First, the most important thing: keep shooting. Photos you have already captured are stored on your camera or device and are not lost because of an upload, spotting, or app problem. You can upload, spot, and deliver them once you resolve the issue, so do not stop capturing the moment. Most live-event problems are a connection, a setting, or a file-size issue, not lost work.
The universal backup: Self-Spotting QR. If anything is blocking uploads or spotting, display your event's Self-Spotting QR code so guests register themselves now. When you upload your photos later, everyone is spotted automatically. Nothing is lost. See Self-Spotting.
Find your problem below
Photos are not uploading, or the queue is stuck
Check you are not in Offline Mode. In Offline Mode, photos queue on your device but do not upload. Turn it off and confirm you have internet.
Weak venue WiFi is the usual cause. Switch to a phone hotspot, then retry the stuck photos from the upload queue.
Large files upload slowly. If your files are large, uploads can back up on a slow connection. Uploads are limited to 20 MB per file, and files must be JPEG or PNG. If your camera is exporting larger than that, reduce the export size before the event.
Still stuck? Use the Self-Spotting QR above so guests register now, and upload once your connection is stable.
Not all photos are being spotted
Files may be too small. There is no minimum file size, but very low-resolution photos give the Spotting Engine less to work with and reduce match quality. To check one photo, click it in the dashboard: if the person shows up as a detected person, it can be spotted. If your only option is to share it manually, the resolution needs to be higher, either from your camera's image-quality setting or by having subjects closer to the camera.
The guest may not have finished registering. A guest is not spotted until they complete registration, including accepting the terms. Until then they will not appear.
Galleries are private by design. A guest's gallery does not exist until they tap their own link. Do not open it for them. If a guest says they have no gallery, they usually just need to tap their link.
If photos came in late or a batch was missed, request reprocessing afterward to re-run spotting. See Requesting Reprocessing.
Guests were spotted but are not getting their photos
Check your distribution mode. If your event is set to Approved, photos are held until you release them. Guests will not see photos until you do. An empty gallery is usually this, not a bug.
Photos added after a guest was already spotted do not send a new notification automatically. Use Resend Notifications to alert them. See Spotted Notifications.
The camera will not connect, or nothing is coming in
Confirm the correct upload source. If you selected the wrong source (for example a WiFi SD card you are not using), end the upload session and reselect Camera Direct.
Canon over a cord: shoot JPG, not RAW. RAW files will not display in the app over a cord. Shoot JPG (or JPG+RAW).
Sony: use PC-remote tethering. See Camera Direct for the connection walkthrough.
Photos transfer but nothing is printing
The number one cause is a folder-path mismatch. The SMP Printer App must watch the exact folder your DNP utility prints to. Confirm both point to the same hot folder.
Printing must be enabled for the event. If the event is not showing in the Printer App, enable printing in the event's settings. Open the event, click Tools & Settings, then Advanced Settings, and scroll about halfway down to On-Site Printing.
Full setup: On-Site Printer Setup.
I need to change a setting mid-event
Aspect ratio is locked once the event is created. It cannot be changed mid-event. If photos are cropping wrong, the fix is a new event with the correct ratio.
Branding is not retroactive. Overlay and branding changes apply only to photos uploaded after the change. Branding images must be transparent PNGs, or photos can appear blank.
Get help fast while you are on-site
If you are still stuck, contact us right away and include your event name, what you were doing, and a screenshot. That one detail lets us jump straight to a fix instead of asking questions while your clock is running.
Say "I am at an event" in the support chat. That marks your conversation as live-event priority so it reaches a person faster. Fin will keep working the problem with you while you wait for someone to pick up.
Prevent it: your 5-minute pre-event check
Most on-site emergencies are avoidable. Before doors open:
Upload a test photo and confirm it appears in your dashboard.
Confirm Offline Mode is off and you have a phone hotspot ready as a WiFi backup.
Check your image-quality setting is not too low, and shoot JPG.
If printing, do a test print and confirm the Printer App and DNP folder paths match.
Confirm the event's date range is open and the correct event is selected.
Have your Self-Spotting QR code printed as a fallback.
Charge your devices and camera.
For setup help, see Choosing Your Upload Method and Setup Videos.