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Client gallery for photographers: what it is and how to choose

A client gallery is the private web page where your clients view, choose and download their photos and films. Every platform calls it something slightly different, but the job is the same. Here is what a good one does, and how to choose one without getting lost in feature lists.

Updated 4 October 20264 min read

What a client gallery is

A client gallery is a private page, reached by a link, that holds the photos and films from one job. It is not a portfolio, which shows your best work to people who might hire you, and it is not a transfer link, which moves files and usually expires. A gallery is where a client who has already hired you sees the result, shares it and comes back to it.

Most galleries do the same few things: show the work in order under a cover, let the client download it, and give you some control over who sees what. The differences are in the details, and the details are what your clients notice.

What a good gallery does for your client

  • It opens without friction. One link, any browser, no account, no app. Many clients will open it on a phone, so check it there.
  • It loads quickly. The client browses lighter previews, while the full-resolution originals wait to be downloaded.
  • It looks like your studio. Your name and your style, not the platform's.
  • It lets them choose. Favourites, so they can pick photos for an album, prints or retouching.
  • It plays films. Videos should play in the browser, without downloading first.

What it should do for you

  • Keep your files intact. No recompression of the originals you upload.
  • Give you control. A password for private work, and a watermark when you are showing proofs rather than delivering.
  • Show you what happened. Which photos were chosen, and what was downloaded.
  • Fit the way you work. Some platforms charge per gallery or per client; others price on storage. Work out what a busy month would cost.
  • Leave you in charge of your work. Find out what happens to your galleries if you stop paying, and always keep your own originals.

How to choose: the questions to ask

  1. Open a sample gallery on your phone, on mobile data. Does it feel fast? Is the first screen something you would be proud to send?
  2. Upload a real job, download a photo and compare it with your export. Is it the same file?
  3. Is there a free plan that lets you deliver a real job, and does it ask for a card?
  4. Are there limits on galleries, or on files per gallery, that you will hit in a busy season?
  5. Can your clients use it in their own language?
  6. What happens to your galleries and files if you downgrade or stop paying?
  7. If you shoot video, how much can a gallery hold, and does it play in the browser?

Test with a real job, not a sample folder. Send it to a friend who is not a photographer and watch them open it. You will learn more in five minutes than from any comparison table.

Doing it without a special tool

Plenty of photographers and videographers start with Google Drive or a similar shared folder, and it can work:

  • One folder per client, with numbered subfolders and file names that sort in order.
  • A web-size copy of each photo next to the full-resolution files.
  • A short PDF contact sheet exported from your editing software, so the client sees everything at a glance and can send back the numbers of their favourites.
  • Clear instructions on how to download, and a reminder to keep their own copy.

What you give up is the experience: no cover, no proper order on a phone, no favourites, no watermark for proofing, and the storage comes out of your own account. If your clients are happy and you deliver a handful of jobs a year, that may be enough.

How Aurant does it

  • Full resolution, never recompressed. Your files keep their names, and galleries are built from the same files, not from copies.
  • One link. Clients open it in any browser, on a phone or a computer, with no account and no app, and see your work with your name on it.
  • Gallery designs. Choose how the gallery opens from a range of cover designs, and open each one as a full sample on the templates page. Some come with the paid plans.
  • Favourites and notes. Clients choose their favourites and leave notes on photographs; you see every choice and reply from the gallery's activity page.
  • Password and watermark. Clients enter a password before the gallery opens, and your name or logo can appear on every image they see, while the originals stay clean.
  • Proofing. Clients pick the photographs they want edited, watermarked and with no downloads.
  • Films. Videos play in HD in the browser, on any connection.
  • Priced on storage. No fees per gallery or per client, and English and French throughout. If you stop paying, nothing is deleted: your galleries stay online, read-only.

Once you have chosen, the guide to sending a client gallery walks through the setup, from the cover to the follow-up. For the plans side by side, see the pricing page.