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Photographer Resolution

In this guide you will learn:

  • What photographer resolution does and why it is required
  • The four resolution statuses and what each means
  • How to use default photographer and create-on-sync
  • How aliases work across populations

What it does

Section titled “What it does”

During discovery, finwave extracts photographer names from file metadata and directory structure. These raw names come in many forms — initials like “BW”, full names like “Rebecca Wellard”, or compound names like “BW + AW” when multiple photographers are credited.

Photographer resolution maps these raw strings to finwave user accounts. Every encounter must be linked to a known user, so this step is required before you can approve a manifest.

When it appears

Section titled “When it appears”

Photographer resolution appears in the manifest editor after a preview has been generated. The section shows all unique photographer names from the full manifest — not just the names visible in the limited preview sample.

You must resolve all photographer names before the manifest can be approved. Encounters with unresolved photographers are marked as incomplete and cannot be synced.

Resolution statuses

Section titled “Resolution statuses”

Each unique photographer name has one of four statuses:

Resolved

Section titled “Resolved”

The name is linked to an existing finwave user. Click the user search field, find the correct user, and select them. The name turns green with a checkmark.

Create on sync

Section titled “Create on sync”

The name will be used to create a new finwave user account during sync. Set this when the photographer does not have a finwave account yet. You provide:

  • First name and Last name (pre-filled from the raw name when possible)
  • Email (optional, auto-generated as a placeholder)

Rejected

Section titled “Rejected”

The name is intentionally excluded. Use this for junk entries, test data, or names that should not be associated with any user. Encounters with only rejected photographers will remain incomplete.

Unresolved

Section titled “Unresolved”

The name has not been acted on yet. You must resolve, create, or reject every name before approval.

Default photographer

Section titled “Default photographer”

If some encounters have no photographer detected at all (no EXIF creator, no name in the filename), you can set a default photographer at the bottom of the resolution section. This fallback is applied to any encounter missing a photographer.

Aliases are per-population

Section titled “Aliases are per-population”

Photographer aliases are stored per population. Resolving “BW” to “Rebecca Wellard” in one population does not affect other populations. This is intentional — the same initials may refer to different people in different research groups.

Automatic encounter promotion

Section titled “Automatic encounter promotion”

When you resolve a photographer, any encounters that were previously marked incomplete solely because of that unresolved name are automatically promoted to pending review. You do not need to re-materialize the manifest.

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