What should I do before uploading photos to a client gallery?

Finish all your culling and editing first. Cut duplicates and misfires down to a tight set, apply your final color and retouching, rename files to something readable (smith-wedding-001.jpg, zero-padded so they sort correctly), and export the full-resolution download set. The gallery is the last step, not a place to preview rough edits.

How should I order photos in a client gallery?

Sequence them in the order the day happened — for a wedding: getting ready, ceremony, portraits, reception, exit. Pick a cover photo that makes the client feel something, since it's the first thing they see. Hide any outtakes you kept for yourself; if it's in the gallery, the client treats it as a keeper.

Should I turn on downloads and passwords for every gallery?

No — decide per shoot. Downloads on for paid digital deliverables, off if your business is prints (and say so in the email). Passwords add friction, so skip them for most shoots and reserve them for public figures, sensitive events, or clients who ask for discretion. Set an expiration of six months to a year so old galleries don't pile up.

What's the one test I shouldn't skip before sending a gallery?

Open the share link in a private or incognito window before you send it. It catches a wrong password, a broken image, or a gallery you forgot to publish — the mistakes that make the delivery moment awkward. Open it on a phone too, since most clients view on mobile first.

What goes in the delivery email?

Keep it short. Put the gallery link on the first line, say how many photos there are and how long the gallery stays live, and give one instruction if you need selects ("tap the heart on your favorites"). If you set a password, send it separately from the link.

The client photo delivery checklist (cull to follow-up)

This is the checklist we run through before sending a client gallery. Work top to bottom the first few times. After a dozen deliveries most of it becomes muscle memory, and you’ll only glance back at the parts that bite: expirations, download settings, the test link.

1. Cull and name the files

Do this before anything touches the gallery. A tight set delivered cleanly beats a bloated one every time.

Cut the duplicates, the blinks, the misfires, the near-identical frames. Keep the one best shot from each moment.
Aim for a count that fits the shoot: 300–500 for a full wedding, 40–80 for a portrait session, whatever your contract promised.
Finish all editing before you upload — color, exposure, crops, retouching. The gallery is the last step, not a place to preview rough edits.
Rename files to something the client can read: smith-wedding-001.jpg, not IMG_4471.CR3. Zero-pad the numbers so they sort right (001, not 1).
Export at full resolution for the download set. If you also offer web-sized files, keep the two sets separate so nobody downloads a 40 MB file to text their mom.

2. Build the gallery

Upload everything, then wait for processing to finish before you touch the order. Half-processed thumbnails make sequencing miserable.
Sequence it in the order the day happened. Getting ready, ceremony, portraits, reception, exit. For portraits, lead with your strongest frame and let the rest flow.
Pick a cover photo that makes the client feel something. It’s the first thing they see, so it sets the tone for the whole gallery.
Hide the outtakes you kept for yourself. If it’s in the gallery, the client will assume it’s a keeper.
Add your studio name, logo, and accent color so the gallery reads as yours.

3. Set the access rules

Decide these deliberately — the defaults rarely match what a given shoot needs.

Downloads. On for paid digital deliverables. Off if your business is prints. If they’re off, say so in the delivery email and offer a path for the client who wants a file.
Password. Skip it for most shoots — it’s friction. Turn it on for public figures, sensitive events, or when the client asks for discretion.
Expiration. Six months to a year gives the client time to pick prints and share with family. Set a date so old galleries don’t pile up on you.
Favorites and comments. Turn these on if you need the client’s selects for an album or print order. It saves you the “email me the photo numbers” spreadsheet.

4. Test before you send

Open the share link in a private or incognito window. This is the single most useful thing on the list — it catches a wrong password, a broken image, or a gallery you forgot to publish.
Open it on a phone too. Most clients see the gallery on mobile first, so that’s the view that matters.
If downloads are on, download one photo and confirm it’s the full-resolution file you meant to give them.

5. Write the delivery email

Keep it short. The client is excited to see photos, not read your process notes.

Put the gallery link on the first line.
Say how many photos there are and how long the gallery stays live.
Give one instruction if you need selects: “tap the heart on the ones you want in the album.”
Mention the password separately from the link if you set one — ideally in a different message.

A working example: “Hi Sarah and James — your gallery is ready: [link]. 412 photos, live through August 2027. Tap the heart on any favorites and I’ll know which ones you love for the album.”

6. Follow up

Note the delivery date somewhere you’ll see it. If you promised selects or an album, you now know when the clock started.
Watch for favorites and comments coming in. A client who hasn’t opened the gallery after a week may need a gentle nudge.
Send a reminder a few weeks before the gallery expires so nobody loses access to photos they haven’t downloaded.
Ask permission before you post any of it to your portfolio or socials. The gallery is theirs first.

Print and download options to decide up front

Settle how prints work before the gallery goes live, so the delivery email matches what the client can actually do. Two common setups:

Give full-resolution downloads and let the client print wherever they like. Simple, and it’s what most digital-first clients expect.
Handle prints yourself: the client favorites what they want, emails you, and you order through your lab. More work, more control over the final print. The selling prints from your client gallery guide covers both models in detail.

Where delivered.photos fits

delivered.photos handles the gallery side of this checklist — upload, sequencing, cover photo, branding, passwords, expirations, download toggles, favorites, and a mobile viewer your clients open on their phones. Starter is free. For the full delivery workflow around it, read how to deliver wedding photos.