AI Photo Trainer PhotoRater

Sessions

Track your personal progress, earn achievement badges, and view detailed statistics for each photography session. Choose from three specialized session modes optimized for different photography workflows.

Session Modes

AI Photo Trainer offers three session modes, each optimized for specific photography workflows. Select your mode at login based on what you'll be photographing.

Mode Best For Processing Speed Analysis Depth
Standard Headshot Individual portraits, school photos 100-200ms Comprehensive
Spring Portrait Class photos, family groups (2-15+ people) 150-250ms Group-focused
Sports Sports teams, high-volume events <50ms Basic only

Mode Selection: Session mode is selected at login and cannot be changed mid-session. End your current session to switch modes.

Standard Headshot Mode

The default mode for individual portrait photography with comprehensive quality analysis.

Key Features:

  • Single-Subject Detection: Optimized for one person per photo
  • Head/Shoulder Analysis: Detailed pose evaluation for traditional headshots
  • Comprehensive Feedback: Full ML detection + PhotoRater AI review
  • Strict Standards: Precise angle and quality thresholds

Best For:

  • School portraits (individual students)
  • Professional headshots
  • ID photos
  • Traditional portrait photography

Spring Portrait Mode

Specialized mode for group photography with multi-subject analysis and formation quality scoring.

Key Features:

  • Multi-Subject Detection: Analyzes groups of 2-15+ people per image
  • Formation Quality Scoring: Evaluates group arrangement and spacing
  • Full-Body Pose Analysis: Assesses complete posture (not just head/shoulders)
  • Background Analysis: Detects over/under-exposure and glare in backgrounds
  • Relaxed Angle Tolerance: More forgiving thresholds for group dynamics

Quality Metrics:

  • Formation quality (0-1.0 scale)
  • Body pose scores per subject
  • Background penalty (exposure + glare)
  • Overall group quality rating (0-10 scale)

Best For:

  • Class photos (spring picture day)
  • Family portraits (2-15 people)
  • Group event photography
  • Team photos (non-sports)

Workflow Tip: Spring Portrait mode automatically adjusts quality thresholds for group contexts. You'll see feedback on group formation and background quality in addition to individual subject quality.

Sports Mode

High-speed mode for volume photography with minimal processing time and basic quality checks.

Key Features:

  • Minimal Detection: Basic quality checks only (no ML-intensive analysis)
  • Ultra-Fast Processing: <50ms per image (vs 100-200ms for standard)
  • Simple Feedback: Quick accept/reject recommendations
  • High Throughput: Designed for 100+ photos per session

What's Skipped:

  • MediaPipe pose detection (too slow for sports workflow)
  • PhotoRater AI review (SmolVLM2 analysis)
  • Detailed quality metrics

Quality Checks Performed:

  • Basic exposure check (over/under)
  • Blur detection (motion blur common in sports)
  • Simple quality rating (pass/fail or 0-5 scale)

Performance Comparison:

Metric Standard Mode Sports Mode
Processing Time 100-200ms <50ms
Throughput ~20 photos/min ~100 photos/min
ML Detection Full MediaPipe Skipped
AI Review SmolVLM2 feedback Skipped

Best For:

  • Sports team photos (baseball, soccer, football cards)
  • Large group events (100+ subjects)
  • Time-sensitive photo days
  • Volume photography workflows where speed is critical

Trade-off: Sports mode prioritizes speed over detailed analysis. Use this mode only when you need to process large volumes quickly and can accept basic quality checks.

Starting a Session

Why Use Sessions?

Photographer sessions provide several benefits:

  • Track Progress: Monitor your work in real-time with live counters
  • Earn Badges: Unlock achievements as you rate photos
  • View Statistics: See session-specific quality metrics
  • Gamification: Compete with yourself and improve over time

How to Start a Session

  1. Launch the application
  2. On the login page, select your Session Mode from the dropdown (Standard, Spring Portrait, or Sports)
  3. Enter your photographer PIN (provided by your administrator)
  4. Click "Start Session"
  5. Begin rating photos - the session is now tracking your work

Session Mode Persists: Your selected mode persists for the entire session and will be shown in the session summary. To change modes, you must end your current session and start a new one.

[IMAGE: Login Page with PIN Entry]

Login screen asking for PIN

Photographer login page with PIN entry

Photographer PIN: Your unique PIN is provided by your company administrator. It identifies you in the system and tracks your individual progress and achievements.

Session Features

While a session is active, you'll see real-time tracking including:

  • Photo Counter: Real-time count of photos rated this session
  • Live Badge Notifications: Instant alerts when you earn achievements
  • Session Timer: Track how long you've been working
  • Quality Distribution: See breakdown of ratings in real-time

Session Dashboard

While your session is active, a dashboard displays at the top of the screen showing:

  • 📸 Photos Rated: Live count (e.g., "25 photos")
  • ⏱️ Session Duration: Elapsed time (e.g., "45 minutes")
  • 🏆 Badges Earned: Achievements unlocked this session (e.g., "2 badges")
  • "End Session" Button: Click to complete and save your session

[IMAGE: Active Session Dashboard]

Session info bar at top of screen

Active session showing photo count and duration

Continuous Tracking: The session dashboard updates in real-time as you rate photos. You don't need to manually refresh or take any action - just keep working and watch your progress grow!

Session Summary

When you're ready to end your session, you'll see a comprehensive summary of your work:

Ending a Session

  1. Click the "End Session" button in the dashboard
  2. A summary modal appears with your session statistics
  3. Review your performance metrics
  4. Session data is saved automatically to the database
  5. You're returned to the login page

Session Summary Details

The summary modal displays comprehensive session information:

  • Total Photos Rated: Complete count for the session
  • Session Duration: Total time from start to end
  • Badges Earned: Achievement badges unlocked during this session
  • Quality Distribution: Breakdown of ratings (Excellent/Good/Fair/Poor)
  • Issues Detected: Summary of problems found (glare, pose, eyes, etc.)
  • Average Rating: Mean quality score for all photos in the session

[IMAGE: Session Summary Modal]

End session summary popup

Session summary with statistics and badges earned

Session History (Coming Soon)

Future releases will include a Session History feature that allows you to:

  • View all past sessions in a chronological list
  • Compare performance metrics across different sessions
  • Track improvement over time with trend graphs
  • Export session data for reporting
  • Filter sessions by date range or photographer

Data Sync: Session data is automatically synchronized with the server when your internet connection is available. If you're working offline, data will sync the next time you connect.

Session Upload Improvements (v0.10.0+)

Version 0.10.0 includes critical fixes to ensure reliable session uploads to the Rails API:

  • Badge Table Schema Fixed: Resolved foreign key constraint errors that prevented session uploads
  • UUID Compatibility: Badge tables now use UUID columns for photographer identification
  • Three-Table Badge Structure: Sessions upload badges to the correct tables:
    • photographer_badge_counts - Stackable volume badges
    • photographer_quality_badges - Tiered quality badges (Bronze/Silver/Gold)
    • photographer_mastery_badges - Elite achievement badges
  • Reliable Upload: Session uploads now consistently return 201 Created status with all photos and badges

Automatic Upload: When you end a session, your data (photos, ratings, and badges) is automatically uploaded to the Rails API at training.schoolpicturedays.com. You'll see your progress reflected in the Photographer Portal immediately.

Next Steps