How to choose a client gallery platform

Feature comparisons are long and mostly identical. A better starting point is to write down what happens after a typical shoot. Do you deliver everything, or do clients choose? Do several people need to see the gallery? Do clients download, or mostly look? How many sessions a month, and how large are they? The right platform is the one that makes those specific steps quick — the rest is decoration.

Open a sample gallery on your phone, as your client will. It should load quickly, present the photos without clutter, and make the next action obvious. Watch out for anything that asks clients to create an account and a password just to see their own photos; every step you add costs you a support email.

• Does the gallery look like your work, or like the platform’s?
• Can clients view photos full-screen and move through them easily?
• Can long sessions be organised into sections?
• Is it pleasant to use on a phone?

Client photos are personal. Check what the default is when you create a gallery — protected or open — and what options you have. Useful levels are a passcode, invitation-only access for named people, and a deliberate public link. Ask whether you can change a passcode if it leaks, whether links can expire, whether you can limit downloads to particular people, and whether galleries are kept out of search engines.

PhotoShr protects every new gallery with a passcode, lets you lock a gallery to invited clients or open it with a public link, lets you rotate the passcode at any time, and hides client galleries from search engines. Link expiry and per-client download permissions come with the Studio and Agency plans.

If your clients choose photos, proofing is the feature you’ll use most, so test it properly. Can clients mark favourites without signing up? Can several people choose separately, and can you see where they agree? Can you get the selection into your editing software without retyping file numbers? Our proofing workflow guide describes what a smooth process looks like; the client proofing page shows how PhotoShr handles it.

Check how finished photos reach the client. Can they download the whole set in one go as well as single photos? Are there print-size and web-size options, or do you have to export both yourself? Is the client told when the photos are ready? Can you fix a file after sending without creating a new link?

Decide how much of the platform’s own branding you’re comfortable with. Most services let you add a logo; fewer let you remove theirs entirely. Think about the gallery design, the delivery page, the emails your clients receive and the web address the gallery lives at. PhotoShr puts your logo on the delivery page on every plan, adds a cover image, personal message, re-booking link and a custom subdomain on Studio, and removes PhotoShr branding from galleries, delivery pages and gallery emails on Agency.

• Know what you’re paying for. Check whether prices include tax, what storage each plan gives you, and whether there are limits on the number of galleries or photos.
• Plan for growth. Can you add storage without jumping a whole plan? Can you switch between monthly and annual billing?
• Own your exit. Make sure you can download all your photos at any time and know what happens to client links if you cancel.
• Try before you commit. Run a real session through a trial before moving your whole archive.

PhotoShr has no limit on galleries or photos per gallery, offers monthly or annual billing, and lets you download all your photos any time; the pricing page lists storage per plan, add-on storage and prices with and without VAT. Every plan starts with a 30-day free trial at Studio-level capability, no credit card required.

The quickest way to decide is to use a candidate platform for one real client from upload to delivery. You’ll learn more in that one session than from any comparison table. Browse our example galleries first to see the client side, and if you photograph weddings, families or events, our pages for wedding, family and event photographers go into specifics.