The layouts at a glance
| Template | Grid | Captions | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Client selects | 4 across | Frame, filename, stars | Clients choosing favourites |
| Proof sheet | 5 across | Frame and filename | Everyday proofing |
| Portfolio edit | 3 across | Frame and filename | Choosing between finished images |
| Editorial | 6 × 8 | Frame, filename, exposure | Reviewing a long take |
| Archive | 8 × 10 | Frame only | Indexing a drive or a year of work |
| Darkroom | 5 across on black | Frame and filename | The look of a darkroom print |
| Fibre paper | 5 across on warm paper | Typewriter captions with exposure | Presentation sheets, film work |
| Photo grid | 4 across, no captions | None | Mood boards and social posts |
Client selects: 4 across
The largest frames of the proofing layouts, so faces and expressions are easy to compare on a printed page or a laptop screen. Captions carry the frame number, the filename and your star rating, so the client can reply with numbers and you can find the files immediately. Hide rejects before sending so the client only sees frames you would deliver.
Proof sheet: 5 across
The default for good reason. Five across on Letter or A4 shows a few dozen frames per page while keeping each one large enough to judge, and it works for both landscape and portrait shoots because the rows adjust to the shape of the frames.
Portfolio edit: 3 across
For the final stage of an edit, when you are choosing between a handful of strong images rather than scanning a take. Generous spacing makes each frame read as a finished picture.
Editorial: 6 × 8
Forty-eight frames per page with small exposure captions, for photographers and editors who know the shoot and want to see its rhythm: where the light changed, where the subject relaxed. It is the closest digital equivalent to scanning a roll of film with a loupe.
Archive: 8 × 10
Eighty frames per page with frame numbers only. Print it, file it with the drive or the negatives, and you can find a picture years later without powering anything up.
Darkroom and fibre paper
Two presentation looks. Darkroom puts the frames on black with no keylines, like a contact print made with the negatives slightly apart. Fibre paper uses a warm off-white page and a typewriter face for the captions, with shutter speed and aperture under each frame. Both make a sheet that feels like a piece of the work rather than a form.
Photo grid: no captions
Edge-to-edge frames, cropped to fill their cells, with no header and no captions. Use it for a quick mood board, a story layout or a grid you want to post. See the photo grid maker.
Film templates
Film needs its own layouts because the frames come in strips. The film templates lay scans out as strips with sprocket holes, frame numbers and edge printing for each format.
| Format | Frames per roll | Template |
|---|---|---|
| 35mm | 36 or 24 | 35mm · 36 exp, 35mm · 24 exp |
| Half frame | 72 | Half frame · 72 exp |
| 120, 6 × 4.5 | 16 | 120 · 6 × 4.5 |
| 120, 6 × 6 | 12 | 120 · 6 × 6 |
| 120, 6 × 7 | 10 | 120 · 6 × 7 |
| 120, 6 × 9 | 8 | 120 · 6 × 9 |
| 4 × 5 sheet film | 4 sheets per page | 4 × 5 sheet film |
More on film in making a contact sheet from negatives.
Adapting a template
Every template is a starting point. Change the paper, columns, rows, margins, spacing, caption fields and font, and the layout updates live. Paid plans add your logo, studio name and contact line to every page.