Cutsio Blog

How to organize photos into albums with LightBox view in DaVinci Resolve Photo page

DaVinci Resolve Photo page uses albums and LightBox view for organizing, grading, and comparing still images side by side. This guide covers album creation, IntelliSearch for photos, its limitations, and how Cutsio Visual Intelligence extends search across your entire photo library.

How do you organize photos into albums in DaVinci Resolve Photo page?

Import your photos into the Media Pool, then switch to the Photo page. The album panel on the left displays your imported images. Create albums by selecting photos and clicking the Album button. Albums can be organized by shoot date, camera model, subject, client, star rating, EXIF data, or any criteria that fits your workflow.

Albums in the Photo page function similarly to timelines in the rest of Resolve. They appear as bins in the Cut, Edit, and Color pages, making it easy to cross-reference still images with video projects. You can add images manually to each album or use the filter and sort tools to automatically organize by metadata criteria.

Powerful filter and sort tools give you total control over how your collection is arranged. The thumbnail view displays each image's graded version alongside its file name and source clip format so you can see all grades at a glance. Create multiple grade versions of any image, all referencing the original source file, so you can explore different looks without duplicating files. Grades applied to one photo can be instantly copied across others in the album for a fast, consistent look.

For more DaVinci Resolve tips, read our guide on DaVinci Resolve AI Tools for Colorists and Editors.

How does LightBox view work for comparing graded photos?

LightBox view gives you an overview of your entire album with all grades applied in real time. Select any image, grade it live, and see the results update across the whole collection simultaneously. You can filter by graded, ungraded, star rating, flag, and clip color for fast library management.

LightBox solves a critical problem in photo workflows: consistency. When grading a wedding album, a real estate portfolio, or a product catalog, every image needs to match the others. LightBox lets you grade one reference image and instantly see how that grade translates across every other photo in the album. You can spot mismatches immediately and propagate corrections using shared nodes.

The filtering system supports star ratings (1-5 stars), flags (red, green, blue, yellow, purple, cyan), and clip colors. Filter by "graded" to see only images you have already worked on, or filter by "ungraded" to find images that still need attention. Combined with sort options for date, filename, and rating, LightBox gives you complete control over large photo libraries.

How does AI IntelliSearch work for photos in DaVinci Resolve?

AI IntelliSearch on the Photo page analyzes every image in your albums and makes them searchable using natural language. Type "sunset beach wedding couple" and IntelliSearch surfaces matching photos without manual keyword tagging. It supports face recognition — label a person once and find every photo containing them across your entire album library.

IntelliSearch uses DaVinci Resolve's Neural Engine to analyze the visual content of each still image. It identifies objects, scenes, locations, and faces, then maps them to a searchable index within your project. When you type a natural language query like "bride and groom on beach at sunset," the engine compares it against the visual index and surfaces matching photos ranked by relevance.

The feature is accessed from the Photo page. The search bar is integrated into the album panel. Type your query — it can be a visual description like "red car in front of building" or a person's name if you have labeled faces — and results appear as thumbnail grids within the currently selected album. You can then drag matching photos into a new album or apply grades directly from the search results.

IntelliSearch also supports face recognition for photos. When it detects faces in your images, you can label individuals and search for them by name across the project. This is particularly useful for wedding photographers, event photographers, and portrait studios where you need to find every photo featuring a specific person across a large album collection.

What are the limitations of IntelliSearch for photos?

IntelliSearch works within the currently open project only. It does not search across other projects, external drives, or archived photo libraries. The index is built per project and is not shared between projects.

This means that if you are a photographer managing hundreds of projects across multiple clients, years of shoots, and terabytes of archived images, IntelliSearch alone cannot help you find photos outside the project you have open. Each project requires separate analysis, and there is no global search across your entire photo library.

The other limitation is scope. IntelliSearch indexes still images within the Photo page but does not bridge the gap between your still photo library and your video footage. If you need to find a reference image from a past project to match the grade on a current video timeline, IntelliSearch cannot help — you would need to open that old project manually and search within it.

How does Cutsio Visual Intelligence extend photo search across your entire library?

For photographers and editors who need to search across their entire media library — multiple projects, external drives, cloud storage, and archived images — Cutsio's Visual Intelligence fills the gap that IntelliSearch cannot cover.

