You know what the host dashboard looks like. You may have no idea what guests actually see after they scan the QR code. This article walks through the guest side end-to-end so you can write better signage, set realistic expectations, and choose the right settings for your event.
Step 1: The guest scans the QR code
They open their phone camera, point it at your signage kit or a printed table tent. The camera recognizes the QR and shows a notification banner, "Open captureclub.app" or similar. They tap the notification.
On iPhone and most modern Androids, this is zero-friction. On older phones, some guests still struggle, see the scanning tips in the QR placement guide.
Step 2: The gallery opens in their browser
They land on your event's guest URL, which is either:
- The default:
captureclub.app/app/guest/<slug> - Your custom URL:
captureclub.app/<your-slug>
No signup. No account. No download. It is a standard web page that works in their phone's default browser (Safari on iPhone, Chrome on most Androids).
They see:
- Cover photo at the top, your chosen cover image or the auto-picked most-liked photo
- Event title, the couple name, in large type
- Venue and date as a subhead
- An "Upload your photos" button, big, primary-colored
- The live gallery of everyone else's uploads scrolling below
If you are on Pro with white-label branding, your studio's logo replaces ours at the top and your brand color replaces the default pink accents.
Step 3: They tap "Upload"
The upload form slides up. It asks for:
- Their name: first name is fine, optional field
- Photo or video: a big button to pick from their camera roll, or a camera-capture button
They can pick multiple files at once. iOS and Android both support multi-select in their standard photo pickers.
Step 4: They tap Upload
Progress bars show for each file. Small files (photos) finish in a few seconds. Larger files (videos) can take 10-60 seconds on decent WiFi.
If they are on an iPhone with iCloud Optimize Storage on, uploads will be slower, see iPhone uploads are slow.
During the upload they can:
- Close the tab (upload continues to the last chunk finishing)
- Switch apps
- Lock their phone
We try hard to keep uploads working through all of that. Most of the time it works. If a guest's upload fails mid-way, they get a "retry" button.
Step 5: Confirmation
Once their uploads succeed, they see a short "Thanks, your photos are uploading to the gallery" confirmation. The photos they just uploaded appear at the top of the gallery scroll (unless Review mode is on, in which case they go to your pending queue and the guest sees the same success message).
They can then:
- Tap "Upload more" to go again
- Scroll the gallery to see what everyone else uploaded
- Tap any photo to view it bigger, like it, or download it (unless you turned off guest downloads)
Step 6: They come back later
Guests often come back 24 hours after the event to see photos they missed. If the gallery URL is still active (most are for at least 90 days, see expiration), they land on the same view with everything accumulated.
The URL itself is bookmarkable. Many guests screenshot it or save it in their notes.
What they do NOT see
Things hosts sometimes assume are visible to guests but are not:
- The host dashboard. Guests never see your Manage mode, bulk tools, Pro settings, or auto-tag modal.
- Review queue status. If you have review mode on and their upload is pending, they see a success message either way. They do not know it is pending.
- Other guests' names on uploads. We only show the guest name if they typed one; we do not reveal email, phone, or account info. No account is needed to upload in the first place.
- The full guest list or RSVP info. There is no guest registry, whoever scans the QR can upload. We have no sense of "invited vs not invited."
- Admin actions. Deletions, approvals, rejections, all invisible. A rejected upload simply does not appear; the guest was never told there was a decision.
Guest experience by tier
The gallery itself looks and behaves the same on every tier. What differs:
- Free events show a small "Powered by Capture Club" footer and a watermark on individual photo previews. They are also capped at 50 uploads total (see file limits).
- Couple events remove the watermark but keep the footer.
- Pro events can white-label the whole experience, your logo at the top, your brand color, your studio footer instead of ours.
Guest experience on different devices
- iPhone: Works in Safari. Uses the native camera roll picker. HEIC photos upload and convert for display.
- Android: Works in Chrome (and Firefox, Samsung Internet). Uses the OS's file/photo picker. Most formats supported.
- Desktop: Full browser support. Drag-and-drop into the upload form works. Good for guests who want to bulk-upload photos taken with their DSLR.
- Tablet: Works identically to the phone experience at bigger zoom.
Common guest confusion points
Things we hear hosts get asked:
"Do I need to download an app?"
No. It is all in the browser.
"Do I need to make an account?"
No. The only optional field is your first name, and even that you can skip.
"Can I upload later?"
Yes, as long as the gallery is still live. Most are for 90+ days. The QR code stays valid, they can screenshot it and upload when they get home.
"Can I see my photos after I uploaded them?"
Yes. They appear at the top of the gallery immediately (or after host approval in review mode).
"Can I delete my own upload?"
No self-service. If a guest wants something removed, they have to ask the host. You as the host can delete via Manage mode.
"Will the couple see my name?"
Only if they typed their name into the upload form. We do not collect email or phone.
Tips for your signage
Based on what guests get confused about, good signage copy includes:
- "No account needed": this alone reduces abandonment
- "Photos and videos, your choice": some guests assume one or the other
- The couple name: doubles as a trust signal; it is clearly this wedding, not a scam
- A micro-call-to-action: "Scan to share your photos" works better than "Photo sharing"
See QR code placement and signage strategy for more on getting the scan-through rate up.