Frequently Asked Questions

Find answers to the most common questions below. We've split them into two sections: one for photographers and one for clients.

For Photographers

How do I get started?

Getting started with Seleckt takes just a few minutes:

1. Sign up for a free account at seleckt.app.
2. Complete the onboarding steps (add your logo, set your brand colours).
3. Create your first gallery and upload some photos.
4. Invite a client to view the gallery.

The Free plan gives you 5 GB of storage and up to 3 galleries, so you can explore everything before committing to a paid plan. Every paid plan comes with a 14-day free trial.

What file formats can I upload?

Seleckt supports these formats:

• JPEG / JPG -- the most widely used format for client delivery
• PNG -- useful for images with transparency
• WebP -- a modern, efficient format
• RAW formats -- CR2, CR3, NEF, ARW, RAF, ORF, RW2, DNG, and PEF (RAW is a Plus-plan feature)
• Video -- MP4 and MOV

RAW files are processed server-side and converted for web display. For client delivery, we recommend uploading high-quality JPEGs. They offer excellent image quality at reasonable file sizes, which means faster uploads and more efficient storage usage.

How does watermarking work?

Watermarking is opt-in and off by default -- nothing is applied automatically and there's no forced default watermark on any plan. Here's how it works:

• Turn watermarking on (and customise it) in Settings > Watermark. Watermark customisation is a paid-plan feature, and it uses your own settings regardless of tier -- Seleckt never applies its own watermark.
• When watermarking is enabled, the watermark is rendered onto the processed images your clients view.
• When a client downloads photos (from the Downloads section), they receive the files you delivered.

Watermarking lets you protect your work while still giving clients a clear view of the photos.

Can I customise the gallery viewing experience?

Yes! Every gallery has a Design tab. Start from one of three presets:

• Editorial -- gold accents, a parallax hero, and a masonry grid
• Classic -- warm cream tones, a feature grid, and an italic serif
• Minimal -- a dark banner, justified rows, and a lavender accent

Then fine-tune any axis on its own — cover style, photo-grid layout and spacing, heading and body fonts, colour palette, and accent colour — with a live preview of the real client gallery. See Viewing Galleries for how clients experience these designs.

How do I send an invoice to a client?

1. Go to Invoices in your sidebar.
2. Click New Invoice.
3. Select the client you're billing.
4. Add line items (services, products, prints, etc.) with quantities and prices.
5. Set the due date.
6. Optionally add tax, discounts, or notes.
7. Click Send.

Your client receives an email notification and can pay online through the portal using Stripe.

How do I get paid?

Seleckt uses Stripe Connect to handle payments. Here's how to set it up:

1. Go to Settings > Payments.
2. Click Set Up Stripe (it becomes Continue Setup if you need to finish onboarding later).
3. Follow the Stripe onboarding flow to link your bank account.
4. Once connected, any payments your clients make through Seleckt go directly to your Stripe account.

Stripe handles all the payment processing, security, and compliance. Funds are deposited to your bank account on Stripe's standard payout schedule. Seleckt does not charge a platform fee -- you only pay Stripe's standard processing fees.

What's the difference between quotes and invoices?

• A quote is a proposal. It says "here's what I plan to do and what it'll cost." The client can accept or decline it.
• An invoice is a bill. It says "here's what you owe." The client can pay it online.

When a client accepts a quote, the photographer invoices it -- converting the whole quote in one click, or billing its items on separate invoices. Think of quotes as the "before" and invoices as the "after."

Can clients see each other's comments?

No. Each client only sees their own galleries, invoices, quotes, contracts, and comments. Client portals are completely private. One client cannot see another client's data or activity.

How do I use templates?

Seleckt has two types of templates:

• Gallery design presets: Control the visual layout of your galleries -- pick Editorial, Classic, or Minimal when creating a gallery, then fine-tune everything in the gallery's Design tab.
• Contract templates: Pre-written contract documents you can reuse. Create a template once, then apply it to new contracts without rewriting the same terms each time.

Templates save you time and keep your workflow consistent across projects.

What happens when a gallery expires?

When a gallery reaches its expiry date:

• The gallery is no longer accessible to clients via their portal or direct links.
• The photos remain in your account and count toward your storage.
• You can extend or reactivate the gallery at any time from your dashboard.
• Clients who try to visit the gallery will see a message that it's no longer available.

Tip: Set reasonable expiry dates and remind your clients to complete their selections and downloads before the gallery closes.

Can I share a gallery with multiple clients?

