Sideline Captions

Your workflow shouldn't be this complicated.

Code replacements. Captions. Image delivery. Three critical pieces of every assignment—and until now, three separate headaches.

You know the drill: building code replacement files from rosters, writing captions under pressure, then scrambling to get everything delivered to clients on time.

It's tedious, time-consuming, and honestly? It pulls you away from what you do best.

Sideline fixes that. It generates code replacement files in seconds, writes AI-powered captions for you in newsroom-standard formats like AP and Getty, and delivers images instantly with one-click live FTP galleries.

One tool. One platform. Zero hassle. A better sports photography workflow.

Download for Free

Better Captions. Less Work.

From player recognition to publish-ready metadata, Sideline includes everything you need to streamline your sports photography workflow.

Save Time Every Game

Stop wasting time manually writing captions. Sideline watches your ingest folder and automatically generates professional captions in the background for every image as they're ingested.

Set It and Forget It

Configure once, then let Sideline handle the rest. Captions are written directly to your images' metadata, so they're ready when you import into your image editing software.

Deliver On Deadline

When every minute counts, Sideline ensures you never miss a deadline. Images are captioned in seconds, giving you more time to shoot, edit, and upload.

See How Much Time You Could Save

Sideline is 12x faster than manual captioning – reducing captioning time from 30 seconds per image to just ~2.5 seconds per image.
You'll save time every game and deliver results faster.

30 seconds/image

Manual Captioning

20 seconds/image

Code Replacements

~2.5 seconds/image

Sideline Captions

Download for Free

"Sideline cut my postgame workflow from two hours to 20 minutes. I used to dread captioning, but now I just have Sideline do it for me. My clients think I hired an assistant."

Michael K.

Freelance Sports Photographer

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Lacrosse Roster Management Soccer Photo Filtering RAW+ JPEG Support Smart Player Identification Team Recognition Caption Generation Track & Field Getty Images Softball Volleyball Imagn Images Associated Press Baseball Basketball

Less Work. Better Workflow.

From player recognition to publish-ready metadata, Sideline includes everything you need to streamline your sports photography workflow.

Multi-Sport Support

Auto Racing
Baseball
Basketball
Cross Country
Football
Hockey
Lacrosse
Soccer
Softball
Track and Field
Volleyball

Automatic Caption Generation

Auto-generates captions on import
Pulls names from code replacement files
Supports AP, Getty, Imagn, and more
Writes player names to IPTC keywords

Intelligent Player & Team Identification

Identifies teams by jersey color
Distinguishes offense and defense with duplicate numbers
Uses in-camera audio for added context

Smart Image & Metadata Processing

Overwrite or preserve existing captions
Works with RAW and JPEG files
Uses JPEG previews for fast processing—even with RAWs

Paid Feature

FTP Mode

Live FTP folder monitoring
Automatic download and captioning
Smart local edit preservation
Optimized for wireless gameday workflows

Caption Filtered Photos Only

Filter by color class, star rating, or tag
Caption only images that match your criteria
Combine filters for precise control
Prioritize tagged photos for faster workflow

Post-Captioning Actions

Automatically organize images after captioning
Update ratings or color classes after captioning

Compatible with TourBox

Keyboard shortcuts for every feature
Map keyboard shortcuts to TourBox buttons
Faster, more efficient captioning

Roster Manager

Every team. Ready to go.

Sideline keeps rosters organized for the teams you photograph most—so code replacement files are always just seconds away.

Included:

Create and manage teams, rosters, and players
Import rosters from CSV files
Import Photo Mechanic code replacement files

Paid Features:

Full access to Roster Manager
Browse and select teams from Sideline's database

15,000+ teams and 200,000+ players in over 200 leagues

Import high school rosters from MaxPreps
Export code replacement files

Learn More

Caption Review

Full control.
Zero backtracking.

Caption Review gives you full control to check, edit, and approve every caption—without jumping back into Photo Mechanic.

Review and edit AI-generated captions within Sideline
Correct player names using a smart dropdown
Double-click any caption to edit text or add detail
Preview captions before exporting images

Learn More Try Caption Review

Sideline Live Galleries – Coming Soon

Easy to send.
Hard to forget.

Go from camera to client in seconds with fast, secure galleries—no FTP server configuration needed.

Set up in under 60 seconds
No FTP servers to configure or maintain
Deliver images instantly to clients
Beautiful, password-protected galleries
Auto-updating galleries—no refresh needed
Built-in analytics and usage insights
10GB storage included

Up to 1TB storage available for purchase

Learn More Notify Me

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

"I used to use PicPortal to send images to clients, but then I found Sideline. Code replacements, captioning, and live galleries all in one app? I just canceled my PicPortal account. The value Sideline offers is insane."

— Joshua Chayer, Freelance Sports Photographer

Sideline for Windows – Coming Early 2026

Same Power.
Different Platform.

AI captioning, roster management, caption review, and automation—now native to Windows.

