially useful for VIP events, internal company meetings, private family occasions, or any event that includes sensitive content.
11) SHOW MEDIA PREVIEWS
Guests can preview media before saving it to the event (for approval).
If you disable previews, photos & clips save immediately—useful if you want the fastest flow. (You can test both modes to see which you prefer.)
Tip:
Keep previews ON to reduce blurred, accidental or pocket-shot uploads.
Turn previews OFF when speed matters most, for example at a busy activation booth where staff are on hand to supervise.
12) ENABLE VIDEO CLIPS
This add-on (Beta) allows each guest to record one short video alongside photos (currently 30 seconds). Short, authentic clips enrich the gallery—think UGC (User Generated Content) reactions. ;)
Auto-approve Clips (optional): clips are approved immediately after capture.
Use this for a trusted audience or when you want instant energy on a live screen; keep it off if you need tighter control.
Example:
At a product launch, you might let guests record short reaction clips and set Auto-approve Clips ON so they appear instantly on the big screen.
At a formal ceremony, you might keep Auto-approve OFF and quickly review the sound and content before they go public.
13) ENABLE SLIDESHOW
This takes your event to the next level: display approved photos (and clips, if enabled) on TVs, projectors and big screens—great for parties, reveals or sponsor moments. You can showcase the best photo, best video, or a curated set chosen by you or a sponsor.
Example: At a conference, you can run a slideshow of approved photos during coffee breaks. At a wedding or birthday, you can use it for a “live wall” that slowly fills up with the best moments from the day.
14) REQUIRES PASSCODE TO ACCESS EVENT
Ideal for invitation-only events where the passcode is shared at the location. It also helps if links get reshared too widely—only chosen guests with the code can get in.
Example: Use simple codes like JT25 or SUMMER2025, and print them next to the QR code on table cards, lanyards or event signage. This makes them easy to read out loud and easy to type.
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More Options (advanced)
15) QR REDIRECTS TO
Decide where the QR/link sends participants:
• Camera page — guests land directly in the camera to shoot or upload immediately; they can still open the event page after.
• Event page — guests first see what the event is about and, if published, a live gallery preview.
If the gallery isn’t published yet, or the event has finished, it’s usually wiser to send them to the event page. If speed and contributions are the goal, send them to the camera page.
Example:
For a wedding, you might send guests to the Event page during the day, so they first see the cover photo, short instructions and “Gallery will unlock after the first dance.” When the party really starts on the dance floor, you can switch to Camera page so scanning the QR takes people straight to “shoot & upload”.
More generally:
Use Event page when you want to provide context, rules and a preview of the gallery.
Use Camera page during high-energy parts of the event (concerts, parties, sports matches) when the main goal is to maximise contributions quickly.
16) GUESTS CAN ADD MEDIA USING
‘Capture’ uses the in-app camera, while ‘Upload’ lets them pick files from their device.
Capture and upload
Capture only
Upload only
This setting controls how guests are allowed to contribute:
Capture and upload – guests can take new photos with the Say Cheese camera and upload existing photos from their phone.
Capture only – guests can only take new photos in Say Cheese; they cannot upload existing ones.
Upload only – guests can only upload existing photos; there is no in-app camera.
Capture and upload
Guests can both take new photos with the in-app camera and upload existing ones from their gallery.
Auto-approve All Photos
“Captured and uploaded photos are immediately approved when enabled.”
All photos a guest sends are immediately approved (subject to your gallery visibility mode). There is no moderation queue.Smart Auto-approve Uploads
“Only auto-approve uploads that were taken during the event’s scheduled time.”
The system checks the timestamp on each uploaded photo.
– If the photo was taken during the event’s scheduled time, it can be auto-approved.
– If the photo is much older (e.g. a selfie from three years ago), it will not be auto-approved and stays in moderation.This is ideal when you want a true story of the event, not a random mix of old images.Highlight Upload Button
“Prefer upload as the main button for your event.”
On the camera screen, the Upload button is visually emphasised over Capture.
Use this when you expect guests to mostly share photos they already took with their normal camera (e.g. sports tournaments, concerts, festivals) and then import them into Say Cheese.
Example (Capture and upload):
At a full-day offsite or wedding, guests are taking photos on their phones throughout the day. In the evening they also use the Say Cheese camera on the dance floor. You set:
Capture and upload
Smart Auto-approve Uploads ON (so older photos don’t mix into the album)
Highlight Upload Button ON (because most photos are created first in the phone’s native camera app)
Capture only
Guests can only take new photos using the in-app camera; they cannot upload files from their gallery.
Auto-approve All Photos
“Captured photos are immediately approved when enabled.”
This behaves like a light photo booth: anyone scanning the QR can only create photos directly inside Say Cheese, with no old uploads.
Example (Capture only):
At a corporate event you have a “Brand Corner” with a backdrop and lighting. You want all images to come from there, so you set Capture only + Auto-approve All Photos. Every photo from this corner appears instantly in the slideshow and stays consistent with your branding.
Upload only
Guests can only upload existing photos from their device; there is no in-app camera.
Auto-approve All Photos
“Uploaded photos are immediately approved when enabled.”Smart Auto-approve Uploads
“Only auto-approve uploads that were taken during the event’s scheduled time.”
