How many photos per guest? Choosing the shots for your roll
On a disposable camera app, the host decides how many shots each guest gets, and the number changes how people shoot. Here is what each setting suits, how to work out the total for your guest list, and why fewer shots often make a better roll.
Five settings, and what each suits
papershot offers 5, 10, 16, 24, or 36 shots per guest, and 36 is the most. The shots last for the whole moment, whether it runs for two hours or a week, so think about how long it lasts as well as what kind of day it is.
- 01
5 shots: a dinner
A birthday dinner, drinks after work, a small celebration at home. Five shots make every one a decision: the table, the toast, the person opposite.
- 02
10 shots: a party
A party or a night out. Enough for the arrivals, the middle of the night, and the late part, if people pace themselves.
- 03
16 shots: a wedding
Enough for the ceremony, the meal, and the dancing, and few enough that each one is a choice. It also suits a long party or a full day out.
- 04
24 shots: a long wedding day
From getting ready to the last song, with room for everything in between. A good fit when the day runs for 12 hours or more, or when the guest list is small and you want plenty from each person.
- 05
36 shots: a weekend
A weekend away, a festival, or a week-long trip. Spread over seven days, 36 shots is about five a day.
Work out the total
Multiply the guests by the shots. The answer is the most photos the roll can hold. Not every guest uses every shot, so treat it as a ceiling, not a forecast.
- 4 guests at 16 shots: up to 64 photos, on a free moment.
- 24 guests at 10 shots: up to 240 photos.
- 80 guests at 16 shots: up to 1,280 photos.
- 120 guests at 24 shots: up to 2,880 photos.
- 8 people on a week away at 36 shots: up to 288 photos.
The bigger the guest list, the fewer shots each person needs. Four people at 36 shots each make up to 144 photos, a roll you can look through over one coffee. At 120 guests, the same setting makes up to 4,320.
Then add the videos and memos: one of each per guest, so 80 guests can add up to 80 videos and leave up to 80 memos as well.
Why fewer shots often make better photos
A phone camera with no limit invites 10 versions of the same thing. A set number changes the habit. People choose: they wait for the laugh, walk round to the better side of the table, and point the camera at the person nobody else is photographing. Between shots, phones go back in pockets, and people get on with the day.
Fewer photos are also easier to love afterwards. A roll of choices can be looked through in one sitting, downloaded, printed, and made into something. Thousands of near-repeats are harder to face. And because each guest has their own shots, one keen photographer cannot use up the roll for everyone else.
If you are between two settings, the lower one keeps every shot a choice.
Videos and memos come as well
Every guest also gets one video and one memo, as well as their shots, unless you turn them off. The video is 5 to 30 seconds, in 5-second steps, filmed in the app in 4:3. The memo is 5 to 60 seconds: a few words in the guest's own voice. You set both lengths, and you can ask a question for each, up to 120 characters.
One each works the way the shot limit does. Nobody films an hour of the dance floor; they pick the part worth keeping.
Shots, guests, and the price
The shots setting does not change the price. What a moment costs depends on how many guests it takes: free for up to 4, then paid sizes of 8, 24, 48, 72, 120, 240, or unlimited guests. Each is one payment for the moment, with no subscription, and the pricing page has every size.
So choose the shots for the day, and the size for the guest list. For a party, the party page has a shot list for the night; for a wedding, the wedding page covers the whole day. If the idea is new to you, start with how a disposable camera app works.
