Narrative gives you two ways to check detail while you cull. Smart Zoom zooms the main photo so you can take a closer look at one spot. Close-ups shows enlarged faces or details in a panel beside the full photo, so you can check them without losing sight of the whole shot.
How do I zoom in on a photo in Narrative?
To zoom in on a photo with Smart Zoom, press Space. Smart Zoom zooms straight to the main face. If there are no faces, it zooms to a key element where supported, or to the center of the photo.
Press Space again to zoom back out to the full photo.
Hold Space to zoom in temporarily. Narrative zooms back out when you let go.
Press Z to zoom into the center of the photo instead of a face.
How do I change the zoom level?
Smart Zoom uses your preset zoom level, which is 100% by default. At 100% you see the photo at its original size, which gives you the truest view of sharpness, so we recommend keeping it there.
To change the zoom level, use the zoom slider in the toolbar, or press − and +.
How do I move between faces while zoomed in?
When Smart Zoom has zoomed into a face, press ← or → to move between the faces Narrative found in the photo. If you've changed your keyboard shortcuts, use your own mapping instead.
How do I open Close-ups?
To open or close the Close-ups panel, do one of the following:
Press / or .
Click the Close-ups button.
Go to View → Close-ups in the menu bar.
The Close-ups panel opens beside the full photo, showing enlarged faces or details from the shot.
How do I use Close-ups to check a group photo?
Close-ups is great for checking that everyone's eyes are open and faces are in focus in portraits, couples and group shots. For a group photo:
Look at the whole photo and the moment first.
Check each face in the Close-ups panel.
Check the eye and expression indicator and the focus indicator for each face. They measure different things.
Compare with the photos either side of it.
Rate the photo you want to keep.
Note: Don't assume Close-ups shows every person in the photo. Face detection can miss a face, and Narrative doesn't assess background faces.
What does Close-ups show when there are no faces?
The Close-ups panel shows one of three things, depending on the photo:
Faces: the faces Narrative found in the photo.
Key Element: the main object or subject in the photo, when there are no faces.
Image Center: a zoomed-in view of the center of the photo, when there's no face or key element.
Important: Key Element and Image Center Close-ups need a Mac running macOS 14 or later. They aren't on Windows yet, but Windows support is on the way. Until then, Close-ups on Windows shows faces only.
How do I pan around in Close-ups?
To pan around a face or key element, click it in the Close-ups panel. Narrative switches to pan mode, centered on what you clicked. Click again to go back to the regular view.
In pan mode, you can:
Click and drag, or use your trackpad or Magic Mouse, to move around.
Use the minimap in the top-right corner to jump to another part of the photo.
Zoom in to see fine detail, or zoom out to see more of the photo.
To open Close-ups straight into pan mode, press ⌘/ on Mac or Ctrl+/ on Windows. If you've changed your shortcuts, see Narrative keyboard shortcuts.
Which plans include Close-ups?
Close-ups is part of Advanced AI Culling, on Standard, Premium and Ultra plans. On Lite, the Close-ups button shows "upgrade required". Compare plans.
Why is a face missing from Close-ups?
A face can be missing from Close-ups because face detection missed it, or because Narrative treats it as a background face, which it doesn't assess on purpose. If a main subject is missing, see Narrative is missing faces or face data.
Note: A face that isn't in Close-ups hasn't been checked, so check it yourself before you decide.