Overview
PlayerID is PhotoShelter’s AI-driven solution for tagging athletes across your content. Using a combination of roster data, player headshots, and jersey anchor images, PlayerID automatically detects the sport, team and player in an image. Just like IPTC keywords, PlayerID tags can be used to find images using search tools in the Library and on the Portal. Please contact your Customer Success Manager to add this feature to your subscription.
Setup
Your Customer Success Manager will be your point of contact for all things PlayerID and will guide you through the entire setup process. You’ll need to provide your player roster, player headshots as well as jersey images to train our model on your team.
Once your roster has been imported, PlayerID can be enabled globally at the account level or applied to specific galleries depending on your team’s needs.
Managing PlayerID Tags
PlayerID tags populate under the Automated Metadata accordion in the right pane of the Library. Tags that have been automatically applied to images by PlayerID appear in blue.
On occasion, you may find a reason to add, remove or edit PlayerID tags on an image. To remove a tag, click the 'x' on the PlayerID tag. To add a tag, click +Add and select a player from the drop-down list provided. To edit an existing tag, click on the tag, then select which player it should be from the roster list. The players available in the roster list are historically inclusive, meaning even players who are no longer on your roster can be manually tagged in images.
If you delete a tag accidentally, restore it to the image by clicking the restore arrow on the deleted tag.
Tag revisions are acknowledged in a way that contributes to the overall functionality of our AI model. Making edits to these tags helps our team further improve the PlayerID service over time.
FAQ
Which sports does PlayerID support?
PlayerID currently supports American Football, Soccer, Ice Hockey, Basketball, Lacrosse, Cricket, Baseball, Golf, Rugby and Tennis. If you'd like to use PlayerID for a sport not listed, contact your Customer Success Manager.
Can I edit the name of a player after PlayerID has been set up in my account?
Not yet! Reach out to your CSM to coordinate any changes to player names or roster information.
I don't have a final roster yet, and we expect to make some changes after the season starts. Can I still set up PlayerID?
Yes! If you expect to add or remove players from your roster after PlayerID is set up in your account, our team will need to re-import your roster. Make any additions or edits to your intake template, then send it off to your Customer Success Manager.
Can PlayerID detect athletes who are not wearing their jerseys?
Yes! Jersey numbers are just one of the modalities we use to identify a player on a team. We also use the player’s face, jersey number and team logo to help identify them.
I'm not seeing the PlayerID results I expected. Why?
There are several reasons why PlayerID may miss a player or apply an inaccurate tag. In most cases, these issues are related to data quality or visual conditions in the image rather than an issue with PlayerID.
Common causes include:
- Incomplete or outdated roster data: Make sure all players are included in your roster, with current headshots that clearly show their faces. Outdated or missing reference images can affect accuracy.
- Visual challenges in the image: PlayerID may have difficulty when faces are obscured, turned away, or heavily shadowed, or when players are wearing helmets, caps, or other gear that hides key features. Similarly, blurry images or images in unnatural lighting may produce inaccurate results.
- New uniforms or jersey styles: If your team has updated its uniforms, logos, or numbering, these changes may not yet be reflected in our reference data.
- Duplicate jersey numbers: Some college or club teams assign the same number to multiple athletes. Ensure all players are listed in your roster as PlayerID uses multiple cues, such as facial features and jersey text, to tell them apart.
- Small or distant subjects: If players appear very small in the frame, there may not be enough visual detail to confidently identify them. This goes for jersey numbers, too. The further away a subject is in the frame, the less likely PlayerID is to tag them.
- Busy processing queue: If PlayerID tags aren’t appearing immediately on newly uploaded images, it may be due to a busy queue. Wait a few minutes, then refresh the gallery. If you’re still not seeing results after a few minutes, reach out to your CSM.
PlayerID is a complex AI service that our team is constantly fine-tuning. If you have any questions or concerns about your results, please contact your Customer Success Manager.