- What is a contact sheet and why do photographers use them?
- A contact sheet (or proof sheet) is a printed grid of small thumbnail images that shows every photo from a shoot on a single page. Photographers share them with clients so the client can review and select their favourites before high-resolution editing begins. The name comes from the darkroom era when negatives were laid directly on photosensitive paper (in contact) to make same-size prints. Today, a digital PDF proof sheet serves the same selection workflow — you email or print it, the client circles their picks, and you know exactly which shots to retouch.
- How many photos fit on one page?
- It depends on the column count you choose and whether captions are on. With 3 columns on A4 the tool auto-calculates rows to fill the printable area, typically fitting 9–12 images per page (3 cols × 3–4 rows). With 6 columns you can fit 24–30 per page. If you have more photos than fit on one page the generator automatically creates additional PDF pages — no manual splitting needed.
- Does this tool upload my photos anywhere?
- No. Every step — reading the files, drawing thumbnails on a Canvas, and writing the PDF — happens entirely inside your browser using JavaScript. Nothing is sent to a server. You can even go offline after the page loads and the tool will still work. This makes it safe to use with client photos that are confidential or not yet shared publicly.
- Can I use HEIC photos taken on an iPhone?
- Yes. The tool includes the heic2any library which converts HEIC/HEIF images to JPEG in the browser before processing. This covers iPhone photos exported directly without conversion. Conversion happens locally in JavaScript — no server required. Note: very large HEIC files (50 MB+) may take a few seconds to decode on older devices.
- What resolution does the PDF output have?
- The PDF pages are generated at 150 DPI, which is sharp enough for on-screen review and adequate for standard proof printing. Each image cell is rendered on an HTML Canvas at a resolution that matches the cell dimensions at 150 DPI before being embedded in the PDF. For press-quality output at 300 DPI you would need a desktop application like Lightroom or Photoshop, but for client approval proofing 150 DPI is the standard.