Sideline vs. PicPortal
Sideline vs. CodeReplacements.ai
Sideline vs. Renamr
Shoot the Game.
Skip the All-Nighter.
Sideline uses AI to identify players and caption sports photos in seconds, so you spend more time shooting and less time at your laptop.
500 free AI captions · 14-day full access · $0 today · Cancel anytime
Trusted by world-class photographers from these leagues and organizations
Sports photography moves fast.
Your workflow should too.
The problem is, building roster files and captioning each image is slow, tedious, and pulls you away from the action. Until now.
Sideline handles it all: roster creation, AI captioning, live FTP galleries, wireless tethering, and FTP monitoring – all in one app. So you can spend more time shooting and less time at your laptop.
One platform, zero hassle. All for less than you're paying now.
The Sideline Family
Five tools.
One powerful platform.
From rosters to captions to live delivery, Sideline delivers everything a sports photographer needs to caption and deliver faster.
Sideline Rosters
Every team. Every roster. Ready to go.
Build Photo Mechanic code replacement files in seconds from our database of 1.6M+ athletes from high school to the pros.
Sideline Captions
Sports captions, written by AI.
Reads jersey numbers, matches rosters, and uses in-camera audio to write publication-ready captions in seconds.
Sideline Live
From camera to client, instantly.
Send images from your camera to auto-updating galleries — clients get photos while the game is still happening.
Sideline Local
Wireless tethering that doesn't suck.
Forget memory cards. Send images from your camera to your computer, iPhone, or iPad wirelessly.
Sideline Wire
FTP auto-download for remote editors.
Point Sideline at a remote FTP folder and it downloads new images as they arrive. Remote editors, rejoice.
"Sideline cut my postgame workflow from two hours to 20 minutes. I used to dread captioning, but now I just have Sideline do it. My clients think I hired an assistant."
Sideline Captions
Stop wasting time writing captions.
You have better things to do. Photographers who use Sideline reduce their captioning time from ~30 seconds per image to just ~2.5 seconds per image — a 12x improvement.
Sideline Rosters
Every team, always ready.
Building code replacement files by hand isn't the best use of your time. With over 110,000 teams and 1.6M+ players across 250+ leagues, Sideline puts Photo Mechanic-ready roster files seconds away.
Sideline Live
From camera to client, instantly.
Go from camera to client in seconds with beautiful, password-protected galleries — no FTP servers to set up, configure, or maintain.
Sideline Local
No cable? No problem.
Stop hunting for dongles or wrestling with your camera's default connect app. Sideline Local puts your images on your Mac, iPhone, or iPad within seconds of the shutter firing.
Sideline Wire
Remote editors rejoice.
Stop babysitting your FTP client. Sideline Wire watches remote FTP servers and automatically downloads new files the moment they're uploaded — ready for live ingest into Photo Mechanic or Lightroom.
"Sideline might be the single most important thing I've bought in my whole photography journey. Incredible in every way."
Features
Less work.
Better workflow.
From player recognition to publish-ready IPTC metadata, Sideline includes everything you need to streamline your sports photography workflow.
Multi-Sport Support
- Auto Racing
- Baseball
- Basketball
- Cross Country
- Cricket
- Football
- Hockey
- Horse Racing
- Lacrosse
- Soccer
- Softball
- Tennis
- Track and Field
- Volleyball
Automatic Caption Generation
- AI-captions images from local folders, Sideline Wire, and Sideline Live
- Auto-caption new photos as they arrive in your watch folder
- AP, Getty, Imagn, and Icon Sportswire caption styles
- Writes publish-ready captions directly to XMP metadata
Sideline Rosters Integration
- Pull rosters from 1.6M+ athletes in seconds
- Auto-generates Photo Mechanic code replacement files
- High school through pros — or import your own PM file
- Active roster sets sync straight into captioning
Intelligent Player & Team Identification
- Identifies teams by jersey color
- Handles duplicate jersey numbers on football rosters
- Identifies coaches and staff in captions
- Reads in-camera photographer voice notes for context
Review & Approve Captions
- Review every caption before you transmit
- Fix player names with built-in dropdowns
- Track approved vs. needs-review photos
- Re-caption individual images without re-running the batch
Smart Image & Metadata Processing
- Optionally stamp IPTC fields from your template before captioning
- Stamp copyright, credit, and event fields from synced IPTC templates when enabled
- Overwrite existing captions or prepend to a base caption
- Append photo credit from your IPTC Copyright or Credit field
- Works with RAW and JPEG; uses embedded previews for fast RAW processing
Caption Filtered Photos Only
- Filter by color class, star rating, or tag status
- Caption only tagged or untagged photos
- Caption only images that match your criteria
- Combine filters for precise control
Post-Caption Workflow
- Auto-rate captioned photos after processing
- Auto-apply a color class after captioning
- Keeps your Photo Mechanic cull workflow moving
Keywords
- Add custom comma-separated keywords
- Write player names to keywords
- Write names to Persons Shown
- AI-suggested additional keywords
Compatible with TourBox
- Keyboard shortcuts for every feature
- Map keyboard shortcuts to TourBox buttons
- Faster, more efficient captioning
Wall of Love
Easy to love.
