How to let clients proof and choose photos online

Most photographers and creative teams have settled into a workflow that works well enough: shoot, edit selects, upload to a proofing platform, send a link, wait. The client downloads everything, marks favourites in a spreadsheet or replies with filenames in an email, and the cycle repeats until final delivery. It functions, but each round adds friction. Files get scattered. Feedback gets buried. Version control becomes a matter of trust.

Fabric approaches this differently. Rather than treating proofing as a standalone step bolted onto a separate storage platform, it folds client review into the same environment where your files already live. Your photos sit in Fabric's cloud drive, an infinite-capacity vault with zero local storage requirements, and when a client needs to review a set, you publish a space directly from that library. No re-uploading. No syncing. No duplicating folders across services.

This guide walks through how to set up client-facing photo proofing in Fabric, from organising galleries to collecting precise feedback to delivering final selects.

Start with how you organise your library

Before any client sees a single image, the underlying structure matters. Fabric lets you organise files into nested spaces (think of them as folders with more capability). A common pattern for photographers is to create a top-level space per client, then nest project spaces within it: one for the raw selects, one for retouched finals, one for the proofing gallery the client will see.

Because Fabric functions as a media asset management platform, your entire photo library lives in one place. There is no separate archive, no cold storage tier to manage, no local hard drives to keep plugged in. Every image is searchable, taggable, and accessible from any device. Fabric's search and similar search features work across your full library, so finding a specific shot from a session months ago takes seconds rather than an afternoon of folder archaeology.

For photographers managing high volumes (wedding photographers with thousands of images per event, product photographers with seasonal catalogues, editorial teams with ongoing assignments), this persistent, centralised library becomes the foundation that every other workflow builds on.

Publishing a proofing gallery

When your selects are ready for client review, you publish a space. Publishing creates a shareable link to a curated view of your chosen images. The client sees a clean gallery: no Fabric interface clutter, no visible folder structures, just the photos you want them to review.

You control what the published space contains. Drop in the images you want reviewed, arrange them in the order that makes sense for the project, and publish. If you later add or remove images from that space, the published link reflects the changes. There is no need to generate a new link or re-send anything.

This is worth pausing on, because it addresses one of the persistent headaches of client proofing: version management. When a client bookmarks your proofing link, it always shows the current state of the gallery. You can move from first selects to revised selects to finals without ever sending a second email.

Controlling access with password protection

Client work is confidential by default. A wedding photographer's proofing gallery, a brand's unreleased campaign imagery, an agency's pitch visuals: none of these should be accessible to anyone who stumbles on the link.

Fabric's password protection lets you lock any published space behind a password. Share the link in one message, the password in another, and only people with both can view the gallery. This sits on top of Fabric's broader privacy and security infrastructure: AES-256 encryption at rest and in transit, CASA Tier 2 certification, and a firm policy that your data is never used for AI training. For photographers handling sensitive client work, these are contractual requirements that Fabric meets out of the box.

You can also set up more structured access through a client portal, where each client gets their own gated area with multiple spaces inside it. This works well for ongoing relationships: a studio that shoots quarterly campaigns for the same brand, for instance, or an agency managing visual assets for several clients at once.

How clients give feedback: annotations and comments

Here is where the workflow diverges from the usual email-and-spreadsheet approach. When a client opens your published proofing gallery, they can leave annotations directly on the images. They can draw on a photo to circle a specific element, drop a pin on an area that needs retouching, or leave a written comment anchored to a precise spot in the image.

This specificity matters. "Can you brighten the background?" means different things depending on which part of the background. "Crop tighter" is ambiguous. A drawn rectangle showing exactly where the crop should fall is not. Annotations remove the interpretation layer that slows down revision cycles.

Fabric's collaboration features extend this further. Comments are threaded, so a conversation about a specific retouching note stays attached to that note rather than fragmenting across emails. Team members can @mention each other to bring in a retoucher or art director. And because these are real-time, multiple stakeholders can review simultaneously. A creative director and a marketing lead can both be in the gallery at the same time, leaving feedback that the photographer sees as it arrives.

The key detail for client-facing work: reviewers do not need a Fabric account. Shareable links work without requiring sign-up. Your client opens the link, enters the password if you have set one, and starts reviewing. No app to install, no account to create, no onboarding friction.

Tracking engagement with link analytics

Sending a proofing link and hearing nothing back is a familiar experience. Did the client open it? Did they look at every image or stop after the first twenty? Are they waiting on someone else before responding?

Fabric's link analytics answer these questions. You can see when a published space was accessed, how many times, and how viewers engaged with the content. This is useful operationally (if a client said they would review by Friday and analytics show they have not opened the link, a gentle nudge is in order) and it is useful structurally, because it helps you understand how clients interact with large galleries. If engagement drops off after image fifty, that might inform how many selects you present in the first round.

For agencies managing multiple client relationships, this visibility across all published spaces provides a clear picture of where things stand without chasing each client individually.

Using Fabric's AI for photo workflows

Fabric includes an AI assistant that works across your entire library. For photo proofing workflows, this means you can ask the assistant to help with tasks like identifying similar compositions across a shoot, surfacing images that match specific criteria, or summarising the feedback a client has left across a gallery.

