Photo proofing on Wix: how clients pick favorite photos for editing

By Kayabyte

Full disclosure: we make Client Gallery & Proofing, the Wix app this guide uses as its example.

After a shoot you send proofs (preview photos) to the client. The client chooses the ones they want fully edited or printed. A good proofing step has a limit that matches your package (say 30 photos), a place for notes ("lighten this one"), and a clear moment where the client says "this is my final choice".

Why a normal gallery does not do this

Wix Pro Gallery and other display galleries show photos, they do not collect choices: no limit, no notes, no "send my selection" step. Clients end up sending file numbers by email or message. Wix Photo Albums used to have favorites lists, but it cannot be added to a new site since April 2024 (Wix help). Another route is a password-protected page, which hides the gallery but still gives the client no way to choose.

The workflow with a client gallery app

This is the flow in Client Gallery & Proofing:

1. Upload the proofs into a gallery. They are stored in your own Media Manager as private files.
2. Set the favorites limit for the package, for example 30, and a PIN.
3. Send the link and PIN. The client opens it on a phone or computer, no account needed.
4. The client taps the heart on each photo. A counter shows "12 of 30 chosen", and at the limit the page asks them to remove one to choose another. They can open a photo full screen and write a note.
5. The client sends the selection. A confirm window asks once, because after sending the choices are locked.
6. You see the result in your dashboard: the chosen photos with their notes and comments.
7. Copy the file names and paste them into your editing software's filter or search. "Copy for Lightroom filter" copies the names in one line.
8. If the client wants three more, "Let client change picks" unlocks the selection again.

Tips

• Make the limit generous at first; you can raise it later.
• Use sets (Ceremony, Party) so a client with 400 photos does not scroll one long page.
• Turn on the watermark if you do not want the proofs reused. Free shows a "Preview" overlay; Pro and Studio can burn in your own text or logo.
• Keep downloads off until the client has paid.

Limits

• Favorites are counted for the whole gallery, across everyone who uses the link, not per person.
• The client cannot change the choice after sending until you reopen it.
• It does not sell prints or files yet, and it does not email clients.
• Free is 1 published gallery with 50 photos. Pro is $12 a month ($10 billed yearly) with 25 galleries and 1,500 photos per gallery.

The app is on the Wix App Market. The full guide, with an FAQ, is on kayabyte.dev.