diff --git a/cull/Models/CullSession.swift b/cull/Models/CullSession.swift
index 893abc9..8ba8e5a 100644
--- a/cull/Models/CullSession.swift
+++ b/cull/Models/CullSession.swift
@@ -221,43 +221,26 @@ final class CullSession {
 
     // MARK: - Lookahead
 
-    /// Returns the next N photos from the current position, wrapping around to start
+    /// Returns the next N visible (unfiltered) photos from the current position, wrapping around to start
     func photosAhead(_ count: Int) -> [Photo] {
-        let all = allPhotos
-        guard !all.isEmpty else { return [] }
-        guard let currentIndex = flatIndex else { return [] }
-        var result: [Photo] = []
-        for i in 1...min(count, all.count - 1) {
-            result.append(all[(currentIndex + i) % all.count])
+        let visible = allPhotos.filter { !isPhotoFiltered($0) }
+        guard !visible.isEmpty, count > 0 else { return [] }
+        guard let current = selectedPhoto,
+              let visibleIndex = visible.firstIndex(where: { $0.id == current.id }) else { return [] }
+        return (1...min(count, visible.count - 1)).map { i in
+            visible[(visibleIndex + i) % visible.count]
         }
-        return result
     }
 
-    /// Returns the previous N photos from the current position, wrapping around to end
+    /// Returns the previous N visible (unfiltered) photos from the current position, wrapping around to end
     func photosBehind(_ count: Int) -> [Photo] {
-        let all = allPhotos
-        guard !all.isEmpty else { return [] }
-        guard let currentIndex = flatIndex else { return [] }
-        var result: [Photo] = []
-        for i in 1...min(count, all.count - 1) {
-            result.append(all[(currentIndex - i + all.count) % all.count])
+        let visible = allPhotos.filter { !isPhotoFiltered($0) }
+        guard !visible.isEmpty, count > 0 else { return [] }
+        guard let current = selectedPhoto,
+              let visibleIndex = visible.firstIndex(where: { $0.id == current.id }) else { return [] }
+        return (1...min(count, visible.count - 1)).map { i in
+            visible[(visibleIndex - i + visible.count) % visible.count]
         }
-        return result
-    }
-
-    /// Current photo's index in the flat allPhotos array
-    private var flatIndex: Int? {
-        guard selectedPhoto != nil else { return nil }
-        var idx = 0
-        for gi in 0..<groups.count {
-            for pi in 0..<groups[gi].photos.count {
-                if gi == selectedGroupIndex && pi == selectedPhotoIndex {
-                    return idx
-                }
-                idx += 1
-            }
-        }
-        return nil
     }
 
     // MARK: - Culling Actions
@@ -347,9 +330,7 @@ final class CullSession {
 
     func saveWorkspace() {
         guard let workspace, let sourceFolder else { return }
-        let allPhotos = groups.flatMap(\.photos)
-        workspace.savePhotos(allPhotos, sourceFolder: sourceFolder)
-        workspace.saveGroups(groups, sourceFolder: sourceFolder)
+        workspace.savePhotosAndGroups(groups, sourceFolder: sourceFolder)
         workspace.saveSettings(session: self)
     }
 
diff --git a/cull/Services/WorkspaceDB.swift b/cull/Services/WorkspaceDB.swift
index a6a3ee2..fea0172 100644
--- a/cull/Services/WorkspaceDB.swift
+++ b/cull/Services/WorkspaceDB.swift
@@ -70,9 +70,13 @@ final class WorkspaceDB: @unchecked Sendable {
 
     // MARK: - Save
 
-    func savePhotos(_ photos: [Photo], sourceFolder: URL) {
+    func savePhotosAndGroups(_ groups: [PhotoGroup], sourceFolder: URL) {
+        // Photos and groups are saved in a single transaction so group_id is always consistent.
+        // The old two-step approach (savePhotos with NULL group_id, then saveGroups updating them)
+        // could lose all group assignments if the process was killed between the two writes.
         exec("BEGIN TRANSACTION")
-        let stmt = prepare("""
+
+        let photoStmt = prepare("""
             INSERT OR REPLACE INTO photos
             (path, paired_path, rating, flag, blur_score, face_sharpness, face_regions,
              pixel_width, pixel_height, file_size,
@@ -80,61 +84,42 @@ final class WorkspaceDB: @unchecked Sendable {
              eye_aspect_ratios)
             VALUES (?,?,?,?,?,?,?,?,?,?,?,?,?,?,?,?)
         """)
-        defer { sqlite3_finalize(stmt) }
+        defer { sqlite3_finalize(photoStmt) }
 