Use this when you want people to share photos after the event or when they’ve already taken many photos and you just need a central place to collect them.
Example (Upload only):
After a three-day team-building trip, you e-mail a link to the Say Cheese gallery. You set Upload only + Smart Auto-approve Uploads. People upload photos taken during the team-building; other, older images are not auto-approved if they don’t match the event timeframe.
Tip:
Capture only works well for controlled scenes (backdrops, photo corners).
Capture and upload + Smart Auto-approve is a good default for most live events.
Upload only is ideal when you collect photos after the event or from remote teams. Decide whether you want instant display (Auto-approve ON) or a short moderation step first.
17) GUESTS CAN DOWNLOAD ALL MEDIA
Show a 'Download All' button after the event ends, allowing everyone to download all media from the event and album pages.
When the event is over and you’re happy with the gallery, you can enable Download All:
A “Download All” button appears on the event page and on album pages.
Guests can download the full set of approved photos and clips in one go (typically as a ZIP archive).
This dramatically reduces the classic “Can you send me the photos?” messages, because every participant can save the album locally.
Example:
After a wedding, company retreat or sports tournament you approve all images you want to keep in the gallery. Then you switch on Guests can download all media. Participants receive the gallery link and can download a ZIP with all approved memories—no extra WeTransfer, Drive or chat juggling.
You can also choose to deliver your own professional photos separately (for example, via your normal delivery platform) while still letting guests download the UGC set from Say Cheese.
18) MEDIA IS VISIBLE TO ALL PARTICIPANTS
Choose whether approved media is visible to everyone with the event link.
Some companies collect photos/clips privately (testimonials, incident reports, product claims) where only organisers should see submissions—turn visibility off for that.
You can also enable ‘Allow guests to control their media visibility’, which lets each guest choose whether an item is visible to everyone or only to themselves and organisers (via a dropdown in the guest preferences).
Example:
For a public gallery, keep media visible to all.
For internal HR feedback, claims or sensitive situations, turn visibility off so only organisers see submissions.
For mixed events, allow guests to control the visibility of their own uploads.
19) SHOW ALBUMS IN EVENT PAGE
Events can have multiple albums (topics/segments). Each album has its own link and QR, and more album types/modes are coming.
Choose whether albums are visible to event guests on the main event page.
When creating albums, mark them Default or Featured.
The option ‘Show only Featured Albums’ limits the event page to Featured albums—useful for making some albums public and others private.
Example:
At a multi-day event you could create albums like Day 1, Day 2, Backstage, Official Highlights. Mark only Official Highlights as Featured if you want guests to see a curated selection first.
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Security
20) SET MASTER PASSWORD
Because we enabled end-to-end encryption, you must set a master password for this event. This is not the guest passcode from step 14. It’s for EOs only and is required to access the encrypted gallery. Even Say Cheese cannot access the gallery without this password.
Important: this password cannot be recovered. If you forget it, you will permanently lose access to the encrypted event.
Tip: Store this password in a secure password manager, labelled clearly with the event name and date.
21) SAVE YOUR RECOVERY STRING
After setting the master password you’ll receive a Recovery String. Download it and store it safely. This is the only way to regain access to your encrypted data if you forget the master password. Keep it in a secure location separate from your regular backups.
Example: Save it in the same password manager entry as the master password, or in a secure digital vault used by your team.
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Review & Payment
22) EVENT SUMMARY
Review everything before creating the event. You can still go back with ‘‹ Previous’ to change settings.
If you have a coupon code, apply it, then Purchase the event.
Tip: Double-check the gallery visibility mode and passcode here—they are the two most common questions guests will ask on the day.
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23) CHECKOUT
You’re redirected to a secure Stripe checkout. Choose a payment method and complete the purchase. (More payment options will be added later.)
Example: Many organisers prefer to complete payment before rehearsals or set-up, so they can fully test the QR code, gallery and slideshow with the venue’s AV system.
24) CONFIRMATION PAGE
On successful payment you’ll land on the confirmation page—your event is ready.
Go straight to your event to get the guest link, printable QR, slideshow link and moderation tools, or return to the Dashboard if you manage multiple events.
Example: From here you can immediately print A4/A5 entrance posters, create table cards with the QR and passcode, or export assets for your event designer.
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After Creation
25) DASHBOARD
Your new event appears under My Events—for us: Jackie & Thommy’s Wedding Party.
You’ll see status, date/time, duration, guest limit, and per-guest limits (e.g., 24 photos • 1 clip).
From the card you can:
• Use Share to access guest link/QR/slideshow.
• Open the ⋯ menu for options.
• Click the event to manage it.
• Create more events any time.
Tip: If you run multiple events (for example different clients, teams, or tournament days), mark your active event clearly so assistants and colleagues know where to go for moderation.
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26) EVENT PAGE
This is the page guests see, with your organiser tools at the top.
Organiser actions:
Manage Gallery (approve/hide/reject, create albums, tweak settings),
Share Event (copy guest link, print QR, get slideshow link),
and more via the menu.
Guest actions:
Open Camera, Upload Photos (shows their remaining count), and My Preferences (including visibility control if enabled).
You’ll also see your cover, logo, description, the event status and countdown, attendance (e.g., 0/50 guests), and the visibility note—for example, ‘Gallery will unlock after the event ends’ if you chose that mode.