Client proofing galleries
The client marks their favourites in the browser; you get the list. No screenshots, no file numbers pasted into an email, no third round of "sorry, which one?".
Proofing is the step where a shoot turns into a decision. It is also the step most likely to consume a week of your time in email, because the tools most photographers reach for were never built for choosing — they were built for sending. This page describes where that breaks and what a proofing gallery does instead.
What is a proof gallery?
A proof gallery is a private online gallery where the client looks through the frames from a shoot and marks the ones to be retouched, printed or put in the album. It replaces the contact sheet and the list of file numbers: instead of a description of the choice, you receive the choice itself, tied to the real filenames.
Proofing is the client choosing which frames matter: which go in the album, which get retouched, which get printed, which a magazine will run. It sits between the shoot and the delivery, and it is the only part of the process where the client does the work and you wait.
That makes it the step where friction is most expensive. Every extra action you put between the link and the selection — an account to create, an app to install, a ZIP to unpack — is a day added to your turnaround and a reply added to your inbox.
Why the usual workaround fails
- File numbers by email. "We'd like 0412, 0418, 0431 and the one with the dog." Transcription errors are inevitable, and you have no record of what was agreed.
- Screenshots in a chat. Compressed, cropped, out of order, and impossible to map back to the original files.
- A shared cloud folder. The client can see everything, including the frames you would never show, and there is no way to mark anything.
- A transfer link. It expires, shows unreadable thumbnails, and offers no selection tool at all — so the feedback arrives as one of the three above anyway.
None of these is a small annoyance. Each one turns a decision the client could make in twenty minutes into a conversation that runs for days.
What a proofing gallery does instead
- A private gallery with its own address that stays up until you take it down.
- Per-gallery password (Starter and above), so a forwarded link is not public access.
- Selection in the browser — the client taps to mark favourites, on a phone or a laptop, with no account to create.
- The list in your dashboard, tied to the real filenames, so nothing is transcribed by hand.
- Automatic watermarks on previews with originals untouched, which is what lets you proof before the balance is paid (Professional plan).
- ZIP download of the whole gallery or of the approved selection only.
- Per-gallery analytics - views on every plan, downloads on Professional - so you know whether they have looked without asking.
Proofing step by step
1. Upload the proofs
Export the frames you are happy to show at full resolution and upload them to a new gallery. There is no need for a separate web export: the gallery makes light previews for phones on its own.
2. Set the rules
Fill in "Expires At" so the client knows how long the gallery stays open, and set a "Selection Limit" if the package includes a fixed number of images - the gallery will not let them mark more. From Starter up you can add a password; on Professional, switch on the watermark if you proof before the balance is paid.
3. Send the link
Send the private link, the password if you set one, and two lines: the date by which you need the selection and what you expect - look through, mark favourites, let you know when they are done. Nobody reads a long email after a shoot.
4. The client marks favourites
They tap to mark frames in the browser, on a phone or a laptop, with no account to create. The list appears in your dashboard, tied to the filenames and ready for retouching or the album layout.
5. Deliver the finals in the same gallery
Upload the retouched selection back into the same gallery and open the download: the whole gallery or the approved selection only, as one ZIP. The client keeps a single link for the whole job.
What is free and what is paid
The free plan is a working proofing gallery, not a trial that stops after a few days:
- Free: a gallery in your own design, online selection with a selection limit, ZIP download for the client, an expiry date and a QR code for the gallery. No card required.
- Starter: more storage, a password per gallery, a QR code with your logo.
- Professional: watermarks, download statistics and guest uploads by QR code, for example at a wedding.
Current storage limits and prices are on the pricing page. Moving from another platform? See the Pixieset alternative comparison.
Proofing and delivery in one gallery
They are usually described as two products, which is a habit of the software industry rather than a fact about photography. In practice the same gallery carries both stages: publish the watermarked set, let the client select, retouch the selection, and put the finished files back into the same gallery. The client keeps one link for the whole job, which is also the link they will send their family.
Where it matters most
- Weddings. Album selection is the classic case — sixty frames chosen out of six hundred, by two people who are rarely in the same room when they decide. See how to deliver wedding photos.
- Portraits and families. Small sets, fast decisions, often from a phone.
- Commercial and editorial. More than one person approves, and the selection needs to be a record rather than a conversation.
Data protection, briefly
Proofing images are personal data, exactly like the finished files. Under UK GDPR and the EU GDPR alike, that means a storage location you can account for, a retention period you actually apply, and — where a provider processes those images on your behalf — a written processing agreement. UK photographers should also check whether they need to pay the ICO's data protection fee, which is a separate obligation from the regulation itself.
At Gallery4you, the application, the database and the image files all sit in Frankfurt — images in the AWS eu-central-1 region, application and database in the host's data centre there, with daily backups in France. All three are inside the EU. What that does not mean is that no American company is involved: AWS is a US company operating European data centres. We would rather state that here than bury it in the small print. Since the EU renewed its adequacy decisions for the UK, EU-hosted storage is a straightforward arrangement for a UK photographer rather than something to work around.
Common questions
What is a client proofing gallery?
A private gallery where the client reviews a shoot and marks the frames they want, in the browser, with no account to create. You receive the selection as a list tied to the real filenames.
Do clients need an account?
No. They open the link, enter the password if you set one, and start marking. Anything more than that costs you replies.
Should proofs be watermarked?
At the proofing stage, usually yes — particularly before the balance is paid. Watermarked previews are enough to choose from; the originals follow once the invoice clears. Watermarks are part of the Professional plan.
What is the difference between proofing and delivery?
Proofing is the client choosing; delivery is handing over the finished files. In Gallery4you both happen in the same gallery, so the client keeps one link from the first preview to the final download.
Can I limit how many photos the client selects?
Yes. Set a "Selection Limit" on the gallery and it will not let the client mark more than the package includes - useful for albums and fixed print packages. It is available on every plan, including Free.
Can clients proof on a phone?
Yes. The gallery works in a mobile browser with no app to install, and the previews are sized for phones, so the client can mark favourites wherever they are.
Is there a free plan?
Yes. It includes 2 GB of storage, up to 2 galleries and 600 photos per gallery, with no card required — enough to proof a real job alongside whatever you do now before changing anything.