Letting clients choose images: from favourites to a clear editing brief

A proofing round has worked when favourites turn into an unambiguous editing brief. This workflow settles the number of images, the change requests, the binding sign-off and how to handle extra images.

Without that framework, several versions of the truth appear quickly: hearts in the gallery, file names in a message and a change request buried in an email. This article shows how to bring that information into a workflow you can follow.

Prepare a sensible pre-selection

Only offer images you are willing to deliver in principle. Remove accidental releases and variants that add nothing.

The previews should let people judge expression, pose and the overall effect of an image. You do not have to fully retouch every subject you offer for that. Say openly what stage of editing the selection shows.

In aftersnap this round of agreement is the job of the proofing gallery. The finished delivery is a different step.

Explain the task right next to the link

One possible invitation text:

“Here is the pre-selection from our shoot. Please choose the ten images you would like me to edit for you. If you have a request for a particular shot, write it on the image itself. Once your selection is settled, please close it. We will agree on any additional images together before the editing starts.”

Add the date you agreed on and the actual price for extra images where needed. The text should not contain conditions that do not match your job.

Requests belong on the right image

“Please make the third photo a bit brighter” is hard to place as soon as someone sees the order differently. A comment on the image itself keeps the connection.

Ask for specific requests. “Remove the sign in the background” is easier to judge than “somehow nicer”. If a request is ambiguous, clear it up before the retouching.

The scope belongs there too. A small correction and an elaborate composite are different pieces of work. The gallery helps with the attribution; it does not replace your professional judgement.

Favourites may change, the brief needs a sign-off

While people are browsing, favourites are an interim state. Only the closed selection becomes the basis for your further work.

Check the number, the extra images and any open questions. Briefly confirm the agreed scope if that helps. Then both sides know which version you are now editing.

If an image still has to be swapped afterwards, record that change so it can be followed later. A round deliberately reopened is clearer than extra file names scattered across different messages.

Delivery begins after the selection

Take the confirmed images into your editing workflow. For galleries published from Lightroom, the aftersnap plugin offers a route back to the selection. The requirements are described in the handbook.

You then deliver the finished images in a way that lets your clients look at them and download the files that have been released. Selection and handover each get the frame that suits them.

If you would like to try this workflow on a job of your own: try aftersnap for free.

Settle the number before the start

“Pick your favourites” is too open when ten images have been agreed. State the target number, how extra images are handled and the deadline. If the gallery shows more or fewer selected shots than planned, that should become visible before the sign-off.

With teams or couples you also need a rule: should each person choose separately, or does one joint selection apply? Without settling that, two perfectly sensible lists of favourites can add up to an unclear brief.

Placing editing requests

A comment on an image creates attribution, but not yet an automatic commitment. Distinguish small corrections, retouching included in the package and additional work. If a request is unclear or technically awkward, reply before the editing starts.

After the sign-off, briefly summarise the number, the extra images and any open special requests. That turns a technical status into a shared understanding.

Changes after the sign-off

If a selection is reopened, save the previous state or document the change. Note which image drops out and which comes in. If retouching has already started, agree on the additional work too. The gallery records the current selection; your job paperwork records why it changed.

Read on

• Finding the client’s selection again in Lightroom Classic
• Client gallery or proofing: which workflow suits your job?