Resolve Photo Album Export Settings
Have you tried the new photo page inside of DaVinci Resolve 21 yet? It's a fantastic addition, but you might have encountered a frustrating quirk. When you hit the quick export button, you might realize you’ve lost all your original file names. Instead of your original raw file name, you just get a sequentially numbered photo album name.
If you want to track back later to your original raw files, losing those names is a problem. Fortunately, there's a simple solution: metadata tokens. By using the percentage sign (%) to call up dynamic variables, you can set up custom delivery page presets that not only retain your file names but also automatically organize your exports into dated folders. Here is how to do it.
Create a Photo Album
To create custom delivery page export settings, you first need a photo album to work on. Navigate to the new Photo Page in Resolve. In the upper left, go to Import Media Folder to bring in your raw photos.
Once they are in the media pool, select them all, right-click, and choose Create a New Photo Album Using Selected Clips. The reason this method is preferred is that it prompts you to name the album right away. Give it a descriptive name (like the name of your talent or subject, e.g., "Braxton"). You will use this name later in the deliver page export settings.
Configure Your Output Color Space
Before exporting, you must ensure your output color space is set correctly so your JPEGs are tagged with the right profile. Go to File > Project Settings and navigate to the Color Management tab.
Color Science: DaVinci YRGB Color Managed
Color Processing Mode: HDR (ideal for log footage and raw HDR photo captures)
Output Color Space: sRGB (This is critical for photos, whereas you might use Rec.709 for video)
Hit save. Now your photos will be tagged and managed correctly on output.
Build a Custom Export Preset
Head over to the Deliver page. In the upper left dropdown, ensure you have your Photo Album selected (not a timeline). On the left panel, select Custom Export.
Format: JPEG
Include Metadata: Check this box! This preserves crucial EXIF data like the capture date and lens used.
In the File Name field, delete "Untitled". Instead, type the percentage sign (%) or click the plus icon to reveal the metadata token menu. These tokens dynamically insert data photo by photo as they export.
Here is a powerful naming convention you can use:
Recommended File Name String:
%Project Name_%Timeline Name_%Source Name_%Render Resolution
%Project Name: The overall name of your Resolve project (e.g., "Photo Export Demo").
%Timeline Name: This token pulls the Photo Album name we created in Step 1.
%Source Name: This is the magic token. It injects the exact original file name (e.g., "CVT8056") from your camera.
%Render Resolution: Appends the final output dimensions.
Automate Folder Structures
You can also use tokens to automatically generate neatly organized folders on your hard drive.
Set your base location (e.g., your Desktop). Then, at the end of the file path, add a forward slash (/) followed by the %Date ISO token. Add another forward slash and the %Render Resolution token.
This tells DaVinci Resolve to automatically create a master folder with today's date (e.g., 202606-09), and inside that, subfolders categorized by resolution.
Save Multi-Resolution Presets
With your full-resolution settings locked in, click the three-dot options menu and choose Save as New Preset. Call it "JPEG Full" and add it to your render queue.
Now, let's make a social media version. Change the resolution setting from "Original" to Long Side. Enter 1920. This brilliant feature automatically downscales the image so the longest edge is 1920 pixels while perfectly maintaining the aspect ratio.
Save this new preset as "JPEG Small" and add it to the render queue.
Select both jobs in the render queue and hit Render All. Resolve will automatically generate your dated folders and resolution subfolders. Best of all, right in the middle of your new file strings, your original raw file names will be perfectly preserved. If you ever need to track back an 8MB JPEG to its 750MB raw original to reprocess it, you'll know exactly which file to look for.
