Best ways to share photos with clients in 2020 - Safe & Secure
Sharing your photography is the ultimate goal of your business because without sending your photos to clients or buyers you can’t be paid! Today, I’ll show you the best ways to share photos with clients in 2020
You may be good at your business and the best photographer who can take awesome snaps but what’s the best way to send or share photos?
It doesn’t matter if you are a photographer or own a photography studio. you often may gotta share photos along with other files including texts, forms, and PDFs
Or what if you have big size files? It might be tougher to upload and send huge files
Not only photographers. Both sides may face this problem often
Yeah, there are a lot of apps available online to share your photos but actually, plenty of them can make you do a lot of hassle
And, when it comes to photography, you should send your photos very carefully because the usual process to send or share photos can decrease your photo quality to a greater extent!
Some apps may let you send photos easily. What this kind of faulty apps often does is they compress your photos which sometimes decrease the quality together with the size and this way, you can expect your business to ruin!
When I was a new photographer, I used to use those applications too but after a lot of time I came to know that those apps used to send photos without letting me know that my photo quality is decreasing
That’s why I recommend this complete guide for both newbies and professionals to know the Best way to share photos with clients so that they don’t make any mistake at their ultimate goal
What do you need to consider for sharing photos with clients online?
Before anything else, we should know the following downsides of using any random apps for sharing photos:
- Some apps may decrease your photo quality
- Some apps will associate your photo with harmful viruses
- A major number of apps use backdated technology to let users send and receive a photo
- And the most noticeable downside is: Some apps are very time-consuming. They take a lot of time for uploading and sharing photos
- For some apps, we have to go through a lot of steps to share photos
We got to know all the potential problems that we can face if we use any random app
That’s why, please don’t click the download button as soon as you see a high rated file sharing app because a high ranked app may scam you with their best!
Sending a small size or a low quantity of photos may not lead you to any problem but in the case of large files, you will find issues!
And the speed is not the only factor here! Other things do matter!
Let’s see what facts will exactly matter about a file/photo-sharing app:
- File size
- Security
- Transfer Speed
- Lack of Tracking
If you only send small size photos and you never need to send large files then there’s a certain kind of app
And security should always be a priority. Then transfer speed is a must for hassle less working and lack of tracking is what that lead you to do mistake
Then when it comes to delivery options, you have to consider the following things:
Would you like your client to choose from the photo gallery? Or do you want to create just an impression for your commercial customers?
And do your clients want their photos at high resolution? And finally, you want your clients to be able to download the photos seamlessly and without hassle, right?
You have to choose your photo-sharing solution according to your needs
Mostly, you may need to research to find the best way to share photos with clients
But I’ll take care of that! I have researched in detail about sharing photos online and I’ll show you the best ways among hundreds to let you share your gold with client’s easily and as you like
Let’s get started!
Best 6 Ways To Send Your Digital Photos To Clients
I have researched a lot about the best photo sharing apps
I have seen that there are plenty of ways to share photos but a few of them are trustworthy and usable
Let me share those apps in brief for you in the below
1. WeTransfer (A well-known file sharing system)
WeTransfer is a quite popular platform that can be used for free but the downside here is, you can only send up to 2GB of files in one go
If you gotta send more files then you will have to upgrade your plan to the paid version or send by 2GB files one by one
You can send files as often as you like and if you are a small business owner then you are lucky! You don’t have to go for the paid version!
The paid version will cost you $12 per month!
It was created in 2009. The fast company selected WeTransfer as the world’s one of the most innovative design companies
There are two ways to send files using WeTransfer:
- Send directly to an Email address
- Or get a link to share the file
There’s an option to send a short message with every email
For paid users, they can store up to 100 GB and send 20GB at a time. You can customize your transfer email either
WeTransfer Pros and Cons:
Pros
- Simple Drag and Drop method to share files with your clients
- No zipping requires for the pro version
- Track Your Downloads
- Access control
- Email transfer up to 3 people for free users and 50 people for paid users
Cons
- The sharing limit is up to 2GB for free users and 20GB for paid users
- Transfers automatically get deleted after 7 days (free version)
2. Dropbox (The most used cloud-based sharing system)
Cloud storage is one of the favorite sharing systems and Dropbox comes first as a cloud file-sharing system
DropBox is an obvious choice for many Photography professionals
Like WeTransfer, they have both free and business versions. In the free version, you have a storage space of 2GB whereas the business version has 2 to 3TB!
