How to see who viewed a photo gallery you shared

A wedding photographer delivers the gallery to the couple, then sends the same set to both sets of parents, the planner and the venue. A property photographer sends listing photos to the agent and the seller. An events team shares conference photos with sponsors. Weeks later, someone asks whether the gallery was ever opened, and the only evidence available is who happened to reply.

This guide covers the usual ways people share galleries and check whether they’ve been seen, what each gives you, and how to publish a folder of photos from Fabric as a gallery page with a separate named link for each recipient, so the visits on each link show who has looked.

How photographers usually share galleries

Dedicated client gallery platforms such as Pixieset, Pic-Time and ShootProof are built for this and are widely used by working photographers. They offer branded galleries, favorites, print sales and their own activity reporting. They also mean another subscription and another copy of every shoot, kept apart from the rest of your files and client paperwork.

Shared albums in Google Photos or iCloud are quick for personal and family events. They look good on phones, and most people already know how to open them. Knowing whether a particular person has looked through the album mostly comes down to whether they mention it.

A shared Dropbox or Google Drive folder suits full-resolution delivery, since recipients can download everything at once. It presents photos as a file list rather than a gallery, and a single link sent to several people pools all their activity together. Transfer services like WeTransfer can confirm a download, then the link expires and the gallery is gone.

Step 1: Put the photos in one folder

Create a folder for the shoot (Hart wedding, final selects) and add the finished images. The Fabric desktop app mounts Fabric as a drive, so you can export from Lightroom or Capture One straight into the folder; the files stream when opened and take no space on your computer. You can also drag photos into the web app or click Upload a file, which handles large numbers of files at once.

Fabric reads what’s in each photo, any text in it, and its colors, so you can find a shot later by describing it or with a color search. Photo storage and organization covers keeping a growing archive of shoots in order.

Step 2: Publish the folder with a link for each person

Click Share, open the Publish tab and click Create link. A folder publishes as a web page, which is what the recipient sees when they open the link. Name the link after its recipient, for example Couple, Hart wedding, then turn on collect engagement analytics. Repeat for each person or group. Publishing supports as many links to the same folder as you need, each with its own settings.

Analytics record visits to each link and don’t identify the visitor, so the separate names are what let you say the couple has opened the gallery and the venue hasn’t. How to turn a folder into a website goes further into published folder pages.

Step 3: Set downloads and privacy per link

Because every link has its own settings, the couple’s link can allow downloads of the full-resolution files, while the venue’s link is view-only for a few chosen images in a separate folder. Turn off allow indexing by search engines for private events, and turn off allow visitors to copy it to their Fabric unless you want recipients keeping a workspace copy.

For private galleries, add a password on Pro or Team. Right-click the folder, choose Add password protection and enter a password. It covers photos you add to the folder later, such as a late batch of edits. Password protection has no reset, so store the password before sending it.

On Pro, you can publish galleries on your own domain so links carry your studio’s name. How to share files on your own domain explains the DNS steps.

Step 4: Check who has viewed the gallery

With analytics on (Pro and Team), each link has its own chart of traffic over time, plus the date of each visit and the location and device of each visitor. Link analytics let you compare all the links on a gallery at once.

A couple’s link with a burst of visits on a Sunday evening, from two phones and a laptop, usually means the gallery is being shown around the family. A parent’s link with no visits after a fortnight might mean the email went to an old address. Both are worth a short message. If you shoot for the same client several times a year, keep naming each gallery’s links the same way, so the history across shoots reads clearly when you look back.

Step 5: Use a shared link when you need selections

Published galleries are view-only and don’t take comments. When a client has to choose favorites or request retouching, share the folder with them as a commenter. They can comment on the photos they want, or draw on an image and attach a comment, and you mark each comment completed when it’s handled. This is a workflow built from sharing and comments; how to let clients proof and choose photos online walks through it.

Frequently asked questions

Can I see if a client opened their photo gallery?

Yes, if you give them their own link with collect engagement analytics on. Visits to that link show the date, location and device. Link analytics are on Pro and Team.

Can I send one gallery to several people and track each of them?

Yes. Create a separate publish link for each person from the same folder. Each link keeps its own visit record.

Do guests need an account to view the gallery?

No. Published galleries open in a browser.

Can I let the couple download photos but not other guests?

Yes. Turn on allow downloads for the couple’s link and leave it off for others.

Can clients pick favorites from a published gallery?

Published links are view-only. For selections, share the folder with commenter permission so the client can comment on or draw on the photos they want.

Will the gallery update if I add more photos?

Yes. Changes to the source folder in Fabric update the published page, and a folder password covers photos added later.

Can I put a password on a photo gallery?

Yes, on Pro and Team. Visitors enter the password and keep access for 6 hours.

Is gallery publishing free?

Publishing, including the download option, is on every plan. Analytics, passwords and custom domains need a paid plan; see pricing.