Yes. When creating or editing a gallery, you can add multiple clients. Each client will see the same gallery but have their own private selections, comments, and portal experience. One client's activity is never visible to another.

How do I import my existing clients?

You can add clients individually or in bulk:

1. Go to Clients in the sidebar.
2. Click Add Client to add one at a time, entering their name and email.
3. To add multiple clients, use the Import option and upload a CSV file with your client list.

Imported clients receive an invite email to create their Seleckt account.

What is payment gating?

Payment gating lets you lock high-resolution downloads behind an invoice. Here's the flow:

1. You share a gallery with a client (they can browse and view watermarked previews).
2. You send an invoice for the session or photos.
3. The client pays the invoice through the portal.
4. Downloads are automatically unlocked.

This is available on Plus plans and above. It's a powerful way to ensure you get paid before delivering final files. See Invoices & Payments for the client's perspective.

Can I let clients download without paying?

Yes. Each gallery has an Allow Free Downloads toggle in its settings. When enabled, all clients with access to that gallery can download photos without a paid invoice -- perfect for complimentary sessions, portfolio gifts, or mini-session giveaways.

You can also control this per-client. In the gallery's Sharing tab, set each client's download access to Allow, Deny, or Inherit (which follows the gallery-level setting). This gives you fine-grained control -- for example, you can give one client free downloads while keeping the gallery locked for others.

What are the download quality options?

When clients download photos, they can choose between two quality levels:

• Hi-Res — the original full-resolution files you uploaded. Best for printing and archiving.
• Web View — smaller, web-optimised versions. Ideal for social media, email, or websites.

Both options are available for individual file downloads and ZIP downloads. This applies to all download types (paid and complimentary).

How do I set up two-factor authentication?

To add an extra layer of security to your account:

1. Go to Settings > Account.
2. Scroll to the Two-Factor Authentication section and click Enable 2FA.
3. Scan the QR code with your authenticator app (e.g., Google Authenticator, Authy).
4. Enter the verification code to confirm.

Once enabled, you'll need to enter a code from your authenticator app each time you log in. We strongly recommend enabling 2FA to protect your account and your clients' data.

Can I change my subscription plan?

Yes. Go to Settings > Billing, where you'll find a plan for every tier with a Monthly / Annual toggle and an optional coupon field.

• To start a subscription, click Subscribe on the plan you want. This takes you to Stripe Checkout to enter your payment details.
• To change plans, cancel, update your payment method, or view past invoices, click Manage Billing to open the Stripe Customer Portal. All plan changes and cancellations happen there.

See Plans & Pricing for a full comparison of what each tier includes.

What is Cmd+K?

Cmd+K (or Ctrl+K on Windows) opens the command palette -- a quick search bar that lets you jump to any part of Seleckt instantly. You can use it to:

• Navigate to any page (galleries, invoices, clients, settings)
• Search for a specific client or gallery by name
• Quickly access common actions like creating a new gallery or invoice

Think of it as Seleckt's version of Spotlight or the browser address bar. Once you get used to it, it's the fastest way to get around.

How do I export my data?

You can export your data from Seleckt at any time:

1. Go to Settings > Account.
2. Click Export Data.
3. Choose what to export (clients, invoices, galleries, contracts).
4. Download the export file.

Client and invoice data is exported as CSV. Your photos can be downloaded directly from your galleries. Seleckt believes your data belongs to you, and you should always be able to take it with you.

What are collections?

Collections let you group a gallery's own photos into curated, client-facing sub-sets -- for example Ceremony, Reception, and Portraits. You'll find them on the Collections tab inside a gallery's detail page. Create a collection with just a title, then add or remove existing gallery photos. Collections only group photos -- they never move or copy them, and deleting a collection leaves the photos in the gallery untouched.

Because collections reference photos that already live in the gallery, they don't add any extra storage. Clients see your collections as section navigation when browsing the gallery, and empty collections are hidden automatically.

Collections are available on Pro plans and above. See Collections for the full guide.

What happens to my data if I downgrade or cancel?

When an admin- or coupon-granted plan upgrade expires, Seleckt provides a 30-day grace period for any galleries that exceed your new plan's limits. You receive reminder emails at day 15 and day 25. If you re-upgrade before day 30, nothing is deleted. After 30 days, the excess galleries are permanently removed. (A normal subscription cancellation simply reverts your account to Free with no grace period.) See Billing for details.

What are in-app notifications?

