Roaming Mode

Not every event happens inside a booth. With Roaming mode, an attendant can walk around the venue, snap guests on the fly, pick the best shots, and still run them through your normal templates, effects, and sharing flow.

What Is Roaming Mode?

Roaming mode turns ALIVE into a handheld photo experience. Instead of the standard countdown-and-pose flow, the operator captures a burst of photos freely — on the dance floor, at the cocktail hour, roaming a conference — then picks the best ones to become a session.

It's ideal for:

• Roaming photographers covering a venue with an iPad and an operator walking around
• Cocktail hour and candid moments where guests don't want to line up at a booth
• Large events where a single booth can't reach every guest
• Hybrid setups that combine a stationary booth with a roaming attendant

How It Differs From Standard Capture

In standard mode, the template decides exactly how many photos the guest takes — and each session runs on a countdown. In roaming mode, the operator shoots as many photos as they want and then selects the exact shots that will become the session.

The Roaming Flow

1. Capture freely — The operator taps the shutter as many times as they want during a moment. No countdown, no fixed count.
2. Pick the best shots — After capture, a photo-picker grid appears. The operator taps photos in the order they should appear in the template.
3. Confirm — Once the required number of photos is selected (one per template slot), the operator confirms.
4. Session is created — ALIVE builds a session from the selected photos, applies the event's effect and template, and queues it for upload in the background.
5. Move on — The operator can immediately start capturing the next group. The previous session processes headlessly while they work.

[screenshot: Roaming photo picker grid with selection order badges]

Selecting Photos in Order

The order you tap photos is the order they'll appear in the template. If your template has three photo slots, the first photo you tap fills slot 1, the second fills slot 2, and so on.

• Tap a photo to select it — a numbered badge shows its order
• Tap again to deselect it — the remaining selections renumber automatically
• Once you reach the required count, the Confirm button unlocks

Headless Session Processing

When you confirm a selection, the session is handed off to the background upload pipeline and you return to the camera immediately. That means:

• You can start the next group straight away — no waiting for uploads
• The effect (AI, ALIVE Effect, camera, GIF, green screen, etc.) runs in the background
• The finished session appears in the Sessions list and Gallery once processing completes
• Slow or patchy Wi-Fi won't block you from capturing — sessions queue and upload when the network catches up

Sharing Roaming Sessions With Guests

Roaming sessions show up exactly like any other session — in the Gallery, in the Sessions list, and at any branded share URL you've configured. Guests can find their photos by:

• Scanning a QR code the operator shows them after capture
• Entering the event gallery link (printed cards, social posts, etc.)
• Searching the event gallery by session

See Understanding Sessions for how sessions work and how guests retrieve their media.

Tips

• Watch your framing — No live template preview means you have to keep aspect ratio in mind. Compose for the template's shape.
• Shoot more than you need — Selecting from six good shots is easier than stretching two okay ones.
• Brief the attendant — Roaming works best with a dedicated operator who knows the template and the event's vibe.
• Use good lighting — Without a fixed booth setup, lighting is the single biggest factor in photo quality.
• Keep moving — The whole point is reach. Capture, pick, confirm, walk on.

What's Next?

• How Photo Capture Works — The standard booth capture flow
• Understanding Sessions — How sessions are stored and shared
• Selecting a Template for Your Event — Choose the template roaming sessions use

Updated on: 04/11/2026