Getting started
ShutterGlow is built to need zero training: an operator signs into the iPad, taps their event, and the booth is ready. No manual, no walkthrough video. Everything below is for the one-time setup on the dashboard side.
1. Create your organization
Sign up at shutterglow.app/signup with your company name. You become the owner; invite admins and operators from the Team page.
2. Add your booths
Billing → Booths: add one entry per physical iPad+camera rig you run (Solo includes 1, Duo 2, Studio up to 5, Fleet unlimited). You’ll assign one to each event in the next step, so your team always knows which rig runs where.
3. Create an event
Dashboard → Events → fill in client, date, venue, assign an operator, and assign a booth. Open the event’s Booth configto set everything the iPad pulls down: print layout and offered strip shot counts/layouts, countdown, overlay image, guest filters, timelapse, Boomerang & GIF, AI features (face props, smile-to-shoot), print limits, and which share channels are on (AirDrop, QR code, email).
4. Pair the iPad
- Install the ShutterGlow app on the booth iPad.
- Sign in with the same account (operators see only their assigned events).
- The event list syncs automatically; tap your event to make it active. After this, the booth runs fully offline. No connectivity needed at the venue.
5. Connect the camera
- Pick your camera brand in the app (Canon EOS, Sony, or USB Webcam), then put the camera in its Wi-Fi remote mode (Canon: “Connect to EOS Utility”; Sony: “Control with Smartphone”), or for USB Webcam, plug the camera into the iPad’s USB-C port with the camera in USB streaming mode.
- Join the iPad to the camera’s network (or put both on the venue’s Wi-Fi, required if you want QR code sharing).
- Enter the camera’s IP in the app and tap Connect.
Camera support: Canon EOS R series is verified over Wi-Fi. USB Webcam mode is verified on real hardware (Sony a7 IV) and works with any camera body whose firmware offers USB video streaming: recent Canon EOS, Sony, Nikon Z, Fujifilm X, and Panasonic Lumix bodies qualify. Sony Wi-Fi remote mode is in beta.
6. Run the event
Guests pick a mode (photo, strip, boomerang, GIF), filter, and prop, then shoot. A category is open at a time with real photo previews instead of icons, so there’s nothing to explain. Photos print over AirPrint and share via AirDrop, email, or QR. Attendant tools (event setup, status, export) live behind a long-press in the bottom-right corner plus a PIN, changeable from the app’s Security section.
Tips
- Print limits & share channels:settable from either the dashboard’s booth config or the app’s own Admin screen, but the dashboard is the source of truth: a synced event pulls these (and every other booth config field) from the dashboard on every sync, overwriting whatever was set locally.
- Overlays: author overlay PNGs at the same aspect ratio as your chosen layout.
- QR sharing:only works when the camera and iPad are on the venue’s Wi-Fi, not the camera’s own hotspot; the app hides the QR option automatically otherwise.