File sharing for photographers: a workflow for every shoot
A copyable workflow for photographers: request client files, deliver each shoot on one link, add a password.
File sharing for photographers comes down to two jobs: getting finished photos to the client, and getting the client's files (logos, briefs, shortlists of selects) back to you. This article gives you one workflow you can copy for the next shoot, built around one link per shoot, a clear way to protect it and a close-out step so nothing stays open forever.
The steps below are a suggested process, not a built-in Tarkle routine. Use them as a checklist for each job.
Before the shoot: ask for client files with one link
Most of the chasing happens before you pick up the camera. Logos, the creative brief, mood boards, a list of names for the group shots: they arrive by email, by chat and in three different attachments. Replace that with one request link.
A file request link lets the client upload without an account. You write the instructions ("Please upload your logo as a PNG or SVG and the brief as a PDF") and send the link. Uploads arrive in the folder you choose, in a sub-folder for each person who sends files, so the brief sits next to the photos it relates to.
You can also set a deadline on the request, covered on the page for deadlines and limits for requests. A request can carry a size limit for one submission, which is the total of all the files in that upload. A deadline a few days before the shoot is a polite way to get answers on time.
Put the shoot date and the client name in the request title, for example "Acme headshots, 12 March: files we need". The client sees exactly what you are asking for when they open it.
File sharing for photographers: one folder and one link per shoot
Create a folder named after the client and the date, and keep both the incoming files and the finished photos in it. When the shoot is done, export your edits into a delivery subfolder. Folders and library lets you organise files in folders and search them, so you can find them a year later when the client asks for "the photos from the spring launch".
Then create one file transfer for the shoot. With file sharing you pick files or folders and get one link to send. The person opening it does not need an account to download. One link per shoot matters for a plain reason: you set the password, the expiry and the view-only choice once for that link, and you can switch the link off when you are done.
Check the size before you promise anything. On the Free plan a file can be up to 1 GB. Send large files covers files up to 200 GB with one link on Pro and Agency. Check the file sizes of your exports before the delivery date, so you know which plan the shoot needs.
Let the client look first: previews in the browser
Clients rarely want to download forty files to find out whether the shoot is what they expected. Preview files in the browser lets them open files without downloading them first.
Before you send, open your own link on a phone and check that the previews load for the files you are sending, especially if you deliver unusual formats.
Open your own link in a private browser window before you send it. You see the page the client sees, with the title and the files.
Protect the link: password and expiry
Two settings do most of the work. A password must be entered before anyone can open the transfer, and the Free plan lets you protect shared files with passwords. A link expiration sets a date after which the link stops opening the files. Together they mean someone who only has a forwarded link cannot open the files without the password, and after the date the link stops working.
Be honest with the client about what a password does. It stops someone who only has the link. Anyone you give the password to can open the transfer, so send it in a different message from the link. A text or a short call works well, and keep it simple enough to read out.
For the date, pick a window that fits how the client will review. A week can be enough for a portrait set, and a commercial client whose approvals go through several people may need longer. Set a reminder for yourself a day before the expiry date.
Review first: client feedback and view-only
Sometimes the client should see the photos before they pay the final invoice. Start with client feedback, which turns images and PDFs into a review board that clients comment on and approve with one link, no account. Client feedback and approval is part of the Free plan.
A view-only transfer is the other option. View only lets recipients preview a transfer's files in the browser, without a download button. Switch on View only for the transfer when you create it.
View only is a process step, not copy protection. Anyone who can see an image on a screen can take a screenshot. For that reason, keep full-resolution files out of a view-only transfer if a leak would cost you money: share web-sized exports for review, then create the downloadable transfer once the client has approved and paid.
Close out: check, switch off and file
A delivery is not finished when you press send. Give it a three-part close-out.
Check what happened. The transfer's Activity section lists "Transfer created", "Transfer viewed" and "Files downloaded", so you can see whether the link was opened and whether anything was downloaded. If the link was viewed but nothing was downloaded, send a nudge before the expiry date.
Switch it off. Once the client confirms they have the files, pause the transfer to mark it Disabled, or let the expiry date end it.
File the shoot. Leave the final exports in the shoot's folder and note the delivery date in the folder name.
Write the close-out as the last line of every job: "Link off, folder filed, invoice sent". You never have to guess whether an old link is still live.
If your clients also want the same style of workflow for events or video, the posts on sharing event photos with attendees and delivering video to clients follow the same pattern with different audiences.
Set this up today
Create a folder for your next shoot, named with the client and the date.
Make a file request with clear instructions and send it to the client this week.
Export your edits, upload them to one file transfer and add a password and an expiry date.
Use client feedback or view-only for any review round that happens before approval and payment.
After the client confirms, check the activity, pause the link and file the folder.
What to remember about Tarkle
Tarkle covers the three parts of this workflow: a request link for client files, a link per shoot with a password and an expiry date, and client feedback for review rounds. The Free plan is for one person with files up to 1 GB each, and Pro and Agency take files up to 200 GB. Test the workflow on your next shoot: Start for free.