Most "gallery design template" articles will give you a Photoshop mockup of someone else's brand and call it a template. That's not what you need. A gallery is mostly photos and a thin layer of chrome — the chrome should reflect your studio, not the template. This guide gives you the three principles behind every good gallery template, plus three working templates for the scenarios you actually deliver: weddings, portrait sessions, and commercial brand shoots.
Why most gallery templates fail
Three reasons:
- They're too prescriptive about photo selection (the photos vary by shoot, the template can't).
- They mistake decoration for design (animated covers, scripted fonts, gradients — the photos do the work, not the chrome).
- They're someone else's brand. Templates that look "designed" on their own usually look wrong wrapped around your photography.
A working template is structural: it tells you the order, the density, the moments to emphasize. It leaves the visual decisions (color, font, logo) to your existing brand system.
The three principles
1. The cover photo is the first impression
The first photo a client sees sets the emotional tone for the entire delivery. Pick the photo that makes them feel something — usually not the most technically impressive image, often a quiet moment that captures the day's spirit.
For weddings: a candid from the ceremony or the first reception moment beats a posed portrait. For portrait sessions: a real expression beats a perfect smile. For commercial work: the photo that best embodies the client's brand voice.
2. Sequence over selection
Good galleries tell a story in the photo order, not just in the photo choice. The client should be able to scroll top-to-bottom and feel like they're reliving the day or session as it actually happened. For weddings, that's chronological. For portrait sessions, it's location-by-location or look-by-look. For commercial, it's the brand narrative the client briefed you on.
Resist the urge to lead with your favorites. The client wants the whole experience, not the highlight reel.
3. Density follows the moment
Vary the photo density by emotional weight. Five frames of the same wide shot dilutes the moment; one frame of the perfect expression hits harder. Conversely, a long sequence of small details (getting-ready shots, behind-the-scenes from a brand shoot) builds atmosphere when the platform handles them well.
A masonry layout helps here — vertical and horizontal images can sit next to each other without forcing you to crop, and the rhythm of mixed aspect ratios feels more cinematic than a uniform grid.
Template 1: Wedding gallery (3-tier structure)
Cover
One photo, no text overlay if your platform allows. The photo you'd want printed.
Tier 1 — the day in order
- Getting ready (15–25 photos)
- First look, if applicable (5–10 photos)
- Ceremony (40–60 photos)
- Family + bridal party portraits (40–60 photos)
- Couple portraits (20–30 photos)
- Reception (80–120 photos)
- Exit, if applicable (5–10 photos)
Total: ~250–400 photos. Below 250 feels thin for a full wedding; above 500 starts diluting the album.
Tier 2 — the "favorites" hint
If your platform supports it, send a short note in the delivery email pointing the couple at the favorites flow. "Tap a heart on the photos you love and I'll know which ones to pull for prints and the album." Sets expectations for the selection workflow.
Tier 3 — the delivery email
Short. Link first. Gallery available for a year. Favorites tell you which photos to print or include in an album. Done.
Template 2: Portrait session
Shorter and more curated than a wedding. Portrait clients want the keepers, not the whole roll.
Structure
- Cover photo: the strongest expression.
- Location 1 / Look 1 (20–30 photos). Vary the framing — wide, medium, tight.
- Location 2 / Look 2 (20–30 photos). Same variation.
- Optional: detail shots, candid moments between setups.
Total: 60–120 photos for a typical session. Tight. Curated. Every photo earns its spot.
Notes
Portrait clients often want one or two for prints and social, not a full album. Don't over-deliver. The third best version of every pose is what tells the client you didn't cull enough.
Template 3: Commercial / brand shoot
Brand work is delivered against a brief. The gallery structure should mirror the brief, so the marketing team can find what they paid for.
Structure
- Hero images (5–10) — the campaign shots, the ones the brief explicitly asked for. Lead with these for brand clients (opposite of weddings).
- Category galleries — products, environments, team, lifestyle. One section per category from the brief.
- Optional behind-the-scenes — culled tightly, shows process without diluting the deliverables.
Naming and metadata
Commercial clients often need to know which photo to use where. If your platform supports descriptions or filenames, use them to encode the brief's terminology (product SKU, scene name, model release status). Saves the marketing team a downstream rename pass.
Customization without losing the principles
You can customize the chrome — logo, color, font — without breaking these templates. What you shouldn't customize:
- The sequence. Trust the order. Clients want the story, not the remix.
- The density. Don't pad galleries to look generous; don't trim them to look exclusive. Density should follow the moment.
- The cover. One photo, no decorative overlays or animated motion. The photo is the message.
How this connects to delivered.photos
delivered.photos enforces these principles by what it doesn't let you do: there's no animated cover module, no slideshow template layer, no auto-arranged sections. The platform just renders your photo order, in your chosen densities, with your branding around it. Templates are a discipline, not a feature. The discipline comes from you.
For more on the actual mechanics of delivery, see the wedding delivery workflow guide — it walks through link, password, and expiration choices in more detail.