How to Contribute

🤝 How You Can Help Build Shutterpaws

Whether you’re technical or not, you can contribute to Shutterpaws! This guide walks you through the most common ways to help — no prior GitHub experience required for most tasks.

Quick links:

• Upload an Event Cover Photo
• Fix a Typo
• Suggest an Event
• Update Your Team Profile
• Get Help
• Git & Code Contributions

Why Contribute?

• Help the community grow
• Showcase your side of Shutterpaws
• Get recognized as a contributor
• Shape the future of the site
• It’s easier than you think!

Contribution Levels

Non-Technical Contributions

Uploading an Event Cover Photo

For: Adding or replacing the cover image shown on an event page.

1. Find the event folder

   • Go to github.com/Shutterpaws/shutterpaws_pics
   • Navigate to content/content/events/YYYY/MM/event-name/
   • Each event has its own folder

2. Upload your cover image

   • In the event folder, click Add file → Upload files
   • Upload your image file — name it cover.jpg or cover.png
   • If a cover image already exists with that name, GitHub will ask you to confirm replacing it

3. Verify the front matter

   • Open the event’s index.md file
   • Make sure the image: field matches the filename you uploaded:

   image: "cover.jpg"
   

4. Open a pull request

   • GitHub will suggest “Create Pull Request” after your upload
   • Use a clear title: Add cover photo for [Event Name]
   • Describe what you added, then click Create Pull Request

5. Wait for review

   • A team member reviews and approves your submission
   • The cover photo goes live after merge!

Fixing Typos

For: Spotting and correcting spelling or grammar errors.

1. Find the error on the site and locate the source file in the repository
2. Click the pencil icon (Edit this file) in GitHub
3. Make your correction
4. Scroll down, add a short description, and click Propose changes
5. Click Create Pull Request

Simple typo fixes are usually approved quickly.

Suggesting Events

For: Community members proposing new meetups or conventions.

1. Go to the Issues tab

2. Click New Issue and select Suggest an Event (if available) or open a blank issue

3. Fill in the details:

   Event Name: _______________
   Date/Time: _______________
   Location: _______________
   Expected Size: _______________
   Why this would be great: _______________
   Special Requirements: _______________
   Suggested Organizer: _______________
   

4. Submit the issue — the team will respond and coordinate logistics

5. Once scheduled, a team member creates the Hugo event file

6. We can credit you in the event description (for example, “Suggested by: [Your Name]”).

Updating Your Team Profile

For: Team members updating their bio or profile photo.

1. Find your profile at content/content/our-team/[your-name]/index.md

2. Click the pencil icon to edit and update your information:

   ---
   title: "Your Name"
   role: "Photography Coordinator"
   image: "profile.jpg"
   weight: 10 # Controls display order (lower numbers appear first)
   ---
   

   Your bio text goes in the body of the file, below the closing ---.

3. To update your profile photo, upload the new image to your folder (keeping the same filename)

4. Open a pull request with title: Update my team profile

Writing a Photography Guide (Planned Feature)

A photography guides section is planned for a future update. The guides/ directory does not exist in the repository yet.

If you’d like to contribute a photography guide:

1. Open a GitHub Issue titled: Proposal: Photography guide – [Guide Title]
2. Include a short summary, who it’s for, and any example images you intend to use
3. Optionally attach a Markdown draft (e.g., a GitHub Gist)

Once the guides section is set up, the team will help you place your guide in the right location and open a pull request for it.

Understanding the Site Structure

shutterpaws_pics/
├── content/
│   └── content/
│       ├── events/
│       │   └── YYYY/
│       │       └── MM/
│       │           └── event-name/
│       │               ├── index.md        ← event page
│       │               └── cover.jpg / cover.png  ← cover image
│       ├── our-team/
│       │   ├── hyper/
│       │   ├── kuvo/
│       │   └── ...
│       ├── poses/                          ← pose reference library
│       └── contributing/
│           └── _index.md                   ← this page

Key conventions:

• Event folders use the pattern YYYY/MM/event-name/
• Content files use Markdown (.md) with YAML front matter
• Each event folder contains a cover image named cover.jpg or cover.png
• Use hyphens, not spaces: great-falls not great falls
• Always look for a similar existing example before creating something new

Front Matter Templates

Event

---
title: "Event Name"
date: 2026-04-12
time: "2:00 PM"
location: "Venue Name, City, State"
type: events
expected_attendance: medium # small / medium / large / specific count — upcoming events only
attendance: 24 # actual count — past events only
image: "cover.jpg"
---