Cutsio's Visual Intelligence analyzes the visual content of every image and every video frame alongside audio, creating a unified search index for any moment across your entire library. Unlike IntelliSearch which is scoped to one project, Cutsio indexes every photo and video you upload regardless of project boundaries. You can search using the same natural language queries — "sunset beach wedding couple," "real estate kitchen with marble countertops," "product shot on white background" — and get results from across your entire archive.

| Search capability | DaVinci Resolve IntelliSearch (Photos) | Cutsio Visual Intelligence |

|---|---|---|

| Scope | Single project | Entire library, all projects |

| Search by objects and scenes | Yes | Yes |

| Search by faces | Yes (labeled) | Yes |

| Image-based search | No | Yes — upload a reference image |

| Cross-project photo search | No | Yes |

| Cross-media search (photos + video) | No | Yes |

| Album/collection-scoped search | Yes | Yes |

| Thumbnail preview of results | Album grid | Grid with preview |

| Export to Resolve | Manual drag | EDL/XML export |

Cutsio also supports image-based search. Upload a reference image — a logo, a product shot, a specific scene from a past shoot — and Cutsio finds every photo and video frame in your library that contains similar visual content. This is not possible with IntelliSearch alone.

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How does Visual Intelligence work across collections in Cutsio?

When you upload photos and videos to Cutsio, each file is automatically indexed for visual content. You can organize media into collections — by project, client, shoot day, or any criteria — and search within specific collections for more targeted results. The search index is per-user and completely isolated, so your data stays private.

Search results in Cutsio include visual thumbnails, file names, and result counts. Click any result to preview the exact image or video frame. From there, you can export the file or, for video clips, export an EDL or XML that brings the clip into DaVinci Resolve with proper timecode and clip name mapping.

For photographers working across multiple Resolve projects, this means you can search your entire photo library in Cutsio, find the images you need regardless of which project they were originally associated with, and use them as reference grades or incorporate them directly into a new project.

How do you copy grades between photos in the Photo page?

To copy a grade from one photo to others in the same album, select the graded photo, copy its node tree (Cmd+C on Mac, Ctrl+C on Windows), select the target photos, and paste (Cmd+V). The grade is applied to all selected photos, using the same node structure with each image's own source data.

For consistent looks across an entire album, grade one reference image thoroughly — white balance, exposure, curves, color grading, and any Resolve FX. Copy that grade to all other photos. Each photo retains its original RAW data while receiving the same grading adjustments. Review the results in LightBox to identify any photos that need individual refinement.

This batch-grading workflow is significantly faster than grading each photo individually in traditional photo editing software. A 500-photo wedding album that might take 8+ hours in Lightroom can be graded in under an hour using the Photo page's copy-and-paste workflow.

How do you build a complete photo workflow using IntelliSearch and Cutsio together?

The most effective photo workflow uses both tools in sequence. IntelliSearch handles the within-project photo search once your album is open in Resolve. Cutsio handles the cross-library search before you even open a project.

Start in Cutsio. Upload your still images and video footage from every shoot, every client, and every project. Cutsio indexes everything with Visual Intelligence — visual content, faces, objects, scenes — and makes it searchable across your entire library. When a new project comes in, search your existing library in Cutsio to find reference images from past shoots that match the look you need. Use image-based search to upload a sample photo and find every matching image across your archive.

Export the images you need. Open DaVinci Resolve, create a new project, and import the selected photos into the Photo page. Now use IntelliSearch within the project to organize the imported images, find specific photos within the album, and label faces for quick access during grading.

Once your reference images are in place, grade one photo thoroughly and copy the grade across the entire album using the Photo page's copy-and-paste workflow. Review the results in LightBox to verify consistency across every image.

FAQ

Does IntelliSearch for photos work with the free version of DaVinci Resolve?

IntelliSearch is available in DaVinci Resolve Studio only. The free version does not include the Neural Engine features required for AI-powered photo search.

Can IntelliSearch search photos across multiple projects?

No. IntelliSearch is scoped to the currently open project. For cross-project photo search, use Cutsio Visual Intelligence which indexes images across your entire library.

Can I search photos by reference image in DaVinci Resolve?

No. DaVinci Resolve does not support image-based search for photos. Cutsio Visual Intelligence lets you upload a reference image and find every matching photo or video frame across your entire library.

How do I find a specific graded photo from a past project?

Open the old project in Resolve and use IntelliSearch, or use Cutsio Visual Intelligence to search across all your projects at once with natural language queries or image-based search.

Can I export IntelliSearch photo results to another project?

IntelliSearch results are limited to the current project. To move photos between projects, you need to export the media files or use a cross-library search tool like Cutsio.

Does IntelliSearch support face recognition across different photo projects?

No. Face labels in IntelliSearch are per-project. Each project requires separate face labeling. Cutsio Visual Intelligence indexes and searches faces across your entire library without per-project setup.