Hard to live without.
See why sports photographers of all levels are falling in love with Sideline.
Frequently Asked Questions
Good Questions, Straight Answers.
What's included in one Sideline subscription?
One subscription includes all five Sideline tools: Sideline Captions, Sideline Rosters, Sideline Live, Sideline Local, and Sideline Wire. Individual plans start at $14.99/month — everything your workflow needs, one price.
Does Sideline charge per image or per caption?
No. Paid Sideline plans include unlimited AI captioning — no per-image fees and no credit packs. Caption as many images as you need on every assignment.
What's the difference between monthly, yearly, and lifetime?
Monthly and yearly subscriptions include full access to every Sideline product and unlimited captioning. Yearly billing saves 17% compared to monthly. A lifetime license is a one-time $249 purchase that includes lifetime updates — lifetime license holders provide their own API key for AI captioning. See pricing for details.
What's included in the free trial?
Sideline's free trial gives you 500 AI-generated captions plus 14 days of full access to every Sideline product — Captions, Rosters, Live, Local, and Wire. Cancel anytime. For a full feature breakdown, see the pricing page.
What's the difference between Sideline Live and Sideline Wire?
Both use FTP, but they solve different problems. Sideline Live is for photographers on-site: your camera sends images straight to password-protected client galleries that update in real time — no FTP server for you to run or maintain. Sideline Wire is for remote editors and newsrooms: it watches someone else's FTP server and auto-downloads new files into your local Photo Mechanic or Lightroom folder.
I have another question that isn't answered here.
Browse our full FAQ page for more answers, or email us at hello@sidelinecaptions.com.
Pricing
Everything your workflow needs.
One price.
Everything you used to pay for separately — bundled into one app.
Save 17% with yearly billing
Free Trial
Free for 14 days
Get 500 AI-generated captions for free, plus a 2-week free trial of Sideline Live
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AI Captioning for macOSAI-generated captions for sports photographyIntelligent AI captioning in all styles Local folder watching Filtering & post-captioning actions Caption Review Manual roster creation Roster Manager
Export rosters & matchupsFTP Mode -
Roster GeneratorRoster data for 1.6M+ athletes250+ leagues, 110,000+ teams, 1.6M+ players
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Sideline LiveSideline Live Photo GalleriesReal-time photo galleries delivered in secondsUnlimited galleries & images Password-protected galleries Sell your images & earn Photographer profile pages Protect your images with a watermark Custom domains & branding Advanced analytics 10GB of storage included
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Sideline LocalWireless tethering that doesn't suckWireless tethering to Mac, iPhone, or iPad Auto-stamp photos with IPTC templates Works when venue Wi-Fi is overloaded
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Sideline WireAuto-download from FTP serversAuto-download files from remove FTP servers Auto-stamp photos with IPTC templates Auto-caption new photos Designed for remote editors and newsrooms
Sideline Captions
$14.99/month
Choose the plan that's right for you.
Save more when you pay yearly.
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AI Captioning for macOSAI-generated captions for sports photographyIntelligent AI captioning in all styles Local folder watching Filtering & post-captioning actions Caption Review Manual roster creation Roster Manager Export rosters & matchups FTP Mode
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Roster GeneratorRoster data for 1.6M+ athletes250+ leagues, 110,000+ teams, 1.6M+ players
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Sideline LiveSideline Live Photo GalleriesReal-time photo galleries delivered in secondsUnlimited galleries & images Password-protected galleries Sell your images & earn Photographer profile pages Protect your images with a watermark Custom domains & branding Advanced analytics 10GB of storage included
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Sideline LocalWireless tethering that doesn't suckWireless tethering to Mac, iPhone, or iPad Auto-stamp photos with IPTC templates Works when venue Wi-Fi is overloaded
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Sideline WireAuto-download from FTP serversAuto-download files from remove FTP servers Auto-stamp photos with IPTC templates Auto-caption new photos Designed for remote editors and newsrooms
Designed for macOS
A native Mac app built for the speed of live sports.
Ready to deliver faster than ever?
Join the pros using Sideline to streamline their workflow and deliver professional results in minutes.
500 free AI captions · 14-day full access · $0 today · Cancel anytime