Seleckt delivers real-time in-app notifications via a bell icon in the navigation bar. When an important event occurs (payment received, contract signed, selection submitted), a notification appears instantly. You can configure which events trigger notifications in Settings > Notifications. See Notifications for details.

Can I share my client's favourite photos with others?

Yes. When a client marks favourites in a gallery, you can create a favourites sharing link from the gallery's Sharing tab. The link shows only the favourited photos and can optionally allow downloads. This is great for letting clients share their top picks with family or wedding planners without giving full gallery access.

How do I collaborate with other photographers?

If you're on the Studio or Enterprise plan, you can invite other photographers to your account:

1. Go to Settings > Team.
2. Click Invite Photographer.
3. Enter their email and assign their role.

Team members can manage galleries, clients, and invoices under your account. The Studio plan supports 2 photographer seats, and Enterprise supports 5. See Plans & Pricing for details.

For Clients

How do I access my photographer's gallery?

There are two ways:

1. From an email or message: Your photographer will send you a link to the gallery. Click it and you'll be taken directly there.
2. From your portal: Log in to your client portal and click Galleries in the sidebar to see all the galleries your photographer has shared with you.

If you haven't set up your account yet, the link will prompt you to create one first. For a complete walkthrough, see Viewing Galleries.

How do I select my favourite photos?

1. Open the gallery your photographer has shared.
2. Click on photos to mark them as favourites -- a highlight or heart icon appears on selected photos.
3. Keep going until you've met any minimum requirement.
4. Click Submit Selections and confirm.

Your photographer will be notified of your choices. For a detailed guide, see Selecting Photos.

How do I pay an invoice?

1. Open the invoice from your portal or from the link in your email.
2. Click Pay Now.
3. Enter your credit or debit card details on the secure Stripe payment form.
4. Click Pay.

You'll see a confirmation on screen and receive a receipt by email. Full details are in Invoices & Payments.

Is my payment information secure?

Yes. All payments are processed by Stripe, one of the world's most trusted payment platforms. Seleckt never sees, stores, or has access to your card details. The payment form is encrypted and PCI-compliant, which is the highest standard of payment security.

How do I sign a contract?

1. Open the contract from your portal or email link.
2. Read through the full document.
3. Scroll to the signature pad at the bottom.
4. Draw your signature with your mouse, trackpad, or finger.
5. Click Sign Contract and confirm.

Both you and your photographer receive a copy of the signed contract. See Signing Contracts for the complete walkthrough.

When can I download my photos?

Your photos are available for download when any of the following are true:

• Your photographer has granted you free download access (the gallery appears with a "Complimentary" badge in your Downloads section).
• You've paid an associated invoice (if your photographer uses payment gating).

Once either condition is met, you'll find your photos in the Downloads section of your portal. You can choose between Hi-Res (full-resolution originals) and Web View (smaller, web-optimised files) when downloading. For step-by-step instructions, see Downloading Photos.

I forgot my password -- what do I do?

No worries, it happens to everyone:

1. Go to the login page.
2. Click Forgot Password.
3. Enter the email address associated with your account.
4. Check your inbox for a password reset email.
5. Click the link in the email and set a new password.

If you don't receive the email within a few minutes, check your spam or junk folder. If it's still not there, contact your photographer and they can help.

Can I change my photo selections after submitting?

It depends on your photographer's settings:

• If editing is allowed: You'll see an Edit Selections button in the gallery. Click it, make your changes, and resubmit.
• If editing is not allowed: Your selections are locked after submission. Contact your photographer directly and ask them to unlock the gallery if you need to make changes.

For more details, see Selecting Photos.

How do I accept or decline a quote?

1. Open the quote from your portal or email link.
2. Review the details (services, pricing, validity date).
3. Click Accept Quote to move forward (your photographer then sends you the invoice), or click Decline if it doesn't work for you.
4. If declining, you can optionally include a reason.

You can also leave comments on a quote to discuss details with your photographer before making a decision. See Quotes for the full guide.

Who do I contact if I have questions?

Your photographer is always your first point of contact. They know your project best and can answer questions about your galleries, invoices, contracts, and timelines.

You can reach them by:

• Leaving a comment on a quote, contract, or gallery within your portal
• Replying to any email notification you've received from them
• Using whatever contact method you normally use (email, phone, WhatsApp)

If you're experiencing a technical issue with the Seleckt platform itself (something that seems like a bug), let your photographer know and they can escalate it to the Seleckt support team.

Still have a question? If you're a photographer, reach out to our support team through the Help section in your dashboard. If you're a client, contact your photographer -- they'll point you in the right direction.