Fast Folder Ingest & Client-Side Proxy Workflow

Drag-and-Drop Whole Shoot Folders

Photographers can drag an entire folder structure containing thousands of RAW and JPEG files directly into the BestShots upload zone.

The ingestion manager automatically traverses your subdirectories, preserves folder structures, and queues files for review without requiring you to manually organize or flatten your camera cards. Whether your shoot is organized across multiple memory cards (such as Card_A and Card_B) or multi-shooter folders, BestShots ingests them seamlessly.

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Instant In-Browser EXIF Metadata Extraction

Before upload begins, BestShots reads your camera EXIF metadata directly inside your browser. This instantly indexes your shoot technical details with zero server delay:

• Camera Make & Body: Sony Alpha, Canon EOS R, Nikon Z, Fujifilm X / GFX, Leica, Lumix, Hasselblad, and more.
• Exposure Triangle: Shutter speed, aperture (f-stop), and ISO sensitivity.
• Lens & Optics: Exact lens model, focal length, and maximum aperture setting.
• Capture Timestamp: Millisecond-accurate capture timestamps utilized for precise burst stack clustering across multiple camera bodies.

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High-Speed Local Proxy Generation

Processing 50-megapixel camera RAW files over the web typically requires massive upload times and heavy computer resources. BestShots solves this with intelligent client-side processing:

1. Embedded Preview Reading: The browser extracts the high-resolution embedded preview packaged within your camera RAW files (.ARW, .CR3, .NEF, .RAF, .DNG, etc.).
2. Background Processing: Web workers generate standardized 2048px high-resolution WebP inspection proxies in approximately 500ms per frame without freezing your user interface.
3. 95% Upload Bandwidth Savings: Only the lightweight inspection proxies (250KB to 500KB) are transmitted to your secure studio vault.
4. Zero RAW File Risk: Your original multi-gigabyte camera master RAW files remain safely on your computer, 100% untouched and uncompressed.

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Non-Destructive Sidecar Matching

Because BestShots extracts metadata and links inspection proxies using your exact camera filenames:

• Original Stems Retained: File stems (such as _DSC4092 or 080A1245) are tracked identically throughout your culling session.
• Effortless XMP Export: When exporting your selections, BestShots outputs standard .xmp sidecar files that pair instantly with the master RAW files on your local drive.
• Zero Catalog Import Conflicts: Open Lightroom Classic or Capture One, reload metadata, and watch your star ratings and color labels sync without touching your original RAW media.