Update photo collection

Log in to the editing site at https://app.zenfolio.com using the credentials provided to you (see "site login credentials" on the left). 

The site that the public sees, https://asura.zenfoliosite.com, is not the site that you use to edit or upload. The login icon on this site is for "customer accounts" that we don't use.

To edit the look of any part of the website, click on "Website" in the black vertical menu on the left. Then click on an element that is displayed, for example the hero at the top of the page. A menu will open on the left that you can use to adjust features particular to that element.

When you start at the Dashboard and then click on "Website", notice the three icons at the top of the panel at the left. 

• The first icon opens the Navigation menu, where you can change what is in the menu. Use this to create new groups and subgroups, to re-order the menu items, move a gallery from one group to another, etc.
• The second icon is for the site design. You can change the overall theme ("Change Template"  above the accordions). You can also change the colors theme, fonts, etc.
• The third icon, "Settings" gives you a place to enter your Goggle Measurement ID and enter custom code html code.

Each gallery can have its own look, but there is a gallery template for ASURA that should probably be used for consistency in look and use. To change that, or to create a different template if you need one, go to the dashboard (top of the black menu on the left). At the bottom of the page you should see a black stripe that has red text: "Manage Storage" on the left, "Gallery Presets" on the right. Click on ASURA Gallery Typical, make your changes, and click on "Done". The preset gets selected when creating a new gallery.

Typically we would like to feature the three most recent albums on the home page under "Featured Galleries & Collections": Directions for adding a new gallery include instructions on adding it to the featured list. If you need to do this independent of adding a new gallery:

•  Select Website from the choices in the black stripe on the left.
• Click in the block that contains the featured galleries. The design panel for that block will appear on the left.
• At the bottom that is headed "Add New Feature" where you can re-order the existing galleries, edit or delete one of the features, and add a new feature.

If you have a set of pictures from a new event, i.e., an event that doesn't already have an album (gallery) in the photo collection, you have three choices for creating one and uploading photos to it:

• Zenfolio Uploader. This is probably the easiest method.
• Adobe Lightroom with Zenfolio plugin.  Not recommended for most users. The plugin is available from the "Add-Ons & Tools" page accessed at the very bottom of the left menu strip in the Zenfolio editing interface. Once you have installed it, you can choose it from the "Export" button then using the form that appears. You will be creating the album and uploading at the same time.
• Create it from within the Zenfolio editing interface.

For all methods

Name your album/gallery with the 4-digit year first, and then the description. If it is an event that is held annually, the description should be consistent with prior years, e.g., "2026 Meet & Greet".

Determine where in the menu hierarchy your album belongs -- it should be apparent as you look through the website menu with its drop-downs. If you are unsure, consult with the Websites Committee chair.

After uploading a new gallery, go through the photos and add captions, particularly the names of people in the photos.

• Click on "Galleries" in the left black menu stripe.
• Click on the gallery you have just added.
• Select the first photo and click on the 3 dots in the upper right corner of it. Select Edit.
• Under "Display Name" click in the "Use Photo Title as Display Name" box.
• Enter a Photo Title, and, if desired, a Photo Caption. The title will appear under the picture when it is displayed full size, and the caption below the title (in tiny font).
• Repeat for all of the photos in your album.

Connect the new gallery to the website:

• In the left black menu stripe, choose "Website, and ensure that you are looking at the navigation. 
• Click on the orange + next to "Site Pages" (near the top). 
• In the "New Page" menu, click on "Link Page to Gallery". Then on "Add Page".
• Navigate to the proper place in the hierarchy and click on "Continue". Click next to your new gallery and click "Continue".
• Your new album/gallery will be displayed. It will show up at the bottom of the Navigation menu under "Draft / Hidden". Drag it to the appropriate location. Then click on the orange "Publish" button. Click on the "Preview" button and check the menu to make sure everything is okay. It takes a while before you will see the menu update when navigating to the public site.

Using the Zenfolio Uploader

• If you have not previously done so, download and install the Zenfolio Uploader on your computer. You can find it by clicking on "Add-Ons & Tools" at the very bottom of the black menu strife that is on the left. Then select the Tools tab, and click on the Desktop Uploader button for your operating system. Once installed, you will need to provide your login credentials (just the first time). This is a single-factor login.
• Click on the red + next to "Add a New Gallery or Folder and choose "Gallery".
• Enter a name for your album/gallery. 
• Ensure that the Gallery Preset is set to "ASURA Gallery Typical" unless there is a pre-agreed reason not to.
• Leave shoot date and tags blank.
• Expand the "All Galleries Library" and navigate to the appropriate place in the hierarchy for you new album. For example, "Other Events then "Meet & Greet". Click on the button next to the appropriate folder and click on the Add button.

