Two kinds of photo code
An upload code opens a page where guests choose photos from their camera roll and send them. You get what guests decided to share, usually during the party. A camera code opens a camera: guests shoot straight into the roll, with no preview, and the photos stay hidden until the roll develops. You get what was actually taken. Kept is a camera code. The difference in detail.
Printing it
- Size. At least 3 cm across on a place card; bigger on a sign that people read from a step away.
- Paper. Matte. Gloss under venue spotlights throws a reflection across the code.
- Contrast. Dark code on a light background, with a clear margin of plain card around it.
- Test it. Scan the printed card, not the file, on an iPhone and an Android phone, in the lighting of the room.
- A fallback. Print the short code or link under the QR for the guest whose camera will not focus. Kept codes are six characters that skip easily confused letters and numbers, typed at kept.film.
With Kept, the host console and the app make the cards for you: a 5x7 table sign, an 8x10 welcome sign, a folding tent card and a sheet of eight place cards with cut marks, each with your code, names, date and message, at 300 dpi on Letter or A4. The codes use the highest error-correction level, so a small smudge or crease is less likely to stop them scanning.
Where to put it
| Feature | Why it works |
|---|---|
| Every place card or menu | It is in front of every guest when they sit down, and they have a minute with nothing to do. |
| A sign at the bar | People wait there with their phone already out. |
| By the guest book | Guests are already in the mood to leave something behind. |
| The welcome sign | Seen by everyone once, which sets up the place cards. |
| The group chat, that morning | The link works before anyone arrives, and nobody has to find a card. |
What the sign should say
One line on what happens when they scan, and one on when they will see the photos. Some that work:
- “Scan for your camera. 36 shots, no peeking. Everything develops tomorrow morning.”
- “Be our photographer tonight. Scan, type your name, and shoot. We all see them at breakfast.”
- “Our wedding, through your eyes. Scan to take your camera. No app needed.”
- “Point your camera here. Your roll opens with everyone else’s after the party.”
- “Help us catch the moments we will miss. Scan the code, no download.”
Whatever you write, make sure it is true of the service you picked. A sign that promises a surprise reveal should not point at a gallery that fills up live, and Kept’s printed cards follow the roll’s own settings for exactly that reason.
Questions
How do wedding photo QR codes work?
How big should a QR code be on a wedding sign?
Do guests need an app to scan a wedding QR code?
Can I make my own wedding photo QR code?
Do guests need to download an app to use Kept?
Give everyone a camera. Take away the screen.
Free for your first 5 guests. Your first roll takes about a minute to set up, and nobody has to install anything.