The short answer
Create a shared album or upload page in your photo service, copy its share link, and encode it in a dynamic QR code on table cards 3–4 cm wide. Anyone with that link can usually open the album, so on the Pro plan set an expiry date on the code and review the album’s own sharing settings when the event ends.
How to make a QR code for a shared photo album
Create the shared album
In Google Photos, iCloud, Dropbox or a similar service, create an album and turn on link sharing and, if you want guest uploads, contributor access. Copy the share link.
Check what a stranger sees
Open the link in a private window. Confirm guests can view and add photos but cannot see other albums or your account.
Create a dynamic code
Paste the link into a URL code and save it as dynamic. If the album changes, you only edit the destination.
Add a one-line prompt
Print the code on table cards or a sign with a line such as “Add your photos here”. Put it where people sit and hold their phones.
Close the loop after the event
Set an expiry on the code (Pro) or switch its destination to a thank-you page, and turn off public sharing on the album when you have saved what you need.
Size, distance and placement
- Best code type
- Dynamic URL code to the album’s share link
- Table card
- Read at 30–50 cm: 3–4 cm (1.2–1.6 in)
- Entrance or bar sign
- Read from 1–1.5 m: 10–15 cm (4–6 in)
- Guest access
- Link sharing with view and contribute permissions; test in a private window
- Ending access
- Expiry date on the QR code (Pro), plus turning off sharing in the photo service
- Prompt wording
- Short and specific: “Add your photos”, not “Scan me”
- Backup
- Print a short web address under the code
Why dynamic and why an expiry
A shared-album link is effectively a password in a URL: anyone who holds it can open the album. A dynamic code gives you two controls a static code does not. You can set an expiry date, so the printed code stops working after the event, and you can change the destination, so the same cards later open a thank-you page or the final gallery. Both matter if the album holds photos of people who did not expect them to stay online.
Common mistakes
Tip: set the album to approve or review contributions if the service allows it. A moderated album keeps the one blurry photo from becoming the first thing everyone sees.
Frequently asked questions
How do I let guests upload photos with a QR code?
Create a shared album with contributor access, copy its link, and encode that link in a QR code on table cards or a sign. Guests scan and add photos from their phones.
Can I make a photo album QR code stop working?
On the Pro plan you can set an expiry date or a scan limit on a dynamic code. Also turn off link sharing in the photo service when you no longer want the album open.
Is a photo-sharing link private?
Only people with the link can open it, but anyone with the link can, and it can be forwarded. Treat it like a shared password and limit its lifetime.
What size should a table-card code be?
About 3–4 cm (1.2–1.6 in) wide, dark on light, with a clear border, for guests scanning at arm’s length.