Kindred Reels is now Kindred Scenes. Same app, same films, and your old links still work.

How to add photos and videos to your project

Everything in your film starts in your project's Library. This page shows how to add your own photos and videos from a computer or a phone, what you see while they upload, and what to do if an upload stops. To bring photos in from Google Photos instead, see How to bring in photos from Google Photos.

Steps for:

Add photos and videos

  1. Open your project. It opens on the Library. In a new project, click Add Photos & Videos in the middle of the page.
A new project's empty Library, with Add Photos & Videos marked in the middle.
  1. Once the project has photos, use Add Photos at the top right. It adds videos too.
The Library with photos in it, with Add Photos marked at the top.
  1. The Add Photos window opens on From this device. Drag photos and videos onto the dashed box, or click Select Files and choose them.
The Add Photos window on From this device, with Select Files marked. A bar at the bottom shows how much room the project has left.
  1. Check the count, then click Upload. You can click Select More first to add another batch.
Five photos picked and ready, with the Upload 5 Photos button marked. The bar at the bottom shows the room left after them.
  1. You see Uploading... with a bar and a line for each file being sent. Keep the page open.
Uploading, with two of five photos done, a progress bar and a line for each photo still being sent.
  1. When it says Upload Complete!, click Done. To add another batch, click Add More.
Upload Complete, five photos uploaded, with Done marked.
  1. Open your project. It opens on the Library tab at the bottom of the screen.
  2. Tap Photos at the top right. It adds videos too.
A phone showing the Library tab, with Photos marked at the top.
  1. The Add Photos screen opens on From this device. Tap Select Files.
The Add Photos screen on a phone, with Select Files marked.
  1. The first time on an iPhone or iPad, a note comes first: Before you choose. It says the phone can take a minute to get your photos ready after you pick them. Tap Choose photos.
Before you choose, on an iPhone: the phone can take a minute to get the photos ready after you pick them. Choose photos is marked.
  1. Your phone's own photo picker opens. On an iPhone, tap Photo Library.
The iPhone's menu under Select Files: Photo Library, Take Photo or Video, Choose Files, with Photo Library marked.
The iPhone's menu (illustration)
  1. Tap each photo and video you want, then tap Add. Wait a moment: the phone can take a little while to hand them over.
The iPhone's photo picker with four photos ticked, and Add marked at the top right.
The iPhone's photo picker (illustration)

On Android, the photo picker opens at the bottom of the screen. Tap the photos and videos you want, then tap Add.

Android's photo picker with four photos ticked, and Add (4) marked at the bottom right.
Android's photo picker (illustration)
  1. Back in Kindred Scenes, check the count and tap Upload.
Five photos picked on a phone, with Upload 5 Photos marked.
  1. You see Uploading... with a bar. Keep the page open and the screen on.
Uploading on a phone, with two of five done and a progress bar.
  1. When it says Upload Complete!, tap Done at the bottom.
Upload Complete on a phone, five photos uploaded.

Keep the page open while it uploads

Your photos are sent from your computer or phone while the page is open. Closing the tab, reloading or switching away can stop the upload partway.

Once it says Upload Complete!, you can close the page. Kindred Scenes then prepares each photo on its own. The Library shows Processing... with how many are ready, and each new tile says Analyzing... until it is done. The Create Timeline button stays grey and says Processing... until everything is ready.

The Library after an upload: Processing, 8 of 12 ready, photos marked Analyzing, and a grey Processing button where Create Timeline will be. Both are marked.

Adding a lot from a phone

  • Pick in batches of 15 to 20. It goes more smoothly than hundreds at once.
  • Wait after tapping Add. An iPhone can take a little while to hand the photos over, especially if they are stored in iCloud. Nothing seems to happen for a moment. Don't tap again.
  • If an upload stops, pick the same photos again. Anything already in your project is skipped, so nothing is added twice.
  • Trim long videos first. Each video can be up to 3 minutes long.

What you can add

  • Photos: JPG, PNG, WebP and HEIC (the iPhone's own format), up to 50 MB each.
  • Videos: MP4, MOV and most phone videos, up to 3 minutes and 1 GB each.
  • Not GIFs: they are skipped.

A file that is too big or too long is refused before it is sent. The upload screen lists it in red with the reason, and counts it under Failed. The rest still upload.

Upload Complete with three uploaded and one failed, and the refused photo marked in red: Exceeds 50 MB photo limit.

If everything you picked is already in the project, you see Nothing new to add and nothing is sent again.

Nothing new to add: all three photos were already in the library, with the Already added count marked.

Each project has room for about 1,000 photos, or 60 minutes of video, or a mix of the two. The bar at the bottom of the Add Photos window shows how much room is left. Deleting something does not give its room back, so leave out the obvious misses when you pick.

Questions people ask

Wait a moment: the phone may still be preparing them. If nothing appears, pick a smaller batch of 15 to 20 and try again. Photos already added are skipped.

Yes. Send them an invite link and they add their own from their phone, with no app and no account. See How to invite family and friends.

No. A file already in your project is skipped.

No. Once the upload is complete, you can close the page or keep working. Create Timeline turns on when everything is ready.

Yes. On the timeline they wait in Not Included under Other. On a computer, drag them where you want them, or recreate the timeline to have them placed for you.

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