• You can then drag and drop your photos or browse to them. When ready, click on the "Upload" button. On the "Upload Options" screen, leave the "Make sub-folder a Collection" unchecked. Then click on "Start Upload".

   

Upload from within the Zenfolio editing website

• In the Zenfolio editing interface, choose "Galleries" from the left black stripe menu. When the "All Galleries display" appears, click on the red "Add Gallery" button in the upper right.
• Enter you gallery name. The under "My Folders", expand the "All Galleries Library" and navigate to the group that your new album belongs to. Click on "Continue".
• Ensure that the Gallery Preset is set to "ASURA Gallery Typical" unless there is a pre-agreed reason not to.
• Under "Upload options", you will probably want to Skip duplicates and leave all of the Optional Settings unchecked.
• You can then drag and drop your photos or browse to them. When ready, click on the "Upload" button..

Ideally photos to be added:

•  Are no larger than 1600x1200 pixels (or 1200x1600 pixels) at a resolutions of 600dpi. Larger sizes take appreciably longer to load when viewing an album, and are not noticeably different in quality.
• Have title and caption in the Headline and Description in the phots's IPTC fields.

These requirements are taken care of automatically if you use Adobe Lightroom for the upload (see below).

If you have and use other software that makes it fairly easy to size and add IPTC fields, use that.

Otherwise, don't worry about it.

You should have the "Export to Zenfolio" Lightroom plugin installed in your copy of Lightroom before proceeding. 

To upload:

• Place the photos to be added into a folder on your computer that you use to sync with Lightroom.
• Open Lightroom and sync the folder that contains the photos.
• In the Metadata panel, chose IPTC.
• Click on each photo and enter the title (called "Headline" in IPTC) and the caption, if needed (called "Decription" in IPTC).
• Select all of the photos that are to be uploaded and click on "Export".
• In the Export To: window at the top, choose jf Zenfolio.
• If this is the first time you have used the Zenfolio plugin, set login credentials and parameters. Once these are set, you won't have to adjust them, even if/when you install a new version of the jf Zenfolio plugin:
  • Enter the ASURA login credentials for Zenfolio in the "Your Zenfolio Account" area.
  • In the Image Sizing, click on "Resize to Fit" Width & Height both 2000 pixels, Resolution 600 pixels per inch, and click in the "Don't Enlarge" box.
• If you want to create a new album (gallery) for the photos, use the Zenfolio Tools area to do so. Note that you have the option here of setting the sort sequence for the photos in the gallery.
• In the Zenfolio Upload Destination Area, refresh the list of galleries if you haven't done so recently, then select the gallery (album) that will contain your photos. Below the list, choose to sort Galleries alphabetically, and check the box "Visit destination gallery after upload" . Choose what to export. The norm would be "All".
• Click on the Export button.

The photos will upload, and the album they were loaded to will open in your browser.

To add photos to an album by dragging them from your computer:

• Navigate to the album that will hold the photo(s).
• From the Edit menu at the center top, choose "Gallery"  (album). You will see any existing photos in central area. 
• Click on the Upload button at the top left of the central area.
• On your computer, select the photos to be uploaded, and then drag them to the area labeled "Drag & Drop" in Zenfolio.
• Click on the "All" button next to "Select", above the list of files.
• Click on "Start Upload".
• Wait for the upload to finish. You should see your photos.
• Add captions to the photos that you uploaded (see below).
• Sort the photos within the album if desired (see below)

Captions should, whenever possible include names of the people in the photo.

There are two parts to the captions: the first is called "title" and the second "description". The description is optional, and is typically used when it is desirable to have a general caption on the first line and the names of people on the second.

To add or edit captions:

• Navigate to the album that has the photo or photos that you want to edit.
• Double-click on the first photo that you want to edit.
• In the Details column on the right side of the screen, click on Photo Details.
• Add or edit the Title and Caption as desired.
• Click on the Save button further down in the column.

You can move through the photos in the album by using the orange "Next Photo" button that is to the right of the Save button.

To change the sequence that photos are displayed in when looking at an album:

• Navigate to the album.
• From the Edit pulldown at the top of the scrren, choose "Gallery" (album).
• In the central area, at the top right, choose the order you want. Usually this will be "Title" or "Date Taken". Also choose whether you want ascending or descending.

When you load photos to an album, Zenfolio automatically selects the first one of those for the cover photo -- the photo that appears when you are viewing albums a group of albums.

To select a different cover photo:

• Open the album.
• Select (click once on) the photo you want to use for the cover.
• From the pull-down in the lower right corner of the photo (place your cursor there to see it), choose "Select as Cover Thumbnail". Select the album that will use this thumbnail for cover, and click on "Assign".