The five best ways to collect photos

Through countless projects over more than ten years and with several million ID photos, we have gained valuable experience and would like to highlight the various options for photo procurement in this article.

History

Before the foundation of Photo Collect, we worked in the field of card personalization for several years and experienced that the image capturing process is often the biggest unresolved bottleneck in the production of ID cards. In a project in which the ID cards of a large Swiss company were to be completely renewed, seven teams of two students traveled with their equipment (camera, photo box, background) from location to location throughout the country to take photos of all employees. Although the process took several weeks, it was not possible to get all employees in the right place at the right time for a photo. A logistical nightmare, expensive and without a satisfactory result. For companies that are geographically distributed across different regions or time zones, the challenge is even greater and the process quickly becomes complicated and expensive. Without a standardized process, uniform image capturing is hardly possible. We developed Photo Collect out of this need.

Possible acquisition channels

In order to make the photo process as simple as possible, we have developed several channels through which a photo can be submitted. The best thing about it: The channels can be used individually or in combination, in parallel or one after the other.

• Do we know the employee's e-mail address? Then we can send an e-mail with an upload link from Photo Collect. 
• ... or an SMS with the same link if the cell phone number is known. 
• If we only have the postal address, we can send a letter with a QR code.
• Employees who need to pass through a gate or reception can be Capturing there using the Photo Collect app.
• ... or they can use the self-service kiosk with the Photo Collect app on site.

The five channels in detail

1. BYOD- Bring Your Own Device

The smartphone is the most frequently used channel at Photo Collect, as it enables decentralized Capturing of employee photos and is scalable in quantity. The person submitting a photo simply uses their own smartphone to take and upload the photo. The person does not need an app or a login, but can simply upload via a personalized link generated by Photo Collect in the browser. The process is completed in just two minutes.

The email and SMS communication channels are integrated into Photo Collect. A benefit of sending links via email or SMS, compared to postal mail, is the ability to automatically send low-threshold reminders if the photo has not been submitted after a certain period.

Whether e-mail or SMS - each sending method has its advantages and disadvantages. An SMS is immediately visible and is received on the device with which the photo was taken. However, the mobile numbers of employees are often missing. An email address, on the other hand, is almost always available, but the user should ideally switch to their cell phone to take the photo (we make it easier to switch by displaying a QR code). Choosing the right combination of communication channels is an important part of planning the collection process.

2. photo kiosk at the location

The photo kiosk is used for self-service photo Capturing . The person simply has to enter their identification number and can then take the photo. As with the app, the image background is removed directly on the device using a depth sensor (infrared) - so no classic photo box is required, any wall (including brick, concrete) can serve as a background. The photo kiosk is made of oak (solid wood) and is sustainably handcrafted in Switzerland. It runs on batteries for 24 hours and does not require any cables.

3. mobile app at the location

If there is a physical point of contact such as a reception desk, a secretariat or a card office, the Photo Collect app can be used to Capture photos. A responsible person in the company uses the app to Capture and upload the photos of the employees. The person's identification number can be scanned from an existing document, the existing old ID card or from the computer screen using OCR. The Photo Collect app is available for Android and iOS.

4. Webcam

Recording via a webcam is integrated in Photo Collect , but is only recommended in exceptional cases, as the quality of webcams is often inadequate compared to cameras in smartphones or other devices. We are happy to advise our customers on the selection of a suitable camera.

5. Import of existing photos

Existing image databases can be imported and standardized in Photo Collect via the mass upload. Existing images benefit from quality improvement through automatic rotation, a uniform image section and automatic background removal. This takes less than a second per photo.

Conclusion

The optimum combination of channels for the registration process must be found for each customer and each situation. In the case of SwissPass , customers are prompted to upload via SMS. They use their own device to take a photo and upload it. This keeps the process at the counter very efficient, as the employee simply triggers the SMS and the customer can complete the process at home. Many companies prefer a combination of different channels. Invitations by e-mail are often used to collect photos in the corporate environment. Invitations by letter are used to reach employees without email access. Direct uploads are popular for collecting professional photos of managers. This measure is often flanked by a photo kiosk at the location so that employees can switch to a device provided by the company if necessary.

Contact us to discuss the possibilities for your photo capture process.