Why Sending ZIP Files Links to Clients Hurts Your Brand as a Pro Photographer

Client photo sharing and proofing are part of the professional photography cycle. While many professional photographers are still sending ZIP files containing photos to clients, this isn’t an ideal way to showcase your stunning work.

This photography guide will explain why you shouldn’t use ZIP files to deliver photos to clients and suggest a streamlined online photo gallery app to showcase and share client photos.

Imagine handing your clients a disorganized pile of photos and leaving them to sift through them, lost and confused. That's essentially what sending a ZIP file does.

As a professional photographer, you want to generate confidence and excitement from the moment your clients see your work. A polished presentation, like a photo gallery, is key to achieving this. But downloading, extracting, and navigating a ZIP file through a basic file manager—or worse, Windows Explorer's preview—creates a disappointing experience that falls far short of that goal.

ZIP files require an extra step: unzipping. Your clients may not be as tech-savvy as you are, and forcing them to download and unzip files could lead to frustration.

With online photo gallery software like picdrop, your clients can view, review, and select photos. Regardless of their technical expertise, clients can simply click a secure link on any device and instantly access their personalized online photo gallery. No app downloads or account sign-ups are required. We’ll discuss more about picdrop later.

ZIP files do not offer image previews, requiring clients to download and open each file individually to check the photos. Now, imagine they have to manually click and inspect hundreds of photos. They can spend hours and hours going through them all.

One of the biggest downsides to sending ZIP files full of photos to clients is the lack of a built-in feedback loop. This means it is difficult for clients to provide direct feedback on the photos. They need to manually jot down the photos they like, write the comments for each image, and send them to you. You’ll respond to the feedback and ask more questions. Clients reply to you, and so on.

This way of photo client feedback is time-consuming and increases the chance of miscommunication. As a result, clients can get frustrated and devalue your photography services.

Time is valuable, and the more you make your clients deal with emails and calls for client feedback and photo approval, the less time you and they have for their other tasks. What's worse, it doesn't contribute to being recognized as a problem solver or someone who is easy to work with at all.

Clients often struggle with file storage and backups. Downloaded ZIP files can easily be lost or accidentally deleted, creating frustration for them and extra work for you.

You want to avoid inconveniencing your clients by forcing them to request replacement files. Instead, position yourself as the photographer who provides exceptional, hassle-free service. Offer them the ability to re-download their photos anytime, even long after their invoice is paid, without needing to ask you for a favor.

Even if you believe that your clients are satisfied with receiving ZIP files and lengthy emails, it is only a matter of time before one of your direct competitors starts utilizing smart tools like picdrop. If one of your clients sees this and becomes accustomed to it, they may prefer the convenience it offers. As we have learned, it is not just the quality of your photography that matters, but also the overall way you conduct your business.

If your competitor offers your clients a tool that saves them time while maintaining the same standard of photography, they are likely to choose them for the next job. Is it really worth risking the loss of a paying client just to save a few bucks on a tool that can actually help both your clients and you save time?

As you can see, sending clients photos using ZIP files is not an effective way to deliver photos to clients and obtain their feedback. So, instead of using ZIP files, adopt picdrop photo-sharing software.

Sending photos via ZIP files creates unnecessary hurdles for client feedback and delivery. That's why picdrop, created by award-winning photographer Andreas Chudowski, is the perfect solution. With his vast experience in photography and client communication, he designed picdrop to help photographers easily share photos, gather feedback, and deliver final images in the most straightforward way.

Here’s how you share photos with clients using picdrop:

1. Upload: simply drag and drop your photos into picdrop. picdrop is suitable for many popular photos and video formats, including JPG, PSD, RAW, and TIFF.

2. Share: once uploaded, copy the secure photo gallery link (add a password for extra security if needed) and send it to your client.

3. Feedback: your client can view the gallery, mark the photos with yes/no/maybe flags, and annotate directly on the photos for detailed edits. For group clients, they can vote on favorites to speed up the photo selection process.

4. Delivery: After the photos have gone through the editing process, easily deliver the final photos to your clients through picdrop again.

Learn more about how picdrop works here.

Your brand represents your commitment to quality, professionalism, and a seamless client experience. Sending photos using ZIP files to clients jeopardizes that promise, introducing frustration, miscommunication, and inefficiency. Elevating your brand and streamlining your workflow is achievable with a professional photo-sharing app like picdrop.

So, before you send another ZIP file, remember there's a better method for delivering photos to clients—one that respects their time, strengthens your brand, and allows you to focus on your artistry. That method is picdrop.

Sign up here to adopt picdrop today!