Did Sustain delete the photos it left out?

No. Every photo you uploaded stays in the album’s photos. Left out only means it isn’t on a page yet, and you can add it back any time.

Where do the photos I add back go?

On new pages at the end of the album. From there you can drag them anywhere, or ask the chat to move them to the right chapter.

Can I see the left-out photos without the chat?

Yes. Open **Photos** and choose **Available** to see everything that isn’t on a page, then use the **Why photos were left out** chips to narrow it to one reason.

Why was a good photo left out?

Usually because of the page count. Sustain chooses the best photos to fill the pages you asked for, so with 400 photos and 40 pages, many good ones won’t fit. They are in **Good ones that didn’t fit**, ready to add back.

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Guide

November 1, 2026

· 4 min read

See why a photo didn’t make your album, and put it back

0:00 / 0:31

Upload 400 photos, get a 40-page album, and the obvious question is: what happened to the rest? Until recently the honest answer was a pile marked Available and no explanation.

Now Sustain tells you. Every photo it left out is grouped by the reason it was left out, you can look at any of them full size, and you can put back as many as you want in one go.

Where to find it

When an album finishes building, the first message in the chat explains the build: How I split it up (the chapters), Why this cover, and Photos I left out. A line at the top gives the totals, for example 92 of 400 photos across 40 pages.

Each reason is one row with its label, a count, and a strip of the photos themselves. The count is the real total. If 308 photos didn’t fit the page count, the row says 308.

The chat’s Didn’t make the cut section: rows for Near-duplicates 140, Out of focus 2, Documents and screenshots 2 and Everyday objects 2, each with thumbnails and a More link

Two kinds of left out

The rows are split by what you will probably want to do about them.

Good ones that didn’t fit come first and stay open. These are photos with nothing wrong with them: the album ran out of pages (Didn’t fit the page count), or no page had a slot they suited (No page had room, Didn’t fit the leftover slots). This is where the photos you will want back usually are.

Didn’t make the cut comes underneath. These are the ones Sustain judged weak: Near-duplicates, Out of focus, Blank or blown out, Too small to print, Documents and screenshots, Partial shots, Everyday objects. Most people just glance at these to make sure nothing good was thrown out.

Near-duplicates show what was kept

A near-duplicate is shown next to the photo Sustain Kept this one instead, so you can check that it picked the better one of the pair. If it didn’t, put yours back.

Put photos back

Open a reason

Tap More on a row to open that whole group in the Photos drawer. The chips at the top switch between reasons without going back to the chat.

The Photos drawer filtered to Available and Near-duplicates, showing family photos from the trip, with reason chips for Near-duplicates, Out of focus, Documents and screenshots, Everyday objects and Didn’t fit the page count

Look at the photo, not a thumbnail

Tap any photo to open it at full size. Use the arrows, or the arrow keys on your keyboard, to go through the rest of the group without closing it. For a near-duplicate, the photo it kept instead is shown underneath.

A left-out photo of children resting on a bench by a waterfall at full size, marked Not in the book and Near-duplicates, with Kept this one instead showing the near-identical shot that was used

Pick the ones you want

Press Add to album on each one you want back. They collect in a Photos to add back list at the bottom of the chat, and you can remove any you change your mind about.

Add them all at once

Press Add 2 photos back, or however many you picked. Sustain adds them on new pages at the end of the album in a single request, instead of one request per photo.

The Photos to add back list in the chat with two family photos in it, the note that they go on new pages at the end in one request, and an Add 2 photos back button

When the page count is the reason

Sometimes most of your photos are missing simply because there weren’t enough pages. When that’s true for a large share of them, the top of Good ones that didn’t fit says so plainly, for example 40 pages fit 92 of your 400 photos, and offers the fix right there:

Change page count: raise it in the album settings and rebuild to fit more in.
Get more pages: if your plan’s page limit is what’s stopping you, a paid plan lifts it.

If only a few photos missed out because the last page was full, you won’t see this. More pages aren’t the answer to three photos.

Frequently asked questions

Ready to try it?

Open your album

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Using the AI chat: talk your album into shape

The fastest way to change your album is to ask. Here’s how to phrase requests so the AI Album Designer nails them the first time.

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