Favorites-Based Proofing Workflow for Photographers

Favorites-based proofing gives clients one simple action: mark the images they want. It removes messy filename emails, screenshot lists, and ambiguous notes. The photographer receives a selection set that can drive retouching, album design, or final delivery.

For boudoir clients, simple matters. The gallery should feel private and calm, not like a project management tool. A heart icon, a deadline, and a clear final delivery promise are often enough.

• Clients can make choices in the same place they view proofs.
• Photographers avoid transcribing filenames from emails.
• Selections can map directly to retouching or final publishing.
• The workflow is easy to explain in one short delivery note.

Before the gallery goes live, decide how many favorites the client should choose, when they are due, and what happens if they want extra edits. Put those rules in the gallery email and in your contract language.

Do not make the client guess whether favorites are final purchases, retouching requests, or album candidates. Name the action clearly: favorite the images you want retouched.

• State the included number of final images.
• Set a favorites deadline.
• Explain pricing for extra favorites if applicable.
• Confirm that downloads remain off until finals are ready.

A strong proofing workflow has a pending step. Uploading should not automatically mean public. Review the gallery, confirm proof states, and publish when the set is ready for the client.

This prevents half-uploaded galleries, accidental finals, or broken previews from entering the client experience. It also gives you a clear checkpoint for image transforms and thumbnails.

• Upload assets to storage.
• Ingest metadata and mark proof/final status.
• Review pending assets as an admin.
• Publish only after previews and thumbnails are ready.

After sending the gallery, the client favorites images directly in the viewer. The studio should be able to read those favorites, confirm they persist, and clear or revise them if the client changes direction.

For privacy-sensitive work, favorites should be tied to the viewer identity instead of a public comment thread. That keeps the proofing conversation private and reduces exposure.

• Ask clients to review once on a larger screen if possible.
• Have them favorite every image they want retouched.
• Confirm favorites were received before starting final edits.
• Send one reminder before the deadline.

Once favorites are confirmed, retouch selected images and publish finals as final/no-watermark assets. Keep proof downloads disabled so the client does not save unfinished files while waiting.

When finals are ready, update the gallery email: finals are live, downloads are enabled, and proofs remain for reference only if you choose to keep them visible.

• Retouch selected favorites.
• Mark delivered files as final assets.
• Remove proof watermarks from final previews.
• Enable downloads only when final delivery is complete.

A Framekeep gallery can move through the full lifecycle: create gallery, presign upload, direct storage upload, ingest assets, verify pending items, publish, unlock with PIN or invite, collect favorites, then enable downloads for the archive.

That lifecycle is intentionally explicit. It helps studios catch storage, database, image transform, and archive issues before a client is waiting on a broken gallery.

• Proof previews can be watermarked.
• Final previews stay clean.
• Favorites can be written, read, and cleared.
• Invite and PIN access can both return the expected assets.
• Archive download confirms the delivered file count.