Frames iOS: Frame List

Introducing Frames – A New App to Log and Sync Film Photography Metadata

By Vincent

Three years ago, I introduced Datafilm to the 35mmc community—a minimalist iOS app aimed at helping film photographers log exposure settings and shooting notes. The response was heartening, with many embracing it as a digital alternative to traditional notebooks. However, Datafilm had its limitations, particularly in integrating logged data with scanned images.​

Today, I’m excited to unveil Frames, a comprehensive evolution of that initial concept. Frames is designed to bridge the gap between the analog shooting experience and digital photo organization, offering a seamless workflow for film photographers.​

Frames App Logo

What Is Frames?

Frames is a cross-platform application available on both iOS and macOS, designed to help film photographers log and later reintegrate shooting data into their scanned images. It lets you record every detail about a shot—aperture, shutter speed, ISO, camera, lens, film stock, location—for each frame you take on film.

What started as a simple personal tool quickly evolved into something more. As a film photography enthusiast, I needed a way to keep track of my settings in a format that actually made sense for analog workflows. And as a professional UI/UX designer, it was only natural to bring that need to life through a product that felt intuitive, beautiful, and truly useful.

Frames iOS: Toolbar

The real game-changer in this release is the new macOS companion app. It lets you seamlessly match your recorded notes with your scanned images and embed metadata directly into JPEG files—making it feel like the metadata was there from the start. This feature was one of the most requested by early users, and I’m genuinely so proud (and excited!) to finally share it.

Frames has grown from a personal need into something that I hope will be helpful to photographers everywhere—designed with care, powered by passion, and built to make analog photography just a little more digital.

Frames macOS: List View Frames macOS: Full View Frames macOS: Grid View

Key Features

  • Detailed Logging: Capture comprehensive information for each frame, including exposure settings, gear used, time and location data.​
  • Metadata Integration: Embed logged data into scanned JPEGs, enriching your digital archives with valuable context.​
  • Cross-Platform Share: Seamlessly share data between iOS and macOS devices.​
  • Privacy-Focused: All data is stored locally, ensuring user privacy without reliance on cloud services.​
  • Multi-Language Support: Already available in 16 languages to cater to a global user base.​

Just to be fully transparent: the iOS note-taking app is—and will remain—completely free, just as it’s always been. The new macOS companion app comes with a 7-day free trial so you can explore everything it offers. After that, it requires a subscription. This helps support the continued development of the project and keeps the core mobile experience accessible to everyone. I believe in being upfront about how things work, and I hope this balance feels fair to those who find value in what Frames offers.

The Technology Behind Frames

Frames is built using Swift and SwiftUI, leveraging Apple’s latest SwiftData framework for data persistence. This modern architecture ensures a responsive and intuitive user experience across devices.

Looking Ahead

Thanks so much for reading. Launching Frames has been a personal and emotional milestone for me, and I’m truly grateful for your interest.

I’m really excited about what’s ahead—especially now that the macOS app is part of the ecosystem. It opens up new possibilities, and I can’t wait to see how people use it in their own workflows.

If you give Frames a try, I’d love to hear what you think. Your feedback will help guide future updates and improvements. Whether it’s a bug, an idea, or just a thought—don’t hesitate to reach out.

Frames: Film Photography Notes & Metadata
Download Frames on the AppStore (iPhone)
Download Frames on the Mac App Store (Mac)

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Comments

Greg Hammond on Introducing Frames – A New App to Log and Sync Film Photography Metadata

Comment posted: 20/05/2025

This is so cool. Csn’t wait to try it. Thank you.
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Greg Hammond replied:

Comment posted: 20/05/2025

Wish I could edit my comment to fix that embarrassing typo. Anyway, downloaded and plan to check it out on a short trip this week. Integration with the MacOS app really might be a game changer for me.

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Vincent replied:

Comment posted: 20/05/2025

Thanks a lot for trying it out, Greg! With the Mac app, you can drag and drop all your photos—or just a few—and it’ll automatically display the image you dropped and all the ones that come after. And feel free to reach out anytime via email if you're facing issues or have suggests, the iPhone app is 3 years old already but I'm really looking for feedbacks regarding this new desktop app :)

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Stephen Hanka on Introducing Frames – A New App to Log and Sync Film Photography Metadata

Comment posted: 20/05/2025

Any chance of migrating this to Windows or Android?

I am not a an Apple user.

-Steve Hanka
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Vincent replied:

Comment posted: 20/05/2025

Hi Stephen, it is definitely on my radar, but for now I’m focused on making the iPhone and Mac experience as solid as possible. If it goes well, Android and Windows versions are next. :)

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Bill Watts on Introducing Frames – A New App to Log and Sync Film Photography Metadata

Comment posted: 20/05/2025

Good effort, no support for the 70%+ Android users out in the world. I have been using Exif Notes for years which does all of the above.
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Sergio Palazzi replied:

Comment posted: 20/05/2025

I have to look for Exif Notes...

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Vincent replied:

Comment posted: 20/05/2025

I truly want Frames to be inclusive and accessible to as many people as possible—that’s why it’s already available in 16 languages. Making everyone feel supported is really important to me. That said, Android support would mean an entirely separate development effort, essentially doubling the workload. As a one-person project, I’ve had to start somewhere, and focusing on iOS, macOS, and the website was the most manageable path for now. But expanding to Android is definitely something I’d love to explore as the app continues to grow and gain support.

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Vincent replied:

Comment posted: 20/05/2025

Yes, there are alternatives on the Google Play store. Never tested them though so I can't recommend a specific one but you can find them by using queries like: "analog notebook" or "film logbook".

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Ramón B on Introducing Frames – A New App to Log and Sync Film Photography Metadata

Comment posted: 20/05/2025

Sounds good. What about DNG or other raw files…??
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Ramón B on Introducing Frames – A New App to Log and Sync Film Photography Metadata

Comment posted: 20/05/2025

Sounds good. What about embedding DNG or other raw files…?
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Vincent replied:

Comment posted: 20/05/2025

Thank you Ramón! It's planned, I'm working on it and will probably update the mac app with the feature in the upcoming weeks :)

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Gary Smith on Introducing Frames – A New App to Log and Sync Film Photography Metadata

Comment posted: 20/05/2025

Anyone who devotes effort to bridging the gap between film and the digital age deserves credit, so "kudoes" Vincent!

I have a simple light meter app for my iPhone and I purchased the Crown and Flint app in Feb of 2024. I just couldn't bond with either due to having to handle 2 devices. I have settled on using the TTArtisan light meter on my film cameras that don't have a meter. At the moment, it's parked on top of the M3.
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Vincent replied:

Comment posted: 20/05/2025

Thank you so much for the kind words Gary, the project is clearly driven by passion :) I totally get what you’re saying about juggling multiple devices. There's definitely something nice about keeping it all simple and in the moment, especially with something like an M3 and the less you have to carry/interact with the better. I have an MP myself and really benefit from the integrated light meter.

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