Hooray! You've received an email from me letting you know that your photos are ready for viewing! Now what? I use a website system called Pixieset which offers private, password-protected galleries to my clients. It's modern and easy to use on PC, Macs, Smart Phones or Tablets. It's great for viewing, sharing and downloading your photographs as well as ordering professional prints, wall art or albums.
Accessing your gallery:
- Find the ‘View Photos’ button at the bottom of the email I sent you
- Take note of the password provided in your email. You will need this to access your gallery
- Once you've clicked the ‘View Photos’ button you will be directed to a landing page where you will need to enter your email address and password.
How to download your favourite images
How many downloads are included depends on the collection you purchased. So, if you just went for the Lifestyle Session Fee then this includes 5 high-resolution downloads of your choice. The Mini Collections adds +5 downloads. But, if you purchased the Deluxe or Ultimate collection then this includes all the images in the gallery and favouriting specific ones for download won't be required.
To download an image you simply hover over the picture you want to favourite and click the ‘Arrow’ icon, or open the image and click the download icon there. It will add it to your download list. You can access this list at any time simply by clicking on the download arrow icon at the top right corner when viewing your Gallery. In your download list you can see, at any time, which photos you have downloaded and how many download credits you have remaining.
TIP: The easiest way to select your downloads is to create a favourite's list first! You can do this by clicking the 'heart icon' on photos and creating your own favourites list.
After clicking the download button, a new window will open that asks you for your email address and the 4-digit PIN that I provided you with. Enter this information here. When sharing your gallery with family and friends, it's best to ensure you don't share the download with them! They may then by accident download a photo - not realising this would use one of your precious download credits.
Next, choose the quality options you wish to download your photos in. I would advise downloading your photos in both high resolution and web size. Web-size images are great to share on social media and by email but if you are looking to print or add them to an album, you would want to use high-resolution images.
In your downloads list you can, at any time, see which photos you have already downloaded and how many download credits you have remaining.
Favourite Lists
As I mentioned earlier, you (and others with access to the gallery) can create a favourite list. In this list, you can also add notes to the photos, and these notes will be shown on both your end as well as on mine. Adding a note or a comment on an image is a great way for you to communicate specific requests with me for example letting me know which image you want as your Mounted Print (included in the Deluxe Collection) or which sizes for Fine Art Prints included in the Ultimate Collection.
Once you've selected your favourites you can easily notify me by clicking share in your Favourite List and selecting 'Send to Photographer'. I will get a notification and can check your requests and notes.
How to upgrade?
If you originally just selected the Lifestyle Session Fee but love the photos and want to upgrade you can easily do this within the Gallery. Simply, click on 'Print Store' and under packages you will see the Mini, Deluxe and Ultimate Collections. Make your selection, add this to your cart and make payment in the checkout section. I will then be notified and can update the gallery accordingly. Alternatively, you can just send me a message or email too and I can manually send you an invoice for the upgrade. It's up to you.
How to download images on mobile
I personally recommend viewing the gallery on a computer for the most optimal user experience. But if you do view your gallery on a mobile device, it will look similar to this. You will need to individually select which images you wish to download. Once you have clicked on the image you wish to download, simply click on the download icon to begin downloading the image.
Once you’ve clicked the Download Icon, the image will open in a new window, simply select OK to move on. Then you need to hold or press down on the image on your phone until the Save Image message box appears. You can download the full gallery to your mobile device but please note it will be delivered as a .zip file. Due to differences in device operating systems and features, your mobile may not natively support extracting .zip files. You basically have to find them in your phone downloads/files section. It's possible but a little fiddly - therefore I highly recommend doing the full gallery download on a desktop device.
Downloading the Full Gallery
Once you have upgraded you will be able to download the full gallery. Click the download arrow at the top of the gallery and this will now allow you to download all photos. Once again, I strongly advise you to download them in both Web Size and High Resolution on your desktop device.
How to order prints from your session?
Printing your images at lower-grade print shops such as Snappy Snaps, Boots or Snapfish will change the colour tones of your image and reduce the quality and lifespan of the image. This is why printing your images professionally is so important. You will find that ordering prints from your gallery is easy and does not cost much more than lower-grade printing companies and stores. Click the button below to find my guide on how to order prints and products with step-by-step instructions.