A Subject is a person you photograph: a student, a senior, an employee sitting for a headshot, a dancer, a church member. The subject record holds their identity and contact details, the Subject Groups they belong to, every session they have booked, their payments, their files, and every message Airstudio has sent them.
| Record | What it is | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Organization | The client | Lincoln High School |
| Subject Group | One program you photograph for the client | Lincoln High Seniors 2027 |
| Subject | A person in one or more groups | Maya Chen, Student ID 48213 |
| Contact | A parent or guardian attached to a subject, with their own login and notification settings | Maya's mother |
A subject belongs to one organization and can be in several of its Subject Groups over the years: the same student appears in Fall Underclass 2024, Fall Underclass 2025, and Seniors 2027 as one record with one login. Sessions, payments, and notifications all attach to that one record.
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The Student ID is what ties a subject together across years and across your gallery software. Import it whenever the school provides it, and keep it as the sync field when you re-import.
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Most subjects arrive through a Subject Group roster import. They can also be created one at a time by staff, added from a booking on the subject's behalf, or created by families themselves when a group allows self-assignment. See Adding Subjects.
Subjects and their contacts sign in through your booking page and see only their own sessions and profile. See The Subject Portal.