Photo delivery
How to deliver final photos your client can use
Separate web-ready photos from the full-resolution collection, explain downloads and expiry, and check image previews before sending the finished set.
The retouching is finished and the selection is approved. The last step is helping the client save the right files and understand what they are for. A thumbnail can help them recognise an image, but it cannot explain whether they should use that export on a website or send it to a printer. The package and its note need to do that work.
Treat final photo delivery as its own small task. Separate the agreed exports, check their names and sizes, and make the download window clear. This guide uses a fictional portrait handoff with three JPEGs and one collection ZIP. It describes delivery after approval; complete proofing and client selections in your existing process first.
Decide what the client should receive
Check the brief for the number of images, formats and intended uses. Prepare the web-ready and full-resolution versions you agreed to supply. If there are two sets, label them by use rather than leaving the client to infer the difference from file sizes. Keep originals and your editing archive separate from the delivery copies.
A client who needs three portraits for a website can receive those as individual JPEGs, with the larger agreed collection in a ZIP. Another project might need every finished image separately. Choose the package that makes their next action straightforward, and check that the set contains only images you intend them to use.
Name each set so it survives the download
Use the project name, image number and purpose consistently. For example, atelier-portrait-01-web.jpg is easier to identify later than export-01.jpg. A collection named atelier-full-resolution.zip tells the client what to expect before opening it. Keep the names inside the ZIP equally clear.
Open the archive after creating it. Check that the expected images are present and that no drafts or system files slipped in. If web and full-resolution sets live inside one archive, use plainly named folders. Add a short readme when the usage instructions need to remain with the collection after the delivery page is no longer available.
Gather individual images and the collection
SentIt can combine JPEGs uploaded from your computer with a prepared ZIP in Dropbox or Google Drive. Connected files stay in their existing storage and do not use your SentIt storage allowance. Provider access and daily transfer limits still apply. Use one delivery note to explain how the individual images relate to the collection.
Every delivery can hold up to 100 files. Computer uploads are limited to 1 GB per file on Free and 5 GB on Premium, within the plan’s available storage. A prepared ZIP can be one attachment when there are more images than fit in a delivery’s file list. Check the current plan and transfer limits before sending a particularly large collection.
Preview the images, then check the originals
Supported images can show thumbnails on the delivery page. With JavaScript enabled, clients can open supported originals in a viewer and switch between Fit and Actual size. Original image previews support files up to 80 MB. A file that cannot be previewed remains available to download; the viewer does not support every image format or size.
Open the recipient link yourself and check that each preview matches the filename. Download an individual image and the prepared collection to verify the actual files. Previewing is useful for recognition and inspection, but the client still needs to save the originals. Explain that downloading a thumbnail or taking a screenshot does not replace the delivered photo file.
Make downloading and expiry easy to understand
A short message might say: “The individual JPEGs are for your website. The full-resolution ZIP contains the agreed collection. Download and save both sets before the expiry date shown on this page. Reply if a file does not open.” Use the actual project’s purpose and date, and avoid assuming everyone receiving the link attended the approval review.
For multiple attachments, Download all can create a ZIP up to 4 GB, subject to daily ZIP request and transfer allowances. Larger packages use individual downloads or the file list. A collection ZIP you prepared is also available as its own file. Make that distinction clear when the page contains both individual photos and the same collection in an archive.
Free links last up to 7 days from first publication. Premium lets you choose a future expiry date or no scheduled expiry while your Premium subscription continues. Keep your own copies and ask clients to save theirs. Recipients do not need an account; anyone with the active link can access the files, so send it to the intended people.
Use a delivery address clients recognise
Premium can also put the delivery link under one verified custom subdomain you own. Connect it in Settings and complete the DNS setup; new share links use the verified address while the original SentIt link remains usable. Combine that address with your photography branding so clients recognise where the finished collection comes from.
Handle a final retouch without another URL
If an approved correction arrives, add the revised JPEG and remove the superseded export. Attachment changes affect the live delivery immediately. Save a note naming the revision and tell the client which downloaded copies to replace. If the corrected image also belongs in the collection ZIP, update that archive too; changing an individual attachment does not rewrite its contents.
Changed cloud sources may need refreshing or reattaching. SentIt does not provide proofing, favourites, client selections or automatic version history. Premium offers your logo, accent colour and automatic, light or dark delivery presentation for the finished handoff. See our photo delivery example for the package layout, and the guide to updating shared files for communicating corrections clearly.