The sharing system of Dropbox is very good. You can share files via a link which you can send to an email
You can also set what your recipient can do (editing or viewing)
There’s a comment section for clients to comment on. You can also control whether the recipient can add your file to their Dropbox account and share it with others
Their business plan starts at $15 per month. They have a yearly plan too so that you can decrease the extra cost. Take a look at the Dropbox Business pricing yourself
The most interesting fact I liked about Dropbox is: If you install Dropbox in your computer a file labeled Dropbox will already be created and whatever you save in that folder will be sync to the cloud
Dropbox Pros and Cons:
Pros
- Ease of use
- Hassle-free photo sharing solution
Cons
- The monthly billing system for using the business version
- Less professional due to storage limitation
- Takes up your computer storage for using the app
3. Pixieset (Specially built for Photographers)
Pixieset is specially built for only photographers. it has both a free and paid version
But don’t worry! You Don’t Have to spend for the paid version
According to me, the free version is enough for all photographers. It will suit all needs of a photographer
The most valuable thing I liked about Pixieset is Security. They offer high-level security and qualified delivery option
They provide a great gallery with customized features from where clients can choose their needed photos. Also, you can allow the clients to download the images with a 4-digit PIN
It has a social sharing option built-in with a modern workflow. Pixieset will also notify you when clients have made their selection or if they have downloaded an entire gallery
And at last, One great feature of Pixieset is the Lightroom Plugin
I think You have enough access to all of its features on the free version. But if you think you need more, take a look at the Pixiest Pricing
Pros and Cons of Pixiest
Pros
- Quick to Set Up
- Fast uploading and downloading speed
- Awesome Security
- Cool Delivery System
Cons
- Only 10GB storage on the Basic plan
- No right-click functionality within the admin interface
- No Video Hosting Options
4. Google Drive (Simple and Fast Sharing Solution from Google)
Many of us are already familiar enough with this Google service. Its the most reliable and Available within reach type of app. But we didn’t likely think about this yet
That’s why you can use Google for both business and personal use. They have hundreds of critical security features and you don’t have to worry about security at all!
You can access Google Drive with just your email address. There is a variety of sharing options. You can share a whole folder or an individual file
Like Dropbox, you can control user access (viewing and editing)
It is the best sharing solution among hundreds as almost everyone knows about it
A free account offers 15GB of storage but you can upgrade your plan to the premium version
Their pricing plan is very flexible! You are getting 100GB of space for only $1.99 per month and a terabyte of online storage will only cost you $9.99 per month!
It is not only a photo-sharing service but also suitable for other applications and large files. Because of its popularity, we often forget that Google Drive can be a huge benefit for us
Pros and Cons of Google Drive
Pros
- Popular and available everywhere
- Safe, Secure, and Reliable
- 15GB space on the free version and no storage limit on the pro
Cons
- Not so user friendly for photo sharing
- Lag in updates during servicing hours
- Uploading and Downloading speed not so impressive
5. Smash (A WeTransfer Alternative)
I have found it an awesome alternative for WeTransfer — Especially when you need to send large files
The cool fact is: Smash is free! You don’t even need registration to use it! Just click Upload, drag, and drop, and send!
The recipient can see a preview of the file before they decide to download the file — even from their smartphones
It is simple, secure, fast, and image enhancing. You have both email sending and sharable link benefits to spread your upload and protect your files with a password that is free too!
You can select the availability length of the file you upload. For example, If I want my file to be deleted after an hour or a week, I can select that for security purposes
But the files are automatically deleted after 14 days and for the storing of a year, you have to upgrade your free plan
The paid plan starts at $10 a month. See more on the Smash PricingPricing
Smash Pros and Cons
Pros
- No size limit, Send as much as large file possible
- Files will be stored up to 14 days (Free Version)
- Password Protection and Files preview
Cons
- Up to 2GB at a time
- Lack of customization on the sharable link (Free version)
6. ShootProof (An alternative to Pixieset)
It’s also much the same as Pixieset and dedicated to photographers. You can not only share your photos with clients but also creating a photo gallery to sell photos is available
ShootProof has a team of advanced and professional photographers to help you. You can upload up to 50MB of photo in high or low resolution, raw or retouch photos.
I have seen many professional photographers using ShootProof. It has other useful tools with a photography firm
Some great features of Shootproof Include the ability to sell prints and wall goods, create and send contracts. You can also create professional invoices and custom discount offers to attach with your uploads
Like Pixieset, clients can preview the photos before downloading them. Social media sharing is on for developing brand exposure
ShootProof Pros and Cons
Pros
- Only 100 Images per month for Free users
- Simple proofing
- Pin protection resizing options
- Affordable premium plans
Cons
- Limited Storage
- Creating galleries is not available
So What’s The best of best Way To Send Your Photos To Clients?
Everything depends on your needs. There’s nothing to recommend personally
If I tell you the best way of my choice to share your photos, that may not suit your need
If you want the fastest photo sharing solution then probably WeTtansfer or Smash should be your first choice
And if you think that an easy to use service may be good for you then going for Google Drive will be best
But if you want a completely optimized and dedicated file sharing solution for photographies then Pixieset or ShootProof is the best choice
Conclusion
Sharing photos is an essential element. And you shouldn’t make any mistake while choosing your method of sharing photos
I recommend you study a bit about the above mentioned 6 ways of sharing photos. I have already shown you the best ways but stuffs like budget, needs, circumstance, and your business status and level also matters here
It’s not only about choosing the best. It’s about working for a lifetime and the best sharing method which would satisfy customers
And don’t forget to let me know which photo sharing solution have you chosen in the comment section
If you have any query and if you think I should cover any other fact on this topic, feel free to comment that too