PikDance & festivals· Field record
SIDF: Getting Thousands of Dance Photos to the People in Them
Selfie search and QR guidance through the operating records of the Seoul International Dance Festival. See how the process of finding your photos in a shared folder changed.
A dance festival leaves behind more than stage photos. Cameras capture practice at workshops, partners met on the social floor, and faces waiting for a performance to begin. The challenge was getting those photos to the people in them.
At the Seoul International Dance Festival (SIDF) in April 2026, photos taken by several photographers were delivered through PikFind. Drawing on existing event records, this article looks at how collecting photos was connected to helping participants find their own.
Opening a shared folder did not immediately reveal your photos
Putting event photos in a single folder can look like the end of the delivery process. But what participants receive is thousands of files, rather than their own photos. Even if they remember the day and session, file names alone rarely tell them which images feature them.
SIDF’s event records describe participants who gave up while scrolling through photos, or could not find their photos after returning home. Along with a place to upload images, the organizers needed a route for each participant to reach their own photos.
An event QR code led participants to selfie search
The photos were collected by date and session, and participants were directed to the event QR code. They opened the event page through the QR code and used a single selfie to search for photos they appeared in. This creates a path with less need to guess file names or ask organizers to send images individually.
When several photographers’ images are collected in the same event, participants do not need a separate link from each photographer. Photographers upload their work, while participants search on one event page.
A dark dance floor calls for room to review the results
Dance photos are different from a front-facing portrait. Lighting can be dim, faces can turn to the side, and another person can block the view. Selfie search cannot find every scene.
PikFind currently separates confident results from possible matches that need checking. Participants can confirm themselves in a possible match or add a selfie from another angle to look further. If the event settings allow it, they can also narrow the scene by time and folder. These are current features that could help in the same situation, rather than outcomes measured at SIDF.
Photo discovery also considers photographers and participants
Photos include a connection to photographer information, so participants can see who took a shot they like. The event page that delivers photos also becomes a place to discover a photographer’s work.
Search selfies are not stored; they are discarded after processing. Face search takes place within that event. There is also a way to request removal from a photo. Helping participants understand how to manage their photos matters alongside making more photos available.
For the next event, prepare the place where participants will search
The change shown in the SIDF records went beyond choosing a different upload destination. The event page where photos were collected and the QR code where participants began searching became one connected flow.
If you are preparing a similar event, start by deciding where to announce the event link, how to divide photos into sessions, and how participants can look further when a photo does not appear in search. Delivery after the shoot is part of event operations, too.