-        for photo in photos {
-            let relativePath = photo.url.relativePath(from: sourceFolder)
-            let pairedPath = photo.pairedURL?.relativePath(from: sourceFolder)
-            let flagStr = flagToString(photo.flag)
-            let regionsJSON = encodeRegions(photo.faceRegions)
-
-            sqlite3_reset(stmt)
-            bind(stmt, 1, relativePath)
-            bind(stmt, 2, pairedPath)
-            bind(stmt, 3, photo.rating)
-            bind(stmt, 4, flagStr)
-            bind(stmt, 5, photo.blurScore)
-            bind(stmt, 6, photo.faceSharpness)
-            bind(stmt, 7, regionsJSON)
-            bind(stmt, 8, photo.pixelWidth)
-            bind(stmt, 9, photo.pixelHeight)
-            bind(stmt, 10, photo.fileSize)
-            bind(stmt, 11, photo.pairedPixelWidth)
-            bind(stmt, 12, photo.pairedPixelHeight)
-            bind(stmt, 13, photo.pairedFileSize)
-            bind(stmt, 14, photo.captureDate?.timeIntervalSinceReferenceDate)
-            bind(stmt, 15, nil as String?) // group_id set separately
-            bind(stmt, 16, encodeDoubles(photo.eyeAspectRatios))
-            sqlite3_step(stmt)
+        for group in groups {
+            for photo in group.photos {
+                let relativePath = photo.url.relativePath(from: sourceFolder)
+                sqlite3_reset(photoStmt)
+                bind(photoStmt, 1, relativePath)
+                bind(photoStmt, 2, photo.pairedURL?.relativePath(from: sourceFolder))
+                bind(photoStmt, 3, photo.rating)
+                bind(photoStmt, 4, flagToString(photo.flag))
+                bind(photoStmt, 5, photo.blurScore)
+                bind(photoStmt, 6, photo.faceSharpness)
+                bind(photoStmt, 7, encodeRegions(photo.faceRegions))
+                bind(photoStmt, 8, photo.pixelWidth)
+                bind(photoStmt, 9, photo.pixelHeight)
+                bind(photoStmt, 10, photo.fileSize)
+                bind(photoStmt, 11, photo.pairedPixelWidth)
+                bind(photoStmt, 12, photo.pairedPixelHeight)
+                bind(photoStmt, 13, photo.pairedFileSize)
+                bind(photoStmt, 14, photo.captureDate?.timeIntervalSinceReferenceDate)
+                bind(photoStmt, 15, group.id.uuidString)
+                bind(photoStmt, 16, encodeDoubles(photo.eyeAspectRatios))
+                sqlite3_step(photoStmt)
+            }
         }
-        exec("COMMIT")
-    }
 
-    func saveGroups(_ groups: [PhotoGroup], sourceFolder: URL) {
-        exec("BEGIN TRANSACTION")
         exec("DELETE FROM groups")
-
         let groupStmt = prepare("INSERT INTO groups (group_id, sort_order) VALUES (?,?)")
-        let photoStmt = prepare("UPDATE photos SET group_id = ? WHERE path = ?")
-        defer {
-            sqlite3_finalize(groupStmt)
-            sqlite3_finalize(photoStmt)
-        }
-
+        defer { sqlite3_finalize(groupStmt) }
         for (i, group) in groups.enumerated() {
-            let groupID = group.id.uuidString
             sqlite3_reset(groupStmt)
-            bind(groupStmt, 1, groupID)
+            bind(groupStmt, 1, group.id.uuidString)
             bind(groupStmt, 2, i)
             sqlite3_step(groupStmt)
-
-            for photo in group.photos {
-                sqlite3_reset(photoStmt)
-                bind(photoStmt, 1, groupID)
-                bind(photoStmt, 2, photo.url.relativePath(from: sourceFolder))
-                sqlite3_step(photoStmt)
-            }
         }
+
         exec("COMMIT")
     }