Foto Master

Photo Mosaic Wall: Setup Checklist

Updated 2 weeks ago · 3 min readBeginner

Work through this checklist before every Photo Mosaic Wall activation. The wall is run by PMWall, and its settings come from a PMWall template in Foto Master Cloud.

Planning Before the Event

  1. Prepare the main image the mosaic will reveal. Supply it high resolution, and confirm the subject stays recognisable when it is broken into tiles: strong shapes and clear contrast survive, fine detail does not.
  2. Choose the grid. Columns by Rows is the number of cells, and that is roughly the number of guest photos needed to fill the wall. A 50x50 grid needs about 2,500 photos, so size the grid to the guest count you actually expect.
  3. Match the main image to the grid shape. Tiles are square, so the wall's aspect ratio is simply columns to rows. Anything else gets cropped.
  4. Confirm the display position so guests can watch the mosaic build throughout the event.
  5. If the activation includes a physical board, lock the grid before the board is printed. Changing columns or rows afterwards breaks alignment between the printed board and the software output.

Hardware Setup

  1. Assemble the stand following the stand assembly guide.
  2. Position the display at eye level or above, visible from as much of the room as possible.
  3. Connect the display to the PMWall computer over HDMI.
  4. If you are printing tiles, connect the label printer and load media. Bring spare rolls.

Cloud Configuration

  1. Log in to cloud.fotomaster.com and create the event.
  2. Open Presets, select PMWall, and create the template for this activation.
  3. Upload the Main Image and set Columns, Rows, and Cell output size.
  4. Use Adjust framing if the main image needs cropping, so you choose the crop rather than accepting the automatic one.
  5. Set Event duration and When the wall is full under Event Behavior.
  6. Assign the template to the event and to the PMWall license for this device.

Full detail on every tab is in Configuring PMWall Templates in Foto Master Cloud.

Software Configuration

  1. Open PMWall on the event computer and sign in with your Foto Master Cloud account.
  2. Activate the PMWall license for this device.
  3. On the Dashboard tab, select the event under Event Management and click Sync Event.
  4. Confirm the main image and grid that come back match what you configured.
  5. Check Settings > Cloud. Download Raw Photos pulls gallery photos into the mosaic; Upload Mosaic Tiles (Virtual Mosaic) publishes tiles to an online Virtual Mosaic.
  6. Point every booth or Selfie Wi-Fi station at the same Cloud event.

Test Run

  1. Add 5-10 test photos.
  2. Click Start Mosaic and confirm tiles appear in Mosaic Preview.
  3. Review the wall on the real venue display, not a laptop screen.
  4. Print one tile if the activation includes printing, and confirm the C/R position label is readable.
  5. Click Stop Mosaic and clear the test photos so the event starts empty.

Tip: Sync every template change before starting. PMWall reads settings once when the mosaic starts, and it blocks syncing while the mosaic is running.

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