why i built fotoflo, a personal photo manager for film photographers

a lot of the beauty in film comes from the unknowns, but one of the unknowns that causes a pain point in my workflow and general enjoyment of film is organizing my files digitally. confusing file names from scans that live in folders that may or may not get dated/labeled. in an effort to try and be more proactive about keeping my digital life organized i landed on developing my own tool to help. i'm aware lightroom has batch renaming but i wanted this to be a quick step before i even get into light room so i know what and when my scans were from while i'm editing. the workflow i had in mind: import scans from your hard drive, quickly rate them, add tags, search by film stock or camera, and find exactly what you need in seconds. No more clicking through endless folders.

the current workflow, or fotoflow~, is upon finishing scanning, upload your files. on upload of five or more files you’ll be prompted to add film stock, camera used and subject. these will also get saved as metadata hard coded to the file. once you have your files in the app you can select and update, rate with stars or heart, filter by tags or rating, delete or export. upon export you will be prompted if you want to export normally, which only batch renames the files or to export with metadata which will write the tags to the file as well as renaming them. then, once i have my files in lightroom i know what i’m actually looking at while editing.

simple, but felt necessary for my workflow and especially for organization after the editing stage.

Features I Actually Use- Offline-first - works without internet, no uploading to the cloud- PWA installable - feels like a native app on Mac, Windows, and Linux- Bulk operations - rename, tag, rate multiple photos at once- Duplicate detection - finds those accidental double-scans- Search & filter - find by film stock, camera, rating, tagswhy a glassmorphism ui? because it has feeling~ photography apps tend to be dense and utilitarian. i wanted something that felt peaceful to use. it's free (for now) fotoflo is something i built for myself, but i figured others might want it too. no subscription, no cloud, no strings.

where? you can access fotoflo at https://fotoflo.online and if you wish you can install as a pwa and use the software even while offline.