DropYourFiles

Blog · October 29, 2026

Frame.io for photographers: what fits and what doesn’t.

“Can I just heart the ones I like?” Your client, scrolling forty selects in a review tool.

Yes, Frame.io works for photos, though it was built for film. It previews almost any still, Canon, Nikon and Sony raw files included, and your client can pin a note or draw on a photo. What it doesn’t have is the gallery side a photographer’s client expects: a heart for favorites, and a page that presents the set.

By Vitaly Kibenko

What Frame.io does well with stills.

  • Raw files and Photoshop

    Frame.io lists CR2, CR3, NEF, ARW, RAF and other raw formats among its supported still formats, with PSD, TIFF, HEIC and JPEG. DNG isn’t on that list, and Frame.io says a type off the list may still work.

  • Notes on the spot

    A reviewer can anchor a comment to a point on a photo and draw an arrow, a line, a box or freehand. On a still, you can show every drawing at once.

  • Sends to Lightroom

    A Frame.io project can send images to Lightroom, by hand or straight from Camera to Cloud. Going back, Frame.io says the files have to be rendered out of Lightroom and uploaded again.

A photographer at a desk on a red rug, seen from behind, with cameras, lenses and prints floating around the screen. The headline reads “Less sending. More shooting.”
Less time sending, more time shooting: the point of any client review tool.

What a photographer misses.

  • Favorites

    There’s no heart. The nearest thing is letting reviewers edit one field on a share, such as a star rating. A Collection, which is a saved search, can then gather the five-star ones.

  • A page that presents the set

    A share lays the files out as a Grid, a List or a Reel that plays one file at a time. It’s built for going through media. Custom branding on a share starts on Pro.

  • No locks on Free

    Turning off downloads on a share, passphrases and expiry dates all start on Pro. Free has 2 GB and two projects.

What it costs a photographer.

Frame.io charges for each member: $15 a month on Pro, with 2 TB plus 2 TB for each extra member, and $25 on Team. Paying yearly takes 13% off. Your clients pay nothing and don’t sign up; they open a share link.

If you already pay for Creative Cloud All Apps, Premiere or After Effects, Frame.io says your free plan grows to 100 GB and five projects. If your work is mostly film cut in those apps, that’s a strong reason to stay. Is Frame.io free has the rest of the plan.

If the job is photos and film.

DropYourFiles puts both on one link. Your client hearts favorites, taps the spot on a photo or the second of a film, and can approve the photos before the film is done. After approval, each photo downloads at full size or as a smaller copy for posting.

Solo is $20 a month with 1 TB and one login, and the notes work the way how to get client feedback on photos describes.

Questions.

Can you use Frame.io for photos?

Yes. It previews most still formats, raw files from Canon, Nikon and Sony included, and reviewers can pin notes and draw on a photo.

Frame.io or Lightroom for client proofing?

They do different jobs. Lightroom is where you edit, and Frame.io is where someone reviews. Frame.io can send images on to Lightroom; finished files come back as a new upload.

Does Frame.io have client favorites?

Not by that name. A share can let reviewers edit one field, such as a rating, and a Collection can gather the five-star images.

Does my client need an account to leave notes?

No. Your client opens the link in any browser and types a name with the first note. There’s nothing to sign up for and no app to install.

Keep reading.

New here? See what DropYourFiles does, or compare the plans.

Sources

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