Kepla
Kepla is a Mac app for photographers who want help sorting photo cards as they copy them, while keeping final selection in their hands.
What Kepla is
Kepla is a Mac app for photographers who want help sorting photo cards as they copy them, while keeping final selection in their hands. It groups burst duplicates and flags similar shots, out-of-focus frames, closed eyes, very dark or blown frames, and images without people. The maker says the app leaves photo files untouched, recording decisions in XMP sidecars instead of deleting, moving, renaming, or writing reject flags. Culling runs locally on the Mac, works offline, and does not upload photo frames, according to the maker. Supported formats include CR3, NEF, ARW, RAF, DNG, ORF, JPEG, and HEIF. Kepla provides a Lightroom Classic plugin; the maker says Capture One and Bridge can read the same sidecars. It requires macOS 14 Sonoma or later and runs on Apple silicon and Intel Macs.
Good
- Groups burst duplicates and flags several image issues.
- Culling runs locally and works offline.
- Records decisions in XMP sidecars.
- Supports Lightroom Classic through a plugin.
Watch out
- Requires macOS 14 Sonoma or later.
- The app is in private preview.
- Paid Solo pricing is $15/mo billed annually.
Who it suits
Kepla suits photographers working in weddings, events, sports, portraits, fashion, live music, or wildlife. It may be useful to those who want culling decisions recorded without altering the original photo files.
Verdict
Kepla focuses on local photo triage while leaving selection to the photographer and originals untouched. Consider its private-preview status, Mac requirement, and listed pricing before choosing it.
Plans and prices
From Kepla's own pricing page, checked 4 Oct 2026.
| Plan | Price | What it gives you |
|---|---|---|
| Private preview | Free | Mac app in private preview · Free through the private preview; billing starts when 2.0 ships. |
| Solo monthly | $19 a month | Cancel any time · no founding lock · $19 a month; $228 across a year. |
| Studio monthly | $39 a month | Per seat · teams of 2+ · $39 a seat; add or drop seats between seasons. |
| Founding 100 | $99 a year | First 100 photographers · yearly only · includes every version and tier · $99 a year, locked for life; billing begins when 2.0 ships. |
| Solo | $180 a year | Unlimited cards and frames · every Mac you own · Lightroom plugin and sidecars · decisions sync to iPhone · $15 a month, billed yearly ($180 once a year). |
| Studio | $384 a year | Teams of 2+ · second shooter cards merge into one timeline · shared clients, events and delivery states · $32 a seat a month, billed yearly ($384 a seat once a year). |
The facts
Each one read from Kepla's own pages, with the date it was checked.
What it does
- Culling rules
- Kepla groups burst duplicates and flags same shots, out-of-focus frames, closed eyes, very dark or blown frames, and frames with nobody in them.checked 4 Oct 2026
- File formats
- The Mac app lists support for CR3, NEF, ARW, RAF, DNG, ORF, JPEG, and HEIF.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Integrations
- Kepla writes XMP sidecars and provides a Lightroom Classic plugin; the maker says Capture One and Bridge read the same sidecars.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Local processing
- The maker says culling runs on the Mac, works offline, and does not upload photo frames.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Originals
- Kepla says it does not delete, move, rename, or write reject flags to photo files; it records decisions in XMP sidecars.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Performance example
- The maker reports sorting 4,812 frames in 4 minutes 22 seconds on a MacBook Pro M3 Max on battery, while the card copied.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Preview status
- The maker says the Mac app is in private preview and that its performance figures come from one reference wedding, not a multi-shoot study.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Product
- Kepla is a Mac app for AI photo culling that sorts a card while it copies and leaves final photo selection to the photographer.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Security
- Kepla states that traffic uses HTTPS with HSTS, its database and storage providers encrypt data at rest, and production access is limited to the founder behind multi-factor authentication.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Security limits
- Kepla states it does not hold its own SOC 2 report and has not had a third-party penetration test.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Support
- The maker invites questions at [email protected] and says they are answered the same day by the person building the product.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Who it serves
- The maker describes Kepla as made for photographers who shoot weddings, events, sport, portraits, runway and fashion, live music, and wildlife.checked 4 Oct 2026
The company
- Maker
- The maker identifies Osmel Contreras as Kepla’s founder and photographer, and says he shoots weddings and events.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Team tier
- Studio is listed for teams of two or more and includes merging second-shooter cards into one timeline and shared client, event, and delivery states.checked 4 Oct 2026
Where it runs
- Platforms and requirements
- Kepla for Mac requires macOS 14 Sonoma or later and runs as a universal binary on Apple silicon and Intel Macs.checked 4 Oct 2026
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