ProjectSend for Photographers

The Problem: Sharing Large Photo Deliveries

Photographers face a unique challenge: delivering hundreds (sometimes thousands) of high-resolution images to clients without losing control over access, branding, or costs. Cloud services like Dropbox or Google Drive work — but they're generic, unbranded, and quickly eat into storage limits.

Worse, most paid file-sharing platforms charge per-client or per-GB fees that scale painfully as your business grows.

How Photographers Use ProjectSend

Branded Client Portals

Each client gets their own login to a portal that carries your studio's branding — your logo, your colors, your domain. No "Powered by SomeService" footer. When a wedding couple logs in to download their gallery, it feels like part of your business.

Organized by Event

Use groups and folders to organize deliveries by shoot type — weddings, portraits, corporate events. Assign the right files to the right clients with a few clicks. Clients only see what belongs to them.

Automatic Expiration

Set files to expire after 30, 60, or 90 days. This encourages clients to download promptly and keeps your server clean without manual housekeeping. Need to extend access? Just update the date.

Download Tracking

Know exactly when a client downloaded their files — useful for follow-ups, delivery confirmation, and resolving "I never got my photos" disputes.

No Per-Client Fees

ProjectSend is free, open-source software you host on your own server. Whether you have 5 clients or 500, the cost stays the same: just your hosting. A basic VPS at $5–10/month handles most photography studios easily.

Typical Workflow

1. Finish editing a shoot in Lightroom and export final JPEGs
2. Upload the batch to ProjectSend and assign it to the client
3. The client receives an email notification with a login link
4. They log in, preview thumbnails, and download their files
5. You get a log entry confirming the download

What You Need

• A web server with PHP and MySQL (any shared hosting or VPS works)
• Enough storage for your deliveries — most hosts offer 50–100 GB affordably
• 15 minutes to install ProjectSend (no command line needed)

"I switched from a $29/month file sharing service to ProjectSend on a $6 VPS. My clients love the branded portal, and I love keeping that $29."