Optimized vs Full HD: Which Upload Quality to Choose

When guests upload photos, they can choose between Optimized and Full HD quality. Here's what each option means and when to use it — and how you, as the organizer, can control which options guests get.

Optimized Quality

Best for: Quick uploads, saving mobile data

• Photos are compressed for faster upload (at most 1920 pixels on their longest side, portrait or landscape)
• Uses less mobile data
• Still looks great on screens and in galleries
• Pre-selected on Free plan events

Optimized is perfect during events when guests are uploading many photos quickly.

Full HD Quality

Best for: Best possible quality, printing photos

• Uploads the original photo file, exactly as the camera saved it: nothing is recompressed
• iPhone HEIC photos are converted to high-quality JPEG so everyone can open them
• Larger file sizes mean slower uploads
• Uses more mobile data
• Available on every paid plan (Photo Gallery and above), where it is pre-selected

Choose Full HD for your best shots that you might want to print or enlarge later.

Quick Comparison

Feature	Optimized	Full HD
Upload speed	Faster	Slower
Mobile data usage	Lower	Higher
Image quality	Great for screens	Maximum quality
Available on	All plans	Paid plans only
Pre-selected on	Free plan	Paid plans

Our Recommendation

• Use Optimized during the event for quick sharing
• Use Full HD for your favorite shots you want in highest quality
• If you're on WiFi with good signal, Full HD works well

Controlling Quality as the Organizer

By default, guests choose between the two options, with Full HD pre-selected on paid events (on the Free plan, Optimized is the only option). As the organizer, you can change this per event in Photos → Upload Page Design → Upload Quality:

• Guests choose (both options) — Guests see the quality toggle. You pick whether Optimized or Full HD is pre-selected.
• Optimized only — The toggle is hidden; all photos upload in Optimized quality.
• Full HD only — The toggle is hidden; all photos upload at original resolution. Choose this when you want to guarantee every photo arrives in the best possible definition — for example to print an album afterwards.

Note: Full HD requires a paid event. On Free plan events, guests always upload in Optimized quality regardless of this setting.

See How to Customize Your Upload Page Design for everything else you can configure on the upload page.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What's the difference between Optimized and Full HD? A: Optimized compresses photos for faster uploads and less data usage. Full HD preserves original quality but takes longer to upload.

Q: Which quality should I choose? A: Use Optimized for quick sharing during events. Use Full HD for your best photos when quality matters most.

Q: Can I change the quality after uploading? A: No, the quality is set at upload time. If you need higher quality, upload the photo again with Full HD selected.

Q: Why can't I select Full HD? A: Full HD uploads require a paid plan (Photo Gallery or above). The organizer may also have limited the event to a single quality option, in which case the quality toggle doesn't appear at all.

Q: Can I force all guests to upload in Full HD? A: Yes. On paid events, set the Upload Quality option to "Full HD only" in Upload Page Design. Guests won't see a quality toggle and every photo uploads at original resolution.

Q: Can I change which quality is pre-selected for guests? A: Yes. When both options are available, you can choose whether Optimized or Full HD starts selected in the Upload Quality section of Upload Page Design. If you never change it, Full HD starts selected on paid events.

Q: Does quality affect how photos look in the gallery? A: Both look great on screens. The difference is mainly noticeable when downloading or printing at large sizes: downloads from the public album are the uploaded files themselves, so a Full HD photo downloads at its original resolution.