Image Collections

Image collections display photographs and visual work in gallery layouts.

Creating an Image Entry

Using the CLI

astrolock content gallery "Mountain Landscape"

Manual Creation

Create a file at content/gallery/mountain-landscape.md:

---
title: "Mountain Landscape"
date: 2025-01-15T00:00:00Z
author: "Photographer Name"
description: "Stunning alpine views at sunset"
image: "/images/content/gallery/mountain.jpg"
categories:
  - Landscapes
tags:
  - Mountains
  - Sunset
---
Notes about the photograph...

File Naming Convention

Like audio collections, images use automatic file inference:

Markdown File	Expected Image File
content/gallery/mountain.md	public/images/content/gallery/mountain.jpg
content/flyers/event-poster.md	public/images/content/flyers/event-poster.jpg

Frontmatter Reference

Minimal Example

---
title: "Mountain Landscape"
date: 2025-01-15T00:00:00Z
---

Full Example

---
title: "Golden Hour Mountains"
date: 2025-01-15T00:00:00Z
author: "Jane Smith"
description: "Stunning alpine views captured at sunset"
image: "/images/content/gallery/golden-hour-mountains.jpg"
altText: "Snow-capped mountains glowing orange in sunset light"
categories:
  - Landscapes
  - Nature
tags:
  - Mountains
  - Sunset
  - Featured
orientation: "landscape"
imageDimensions:
  width: 4000
  height: 2667
exif:
  camera: "Canon EOS R5"
  lens: "24-70mm f/2.8"
  iso: 400
  aperture: "f/8"
  shutterSpeed: "1/250"
  focalLength: "35mm"
  dateTaken: 2025-01-15
draft: false
---
Captured this stunning view during my trip to the Alps...

Required Fields

Field	Description
title	Image title

Recommended Fields

Field	Description
date	Date taken/created
image	Path to the image file
description	Image description
altText	Accessibility description
categories	Groupings

Image-Specific Fields

Field	Description	Example
orientation	Layout hint	"landscape", "portrait", "square"
imageDimensions	Size info	{ width: 1920, height: 1080 }
exif	Camera data	See below

EXIF Data

Store camera and shooting information:

exif:
  camera: "Canon EOS R5"
  lens: "24-70mm f/2.8"
  iso: 400
  aperture: "f/8"
  shutterSpeed: "1/250"
  focalLength: "35mm"
  dateTaken: 2025-01-15

Index Style

Control how your image collection index page displays using indexStyle:

Style	Description
posts	Card grid with pagination and sidebar (default)
content	Renders -index.md body content with optional TOC
portfolio	Full-width masonry gallery grid - ideal for photography

Posts Style (Default)

Standard blog-style layout with cards and pagination:

{
  "collections": {
    "gallery": {
      "displayName": "Photo Gallery",
      "contentType": "images",
      "features": {
        "indexStyle": "posts"
      }
    }
  }
}

Content Style

Use for curated pages where you want to write custom content:

{
  "features": {
    "indexStyle": "content"
  }
}

Then write your index content in content/gallery/-index.md.

Portfolio Style

Best for photography portfolios - displays all images in a full-width masonry grid:

{
  "collections": {
    "portfolio": {
      "displayName": "Portfolio",
      "contentType": "images",
      "features": {
        "indexStyle": "portfolio"
      }
    }
  }
}

Bulk Import

Import multiple photos at once from a folder:

astrolock import images gallery path/to/photos/

This creates markdown files for each image and copies the images to the correct location.

Next Steps

• Learn about Video Collections for video content
• Explore Audio Collections for music
• See Collection Configuration for all options
• Try Image Import for bulk uploads