Glossary
What is proofing in photography.
Proofing in photography is the stage where a client looks at the photos from a shoot before the final files are delivered, to choose favorites or ask for changes. The photos they look at are proofs: smaller copies, usually with a watermark, while the full-size files wait until the client is done.
What a proof is.
A proof used to be a small print or a contact sheet. Now it is a page of photos on a link. It is a copy made for choosing, big enough to judge a face or a crop on a phone, and too small and too marked up to print or post as the real thing.
Some studios proof the whole shoot before editing and then edit the picks. Others edit everything and proof the finished set. Either way, the proofs are not the delivery.
What the client does.
Three things, in this order: picks the photos they love, says what should change on any of them (a stray hair, a crop, a brighter face), and says yes. The clearer each of those is, the fewer emails a round takes.
On a DropYourFiles link.
On a DropYourFiles link, proofs show at 1600 px on the long edge at most, with Review copy in the picture itself. Your client hearts the ones they love, taps a photo to pin a note on the exact spot, and presses Approve. The mark comes off and the full-size files download from the same link. A film from the same job sits on the same page.
Free up to 5 GB. No card.
Questions.
What is an online proofing gallery?
A web page of proofs a client opens from a link, with a way to mark favorites and leave notes. Most studios send one instead of prints.
Are proofs edited?
It depends on the studio. Some show lightly edited picks and fully edit the chosen ones; others edit the whole set first and use proofing for the last changes.
What is soft proofing?
Something else with a similar name. Soft proofing is checking on screen how a photo will look when printed on a given paper and printer, inside editing software. It is about print color, not about a client.
Can a client download proofs?
On DropYourFiles, no file of any size downloads until your client approves. Until then they look, pick and leave notes.
Keep reading.
- Photo proofing your client can do on a phone
- How to get client feedback on photos
- How to stop clients screenshotting proofs
- What is a watermark on a photo
- What is a review link
- Web size vs high resolution
More in the glossary, or see what DropYourFiles does.
Send your client one link for the whole job.
Free up to 5 GB. No card. Your client never makes an account.