Online Image Proofing Galleries are used by many photographers as an easy, efficient way to help their clients select their favorite images from their Photoshoot! A Proofing Gallery gives you (the client) more control of your images, & it also helps me (the photographer) to deliver your final images to you more quickly & effectively. It makes picking a final package simpler for you, & it also gives you more time to look through your images by yourself or with a friend, family member, or business partner to get multiple opinions on which photos you should select & purchase.

As your photographer, I spend a significant amount of energy & time making sure that every single photo you purchase is perfectly retouched & edited, & the image proofing process allows me to really focus that energy on the photos that you truly love. Keep reading to learn more about how proofing galleries can simplify the image selection process, & scroll to the end of this blog for a tutorial on how to use your own Client Online Image Proofing Gallery!

WhAT IS A PROOFING GALLERY?

An online proofing gallery contains a collection of all the best images from your photoshoot. All of the images in this gallery will have undergone basic edits, meaning that I’ve gone through all of the images from your shoot & have taken out any that are obviously bad (eyes closed, blurry shots, etc.), & fixed any color/lighting problems that may have occurred.

The first step in my editing process is to cull the images from your shoot. Culling is the process of going through the entire catalog of photos from your shoot & then selecting the best images for you to review. Depending on your shoot, I may have taken hundreds or even thousands of images - part of my job as your photographer is to pick out the absolute best images for you so that you aren’t overwhelmed & will still have plenty of options to choose from. Depending on the type of shoot you’ve had, your Proofing Gallery will contain anywhere from 25-150 of the best images from your shoot.

All of the images in your Proofing Gallery will be low-resolution, watermarked images, & any final retouching (removing wrinkles, undereye circles, stray hairs, etc.) will be done on all of the images that you choose to purchase. I work with a professional retoucher & have my own specialized method of color toning that will ensure that your final images look flawless & beautiful. You won’t need to worry about stray hairs, blemishes, etc. - I edit all of my images with a clean, natural look so that you’ll look like the most polished, authentic version of yourself.

What is a watermark?

A watermark is a semi-transparent image that is layered on top of a photo - it usually includes a photographer’s logo &/or business name. Photographers use watermarks for several reasons - sometimes, a photographer’s watermark will be included on the edge of a final image as a way to brand the photo & to let anyone who sees it know who created the photo & who owns the copyright.

More commonly, a watermark is used by photographers to prevent the theft of an un-purchased image. Without a watermark, it is much easier for someone to screenshot, download, or reproduce an image without paying for it or giving the photographer their proper credit due. When you receive your proofing gallery from my studio, all of the images will be watermarked to prevent unauthorized use of an unpurchased image. During your Image Purchasing Session (click here to learn more about these sessions) I’ll help you’ll to select your final images. Once you have chosen your favorites & have paid your final invoice, those images will then be retouched & delivered to you without any watermark within your Final Image Gallery. From there, you will be able to download your purchased images so that you can print, post, & share them.

See the images below for an example! In the watermarked photo proof, there has only been some minor color editing done, & in the final retouched image, the wrinkles on the sleeve have been minimized, any distracting stray hairs have been removed, & there is no watermark on top of the image. Voilà!

Why Do You use proofing galleries?

A Proofing Gallery gives you (the client) more control of your images, & it also helps me (the photographer) to deliver your final images to you more quickly & effectively. It makes picking a final package simpler for you, & it also gives you more time to look through your images by yourself or with a friend, family member, or business partner to get multiple opinions on which photos you should select & purchase. As your photographer, I spend a significant amount of energy & time making sure that every single photo you purchase is perfectly retouched & edited, & the image proofing process allows me to really focus that energy on the photos that you truly love

Also, many people have strong opinions about their best angles & expressions in photos - I like to let my clients choose what they believe are their most flattering images. I always deliver a series of images that includes different facial expressions & poses to choose from. You can also use your proofing gallery to curate a collection of images that you believe will be most useful for you to use on your website, social media, marketing materials, etc.

Are you going to Retouch or “Photoshop” my Images?

Yes, every image that you choose to purchase will be edited with my signature color toning methods & will also be given a full professional retouch to handle the removal of distracting elements such as stray hairs, skin blemishes, undereye circles, etc. During your Image Purchasing Session, we will communicate about any specific retouching requests you may have, & my retouching assistant & I will edit all of your final images with a clean, natural look so that you’ll look like the most polished, authentic version of yourself. You can be confident that your final images will look flawless & beautiful!

How Do I Select & View my favorites in my CLIENT proofing gallery?

Here’s a step-by-step guide to how the image selection process works for a client:

1. Once I’ve finished my basic edits & have uploaded your images to the gallery, you’ll receive an email from me letting you know that your Proofing Gallery is ready & that it’s time to start picking some favorites! Click on the “View Gallery” button in your email to open up your gallery - you’ll be prompted to create an account using your email address & a password.

2. Mark your favorites by clicking the heart on the lower left-hand corner of each image. All of your favorites can be viewed by clicking on the heart in the top right-hand bar - If you have any questions about which images to pick, retouching requests, etc., make note of them & we will go over all of your questions during your upcoming Image Purchasing Session.

3. Your initial Booking Fee that you paid when booking your session includes a credit that you can apply towards any final purchases - you will have the option to purchase images individually, pick out wall art, or choose one of my Collection packages. You can review the Pricing & Product Guide that you received in your Welcome Packet to refresh your memory & to review the package & pricing structure. Make sure that anyone else who is helping you make your final purchase decisions (spouse, parent, business partner, etc.) has reviewed the pricing information & gone through the proofing gallery with you as well.

4. If you’d like a friend or a business partner or to help you choose favorites, you can forward them the “Your Proofing Gallery is Ready” email & they will be able to request access to the gallery & can make their own account.

5. Once you have chosen your favorites from your proofing gallery, we will meet up for your Image Purchasing Session (click here to learn more about these sessions) to finalize your picks! You’ll receive a final invoice, & once your payment has been processed, I will do the final retouching on your images & will deliver the un-watermarked, fully retouched, final versions to you in a new Final Image Gallery. Within the Final Image Gallery, you will be able to download and share both Print size (hi-res) and Social Media (web-size) versions of your images, purchase additional prints, etc.

Online Proofing Gallery | Video Tutorial

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