Post-production
Delivered files
Every shoot produces a set of finished files — the photos and videos you hand to the client or send to stock. ShootHive records that set by linking the folder on your computer where those files live. It reads only the file names, sizes and the photo metadata in each file's header; your original photos and videos are never uploaded. The result is a precise per-shoot file count and the ground truth for connecting later stock sales back to the shoot that earned them.
How linking works
Open a shoot and link the folder that holds its delivered files. ShootHive scans the folder in your browser and shows what it found — grouped by type (photos, videos, RAW and other files) — before anything is saved.
Nothing is uploaded during the scan. ShootHive reads each file's name, size and, for photos, the metadata in the header (such as the capture date). The images and videos themselves stay on your computer.
Choosing what counts
A real folder is rarely just deliverables — RAW files, stray videos and system files sit next to the finished exports. On the confirmation screen you decide what belongs: whole types, subfolders or individual files can be excluded. RAW is excluded by default, since it is not what you deliver.
Your choices are saved as rules on the folder, so the next scan applies them automatically.
Keeping the list current
Re-scan a folder any time to update it. ShootHive reports what changed — files added, files no longer present, files that changed — and never deletes history: a file that has gone is marked missing, not removed, because a recorded sale may still point to it.
Linking reads a folder directly, which needs a desktop browser — Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari on a computer.
Preview thumbnails
You can optionally have ShootHive create small preview thumbnails so a shoot's files are easy to recognise at a glance. The thumbnails are generated in your browser and saved to your own connected storage — your original files still never leave your computer. Turn this off before linking if you would rather not store them.
Files with a preview show a thumbnail; RAW and other formats a browser cannot render show a type icon instead.
Browsing a folder
Open any linked folder to see its files as a gallery — thumbnails, names, sizes, type and the photo capture date — with search and filters, including a separate view for excluded files. Large folders load as you scroll, so a folder with thousands of files opens quickly.
Why it matters
Stock agencies rename uploads unpredictably, so a sale's filename alone rarely identifies the shoot it came from. A known list of a shoot's real files lets ShootHive match sales back to the right shoot far more reliably.
The file count is also the denominator for a shoot's numbers: how much of it actually sold, which frames earn money, and what never sold.
Key terms
- Delivered files
- The finished photos or videos a shoot produced and handed off.
- Linked folder
- A folder on your computer whose file list ShootHive has recorded for a shoot.
- Missing
- A file that was linked before but is no longer in the folder — kept, not deleted.
- Preview thumbnail
- A small image ShootHive can generate in your browser and save to your connected storage to make files easy to recognise.
Common questions
Are my photos and videos uploaded?
No. ShootHive reads only file names, sizes and the photo metadata in each file's header. Your original photos and videos never leave your computer. Preview thumbnails, if you turn them on, are small images saved to your own connected storage.
What happens when I re-scan a folder?
ShootHive compares the folder to what it recorded and reports what changed — added, missing and changed files. A file that has been removed is marked missing rather than deleted, so any sale linked to it still resolves.
Can I link a folder on my phone?
Linking needs a desktop browser (Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari on a computer) because a phone browser cannot read a folder. On a phone, ShootHive shows a short note instead.