Guide
Find a person in thousands of photos.
You know who’s in the photo. You don’t know which folder, year or drive. Here’s how to find them without looking through it all.
In short: Add your photo folders to Sift, let it group faces on your computer, and name the person once. Sift then shows likely matches to confirm or reject, and you can search by their name, alone or with a description. Face data stays on your computer.
No editor needed. Sift works on its own as a desktop app on Mac and Windows: search, preview, build Selects and share footage by link without opening an editor. The editor panels are optional.
Why this is hard
Folder names tell you when a photo was taken, not who’s in it. Tagging people by hand works until the library reaches thousands of photos across several drives.
What gets the best results
- Clear, reasonably sized faces work best.
- Name a person using a few different photos.
- Answer Same person? when Sift asks about a close match.
- Add a description, like “Maya at the lake”, to narrow things down.
What it won’t do
Sift can miss faces that are small, turned away, in shadow or covered, and it can mix up people who look alike. Check the results, especially before sharing them.
Step by step.
- Add your folders
Choose the folders or drives that hold your photos.
- Let Sift prepare them
Sift analyzes each photo on your computer. A large library can take a while, and you can keep working.
- Name the person
Open People, choose a group of faces and type a name.
- Confirm the matches
On their page, accept the photos that are them and reject the ones that aren’t.
- Search their name
Type the name, alone or with a description.
Questions
Are faces uploaded?
No. Face grouping runs on your computer and face data stays there.
Can I remove a wrong match?
Yes. Correct it on the person’s page.
Does this work with video too?
Yes. The same names work across photos and video.
Can I try it free?
Yes. Free for 3 days or 25 searches. No card. Then $99 a year.
Keep reading.
Try it on your own footage.
Free for 3 days or 25 searches. No card. Then $99 a year for one computer, Mac or Windows. Everything in Sift, including the optional editor panels and one free link to share footage.