AI captioning in AP, Getty, and Imagn styles
Roster Manager to import and manage player rosters with ease
Caption Review to edit and approve before export
Local folder watching for automatic captioning
Multi-sport support across 9 popular sports
Photo filtering and post-captioning actions
FTP Mode for automatic remote captioning
Seamless Photo Mechanic integration

Easy to Love. Hard to Replace.

See why sports photographers of all levels are falling in love with Sideline.

Sideline is Perfect For:

Sports Photographers

Covering live events

Athletic Departments

Handling multiple sports

Wire Service Photographers

Who need to deliver on deadline

Any Sports Photographer

Who needs faster captioning

Pricing

One Subscription.
All of Sideline.

Start for free and choose the plan that works for you.

Free Trial

$0 Yep, Seriously.

Get 500 AI-generated captions for free.
No credit card required.

Intelligent AI captioning in all styles
Local folder watching
Filtering & post-captioning actions
Caption Review
Manual roster creation
~~Roster Manager~~
15,000+ teams and 200,000+ players in over 200 leagues
~~Export rosters & matchups~~
~~FTP Mode~~
~~Sideline Live Photo Galleries~~

~~Unlimited Galleries~~

~~Password-protected galleries~~

~~Advanced analytics~~

~~10GB of storage included~~

Try Sideline for Free

Available for Mac

Email me the download link

From $14.99 /month

Choose the plan that's right for you.

Intelligent AI captioning in all styles
Local folder watching
Filtering & post-captioning actions
Caption Review
Manual roster creation
Roster Manager
15,000+ teams and 200,000+ players in over 200 leagues
Export rosters & matchups
FTP Mode
Sideline Live Photo Galleries
Unlimited Galleries
Password-protected galleries
Advanced analytics
10GB of storage included

Lifetime License

Prefer a one-time payment instead of a subscription? We've got you covered.

All Pro features included
One-time payment option, no subscriptions
Lifetime updates for ^✨free^✨
Unlimited captions - just provide your own API key
Sideline Live Photo Galleries

Unlimited Galleries

Password-protected galleries

Advanced analytics

10GB of storage included

$249

One-time payment

Buy a Lifetime License

Good Questions. Straight Answers.

Explore frequently asked questions about Sideline.
Can't find what you're looking for? Reach out.

Which caption styles can Sideline generate?

Sideline delivers newsroom-standard captions out of the box, including AP, Getty, and Imagn styles—so every frame is ready for the publications and wire services you work with most.

How does Sideline identify players in my photos?

Sideline connects to your code replacements text file, so it already knows the rosters of the teams you're shooting. As soon as new images land in your watch folder, it matches images against those names, understands the play, and writes professional captions automatically.

How fast does Sideline caption my images?

Sideline runs quietly in the background, captioning every image as it hits your ingest folder. Since Sideline uses JPG previews ~0.25MB in size (even with RAW files), the average image takes ~2.5 seconds to caption.

Will Sideline fit into my existing workflow?

Yes. Set Sideline to watch your ingest folder and it writes captions straight to every file’s metadata. Sideline writes captions to industry-standard IPTC metadata files, so it can be used with any editing software you already use.

Building Code Replacements files takes a long time. Can Sideline do it for me?

Yes. Sideline's Roster Manager can generate entire rosters from ESPN, MaxPreps, and NCAA Stats. Have multiple photographers? You can easily export rosters to to share with your team.

Does it handle multiple sports and teams?

Absolutely. Sideline understands eleven popular sports out of the box – with more coming soon – and you can feed it as many rosters as you need—perfect for athletic departments, freelancers, and wire shooters covering multiple teams.

How does Sideline's FTP mode work?

Sideline’s FTP mode watches a remote FTP server. When new images are added, Sideline downloads and captions them automatically, so when you come in from halftime, your images are ready to edit and publish.

Can I tweak the captions before I publish?

Of course. Captions are written directly to the IPTC metadata, so you can review or fine-tune them directly within Sideline, Photo Mechanic, Lightroom, or any editor you already use—Sideline simply does the heavy lifting for you.

What’s included in the free trial?

Sideline's free trial gives you 500 AI-generated captions – no credit card required. It’s the fastest way to see Sideline in action on a real assignment before upgrading to lifetime access. For a full list of features available in a free trial, see the pricing section.

Is Sideline Captions a subscription?

Yes, Sideline is subscription-based software. However, we do offer a lifetime license for $249 for those who prefer to buy the software once and own it forever.

What are the system requirements?

Sideline Captions requires macOS 14.0+. While it can work independently, it is designed to be used in conjunction with Photo Mechanic software for the best experience.

Is there a Windows version available?

Sideline is macOS only for now, but we are actively working on a version of Sideline for Windows. We hope to release it in early 2026.

Tutorial Videos & Documentation

Shoot Fast. Deliver Faster. Shoot Fast. Deliver Faster.

How Sideline Works

1. Set Your Watch Folder

2. Add Your Roster

3. Get Publication-Ready Captions