Workspace treats individual portraits, Class Photos and School Photos as different image types. Marking an image correctly connects it to the appropriate products in your price list and applies safeguards designed for school photography.
This is important because a complete class or school photograph may use a different size, aspect ratio and download policy from an individual portrait.
What is a Class Photo?
A Class Photo is a shared group image intended for the students or families associated with a class, room, team or other group. It may be a conventional group photograph or a fully designed file containing the group, names, school details, logos and borders.
Class Photos can use dedicated Class Photo products in a Workspace price list. For example, you may offer a 10×8 Class Photo because its 5:4 proportion suits the group-and-names design, while offering 3:2 print sizes for individual portraits.
What is a School Photo?
A School Photo is an image intended for the wider school rather than one class or one student. Marking it as a School Photo keeps it distinct from individual portraits and Class Photos and connects it to the School Photo products supported by Workspace.
Use the School Photo type only when the file and product are intended for that wider school-photo purpose. Do not mark an ordinary individual portrait as a School Photo simply to make it visible in several collections.
Why these products are typically laminated
Class Photo and School Photo products are typically supplied laminated. After the photograph is printed, a clear protective laminate is applied over the print surface.
Lamination helps protect a photograph that may be handled frequently by students and families. It makes the surface more resistant to fingerprints, light scuffing and everyday handling, helping the print remain presentable without requiring glass or a frame.
A laminated print is still an unframed photographic print unless the product description says otherwise. Lamination does not change the file's aspect ratio, crop or finished dimensions, so the class- or school-photo design must still be prepared for the exact product size you intend to offer.
Mark Class Photos automatically through the CSV
When you use Auto Create Collections, Workspace can mark Class Photos from the CSV while it builds each student's collection.
- Use class_photo for the first Class Photo and class_photo_2 through class_photo_15 for additional Class Photos.
- Workspace finds each exact uploaded filename, adds it to the relevant collection and marks it as a Class Photo.
- Use the exact uploaded filename, including the extension.
- The CSV columns may be in any order. Use the current lowercase underscore headings for new files; older supported headings remain compatible.
- Add School Photos to the relevant collections and mark them manually as described below.
Because these are shared files, the same exact filename may appear in many student rows. That gives each relevant student access to the shared photograph without placing it inside their individual Image Start–Image End range.
Mark or correct a photograph manually
- Open the School/Daycare gallery in Workspace.
- Open the relevant student collection or category if the photograph belongs to a particular group.
- Select the photograph.
- Click Edit.
- Choose Make Class Photo or Make School Photo.
- Check the thumbnail colour to confirm the new type.
- Class Photos are highlighted blue.
- School Photos are highlighted amber/gold.
How photo types control the products offered
Workspace matches the selected image type to products configured for that type.
- A standard individual portrait is offered with standard products.
- A Class Photo is offered with matching Class Photo products.
- A School Photo is offered with matching School Photo products.
This prevents a parent from accidentally placing a complete class or school design into an unsuitable standard portrait product. It also prevents a Class Photo or School Photo product from being fulfilled with the wrong kind of image.
Add the required Class Photo and School Photo products to the price list used by the gallery. After marking the files, test each image type in the customer shopping cart and confirm that the expected products—and only those products—are available.
Digital download restrictions
Shared photographs require different download controls from individual portraits.
- School Photos cannot be offered as digital downloads.
- Class Photo downloads are controlled separately. They are unavailable by default. If Class Photo downloads are enabled for your account, you can choose the appropriate download setting for the gallery.
Where Class Photo download controls are available, open the School/Daycare gallery settings and review Allow Digital Download for Class Photo. If enabled for your account, you may also see Allow Free Digital Download for Class Photo.
ImportantMarking the file correctly is essential. A class image left as a Standard Image may inherit download options you did not intend and may be offered with unsuitable products, such as small prints that crop the design or make names too small to read.
Other safeguards
The photo type also controls product matching during package and cart selection. If you use packages, confirm that each slot intended for a Class Photo or School Photo is configured for the matching type.
Test before releasing the gallery
- Log in through the actual Login Portal using a test student's credentials.
- Confirm that the correct individual, Class Photo and School Photo files appear.
- Select an individual portrait and check the standard products offered.
- Select the Class Photo and check that the intended Class Photo products appear.
- Select the School Photo and check that only the intended School Photo products appear.
- Confirm that digital-download actions follow your intended policy.
- Test any package containing a class- or school-photo product.
- Place a complete test order before distributing logins to families.
Repeat these checks whenever you change the CSV, filenames, photo types, price list, packages or gallery download settings.
