You spend hours closing a contract, come up with a plan for the shoot or event, arrange for a crew, take the photographs, spend hours sorting through and editing hundreds of images to get them ready to send to the client…
…only to be hit with what’s often the most difficult stage – gathering client feedback and final approvals.
From how you share the files to how your client communicates their feedback, every review and approval comes with its own potential pitfalls and complications. These can see you, your team, and your clients stuck in back-and-forths long after the shoot.
A disorganized review process can undermine a great shoot, leaving everyone feeling lost. But with an online proofing gallery, you can create a much better client experience while accelerating final approvals.
Why Traditional Review Methods Aren’t Fit for Purpose for Photographers
There are a lot of reasons why generic options don’t hold up when it comes to reviewing and approving image sets.
Getting feedback by sending folders via file-sharing platforms like Dropbox or via email often leads to confusion. Feedback can get scattered across platforms, leading to selections or requests being overlooked. It’s also all too easy for mix-ups between individual images to occur.
Less tech-savvy clients pose an added challenge, with downloads, plugins, and software account logins all likely to cause issues.
And because these aren’t dedicated photo proofing solutions and lack user-friendly tools for managing images, it’s not immediately obvious to clients where to comment, how to communicate clearly, and how to make selections. This leads to time-consuming follow-up conversations or to less-than-helpful feedback.
For teams juggling multiple clients and shoots, these inefficiencies multiply and compound.
What is an Online Proofing Gallery?
An online proofing gallery is a digital space where teams and clients can easily view, comment on, compare, select, and approve photographs (or other formats liked documents and videos). It allows everyone to review relevant files in one centralized and collaborative place.
In addition to being a reliable way to share files for projects involving photography, online proofing tools are designed specifically with collaboration and ease-of-use in mind. The intuitive features provide clarity for photo teams and clients, and significantly speed up the post-shoot process.
Online proofing tools aren’t just used by photographers, either. Anyone involved in proofing images, like studios, agencies, videographers, editors, and other creative teams, can also benefit.
How Photo Proofing Galleries Accelerate the Review and Selection Process
Online proofing galleries include a range of features that make proofing photos smoother for your clients and for your teams, speeding up delivery and leaving a positive impression.
Here are just a few of the most useful features offered by online proofing solutions like ReviewStudio:
- Centralized commenting and feedback, meaning fewer follow-ups.
- The ability to leave feedback directly on individual images for greater precision.
- Selection tools including labels and star ratings, for clearer selection sets.
- Side-by-side comparisons so anyone can see that revisions were done correctly.
- Support for a wide range of formats, including raw formats, JPGs, TIFFs, PNGs and even video or motion graphic reviews.
- Internal-external privacy options so clients don’t see internal communication.
- Integrated version control for consolidated sequential versions – with older version locked by default. Easy and integrated approvals so clients can move smoothly through the approval process.
- Batch options for commenting, labeling, ratings, and approvals – especially helpful for high-volume projects.
- Easy, link-based sharing, meaning guests don’t have to download or install anything.
- The option to restrict file downloads, so you don’t have to detract from the viewing experience with watermarks.
Perhaps the most significant benefit of opting for a proofing tool like ReviewStudio is that you’re giving your clients an experience specifically built for client proofing.
These aren’t just file-sharing or photography websites with client proofing tacked on. They’re specifically designed for feedback and collaboration so that your team’s and your client’s entire focus remains on the work, not on finding their way around.
Your Proofing Gallery Is a Critical Part of the Client Experience
Online proofing can benefit photographers working in any size of company or industry, from freelancers to members of marketing teams in large enterprises.
Don’t let your best work be undermined by a patchy proofing process. The right online proofing gallery will help you deliver work with clarity and professionalism, while speeding up approvals and freeing up everyone’s time.