But the more distinctive capability is what happens beyond Fabric's own interface. Fabric acts as a persistent memory and context layer, a vault that your AI tools can access securely. Through MCP integration, you can connect your Fabric library to tools like ChatGPT or Claude and work with your photos and client feedback from within those environments. Need to draft a response to client notes? Your AI assistant can pull the annotation history from Fabric and help you compose a reply with full context.

Agent access takes this further. You can grant scoped, time-limited access to AI agents that need to work with your files: an automated workflow that processes client selections, for instance, or a reporting agent that compiles proofing statistics across projects. The access is granular: you define what the agent can see, what it can do, and when the access expires.

Fabric's self-writing documentation feature can also serve photo teams well. As projects progress (selects made, feedback collected, revisions delivered), Fabric can maintain a living wiki that captures the current state of each project. For studios juggling multiple shoots, this running documentation means no one has to ask "where are we with the Henderson campaign?" because the answer is already written and up to date.

Setting up a proofing workflow step by step

A practical sequence for photographers new to Fabric:

Create a space for the project in your Fabric cloud drive. Name it clearly: the client name and project title work well. Upload or move your selects into this space. Fabric's infinite cloud storage means you do not need to worry about file size limits or storage tiers; upload at full resolution.

Arrange the images in your preferred order. If the shoot has distinct sections (details, portraits, venue, candids), you might create sub-spaces within the project space to group them logically.

Publish the space. Set a password if the content is sensitive. Copy the link and send it to your client along with any context they need: how many images to select, what kind of feedback you are looking for, and any timeline for the review.

As the client reviews, monitor engagement through link analytics and check for new annotations. When feedback arrives, respond in the threaded comments to keep the conversation organised. Make your revisions, update the images in the space, and the published gallery reflects the changes automatically.

For studios and agencies handling this at scale, the client portal approach adds a layer of structure. Each client gets a persistent entry point, and all their projects, past and present, live in one navigable area. This is covered in more detail in the guide on working with clients in Fabric.

Why this works better than dedicated proofing tools

Dedicated proofing platforms solve a single problem: getting client feedback on images. They do this adequately. But they also create a fragmented workflow. Your files live in one place, your proofing lives in another, your storage lives in a third. Each platform has its own login, its own pricing, its own limitations.

Fabric consolidates these layers. Your cloud storage, your proofing galleries, your client portals, your AI-assisted workflows, and your team collaboration all operate within a single, encrypted vault. The photos a client reviews in a proofing gallery are the same files your retoucher accesses for editing, the same files your AI agent analyses for a quarterly report, and the same files that will sit in your archive five years from now.

For photographers and creative teams who have felt the drag of managing five platforms to do one job, this consolidation is where the practical value lies. Not in any single feature, but in the fact that proofing, storage, collaboration, security, and AI access all share the same foundation.

Frequently asked questions

Do clients need a Fabric account to review photos?

No. Published spaces with shareable links work without requiring sign-up. Clients open the link, enter the password if one is set, and begin reviewing. They can leave annotations and comments without creating an account.

Can I control which photos a client sees?

Yes. You choose which images go into the published space. Clients see only what you place in that gallery, not your broader library or folder structure. You can add or remove images at any time, and the published link updates to reflect the current contents.

What file formats does Fabric support for photos?

Fabric handles standard image formats including JPEG, PNG, TIFF, and common RAW formats. As a media asset management platform, it is built to work with high-resolution files at full quality without compression or conversion on upload.

How does password protection work?

When you publish a space, you can set a password that visitors must enter before viewing the contents. The password is separate from the link itself, so you can share them through different channels for added security. All content is protected by AES-256 encryption.

Can multiple clients or stakeholders review at the same time?

Yes. Fabric's collaboration features support real-time access. Multiple reviewers can be in the gallery simultaneously, each leaving their own annotations and comments. Threaded conversations keep feedback from different stakeholders distinct and organised.

How do annotations work on photos?

Reviewers can draw directly on images to highlight specific areas, drop pins to mark points of interest, and leave written comments anchored to precise locations. This removes the ambiguity of text-only feedback and speeds up revision cycles.

Can I use Fabric with AI tools like ChatGPT or Claude?

Yes. Through MCP integration and agent access, you can connect your Fabric vault to external AI tools. This allows you to work with your photos, client feedback, and project context from within those environments, with scoped and time-limited access controls.

Is my client's work kept private and secure?

Fabric uses AES-256 encryption, holds CASA Tier 2 certification, and does not use your data for AI training. Published spaces can be password-protected, and you retain full control over who can access what. These measures meet the confidentiality requirements common in commercial photography contracts.

Can I track whether a client has viewed the proofing gallery?

Yes. Link analytics show when a published space was accessed, how many times, and how viewers engaged with the content. This helps you follow up at the right time and understand how clients interact with large galleries.

How does Fabric compare to dedicated photo proofing tools?

Dedicated proofing tools handle one step of the workflow. Fabric integrates proofing with cloud storage, media asset management, client portals, AI assistance, and team collaboration in a single encrypted platform. This reduces the number of services to manage and keeps all project files and feedback in one place.

Related pages

• Publishing and sharing spaces

• How to set up a client portal

• Working with clients in Fabric

• How to organise a photo library

• Digital asset management for agencies

• Fabric for photographers

• Privacy and security

• MCP integration

• Agent access