Optional: Venue Logistics

Add a logistics block to display a Venue Logistics section on the event page. All sub-fields are optional – only include the ones that apply.

logistics:
  suitfriendly:
    rating: "Excellent" # e.g. Excellent / Good / Limited
    notes: "Staff are welcoming of fursuiters."
  changing:
    available: true # true / false
    location: "Private party room on second floor"
    capacity: "5–6 people"
    storage: true # true / false
    notes: "Additional notes."
  cooling:
    airconditioning: true # true / false
    shade: "Covered picnic area"
    waterprovided: true # true / false
    breakareas: "Indoor lobby"
    notes: "Bring extra water on hot days."
  accessibility:
    wheelchair: true # true / false
    terrain: "Paved walkways"
    distance: "200 yards from parking"
    notes: "Elevator available."
  parking:
    available: true # true / false
    cost: "Free"
    spaces: "Large lot"
    notes: "Overflow street parking nearby."
  weather:
    type: "Outdoor" # Indoor / Outdoor / Both
    rainplan: "Event postponed if heavy rain – watch announcements."
    notes: "Bring sunscreen."
  photography:
    bestspots: "Open field near the fountain"
    lighting: "Best light 10 AM–noon"
    restrictions: "No tripods inside the main hall"
    notes: "Bring a wide-angle lens."
  sensory:
    crowd_density: "Low" # very low, low, moderate, high, very high
    noise_level: "Moderate" # quiet, moderate, loud, very loud
    light_intensity: "Bright" # dim, moderate, bright, very bright, strobe warning
    temperature: "Cool" # cold, cool, moderate, warm, hot
    activity_level: "Light" # static, light, moderate, active, very active
  warnings:
    - "Flash photography will be active during the event"
    - "Outdoor terrain is uneven – wear sturdy footwear"

Team Member

---
title: "Display Name"
role: "Photographer"
image: "profile.jpg"
weight: 10 # Controls display order (lower numbers appear first)
---
Bio text goes in the body of the file, below the closing `---`.

Pull Request Checklist

Before submitting:

• Title is clear and descriptive
• Description explains what changed and why
• Files follow naming conventions
• No spelling/grammar errors in your additions
• Images are JPG or PNG (not oversized)
• Markdown formatting is intact

After submitting:

• Watch for reviewer feedback/comments
• Make requested changes promptly
• Be patient — reviews usually take 24–48 hours
• Thank your reviewers!

Example Pull Requests

Uploading an event cover photo:

Title: Add cover photo for Great Falls - April 12 event
Description:
Uploading cover.jpg for the Great Falls photoshoot.
Outdoor group shot of attendees at the falls.

Fixing a typo:

Title: Fix typo in team page
Description:
Corrected misspelling of "experienced" on the Our Team page.

Getting Help

GitHub Discussions: Open the Discussions tab and ask your question — the team will respond.

Telegram: Post in the community group and ask how to contribute. No question is too small!

If you made a mistake in your pull request, just comment on it explaining what happened. The team can help fix it, or you can close the PR and start fresh.

Contributor Recognition

When you contribute:

• Your name appears in the Git history
• GitHub lists you as a contributor
• You may be mentioned in our README
• Highlighted in the community newsletter

Community Guidelines

• Be respectful — constructive feedback only; assume good intent
• Be clear — describe what you changed and why; use alt text for images
• Be patient — reviewers volunteer their time; 24–48 hours is normal

Git & Code Contributions

For developers who prefer working locally:

# Fork the repo on GitHub, then clone your fork
git clone https://github.com/YOUR_USERNAME/shutterpaws_pics.git
cd shutterpaws_pics

# Create a branch
git checkout -b add-event-photos

# Make your changes, then stage and commit
git add content/content/events/YYYY/MM/event-slug/
git commit -m "Add photos from EVENT NAME event"

# Push and open a Pull Request on GitHub
git push origin add-event-photos

Common commands:

For the full development setup (Hugo, Pagefind, pre-commit hooks), see the README.

Legal & Licensing

When you contribute photos or content:

• You keep copyright to your photos
• Shutterpaws may use them on the site in perpetuity
• How your content may be displayed, reused, or shared is governed by Shutterpaws' official terms and policies published on the site.

By submitting a pull request you confirm that:

• You own the copyright to the content you submit
• Subjects of photos have consented to being photographed
• You grant Shutterpaws permission to publish the content