Selecting Photos

Sometimes your photographer will ask you to choose your favourite photos from a gallery. This is called photo selection -- it helps your photographer know which images to edit, print, or include in your final delivery.

What is Photo Selection?

Photo selection is a simple process: your photographer shares a gallery with you and asks you to mark the photos you love most. They may set a minimum or maximum number of selections so you know exactly how many to pick.

Not every gallery requires selections. Some galleries are set to Viewing mode, where you can browse and enjoy the photos, mark favourites with a heart icon, and download without needing to formally select and submit. If you open a gallery and don't see selection checkboxes or a submit button, it's a viewing gallery — just enjoy the photos and use the heart icon to mark your favourites.

How to Select Photos

Open the gallery from your client portal or from the direct link your photographer sent.
Browse through the photos.
Click on a photo to mark it as a favourite. A heart icon or highlight will appear on selected photos so you can easily tell which ones you've chosen.
To remove a selection, click the photo again. The highlight disappears and the photo is deselected.
Keep going until you've selected the photos you want.

Tip: Open the lightbox to see photos at full size before deciding. It's much easier to compare details in the larger view.

Selection Limits

Your photographer may set limits on how many photos you can select:

Minimum: The fewest photos you need to pick before you can submit. For example, "Select at least 20 photos."
Maximum: The most photos you're allowed to choose. For example, "Select up to 50 photos."

You'll see these limits displayed at the top of the gallery or near the selection counter. A running count shows how many photos you've selected so far (e.g., "12 of 50 selected").

If you try to submit without meeting the minimum, you'll see a message asking you to select more. If you reach the maximum, you won't be able to select additional photos until you deselect one.

Submitting Your Selections

Once you're happy with your choices:

Check the selection counter to make sure you've met any minimum requirements.
Click the Submit Selections button.
You'll see a confirmation screen summarising how many photos you've chosen.
Click Confirm to lock in your selections.

Your photographer will be notified that you've submitted your picks.

Tip: Take your time. You don't have to finish in one sitting. Your selections are saved as you go, so you can close the gallery and come back later to continue where you left off.

Viewing Your Selected Photos

At any time — before or after you submit — you can show only the photos you've picked:

Open the gallery.
Choose Selected in the filter at the top of the gallery. On a computer it sits in the toolbar next to All, Favourites and Commented; on a phone, tap the filter button (it shows the current filter, e.g. All) and pick Selected from the menu.
The gallery now shows just your selections, with the count beside the filter. Choose All to see every photo again.

This is the quickest way to review your picks before you submit. If you deselect a photo while this filter is on, it drops out of the view straight away.

Updating Your Selections

Whether you can change your selections after submitting depends on your photographer's settings:

If changes are allowed: You can go back into the gallery, adjust your picks, and resubmit. Your photographer will be notified of the update.
If changes are not allowed: Your selections are locked after submission. If you really need to make a change, contact your photographer directly and they can unlock the gallery for you.

Tip: If you're unsure whether you can still make changes, check for an "Edit Selections" button in the gallery. If it's there, you're good to go.

What's Next?

Viewing Galleries -- Learn more about navigating galleries
Invoices & Payments -- Your photographer may send an invoice based on your selections
Downloading Photos -- Once your photos are ready, here's how to download them