--- title: Galleries description: Create galleries, share photos with clients, and let them save favourites and download photos. section: Core workflows order: 11 --- # Galleries Share finished photos with your clients and let them save favourites and download their photos. You can create a gallery on its own or link it to a project or booking. ## Create or link a gallery 1. Open **Galleries** from the main sidebar and choose **Create gallery**. 2. Enter a **Gallery name**. 3. Optionally select the project or booking it belongs to. 4. Choose **Create gallery**. The gallery starts unpublished, so you can prepare it before clients see it. You can also start from a project, booking, or job in Fulfillment. Choose **Add gallery** or **Manage galleries**, then use **LYGHTBOX Gallery** to select an existing gallery or **Create new gallery**. Choose **Link gallery** to attach an existing one. If your photos are hosted elsewhere, use **Gallery from another site** to save their link. The link stays with the job, and the photos stay on the other site. To change a gallery's project or booking later, open **Sharing → People → Linked project or booking**. Choose **Change link** or **Link project or booking**, then **Save link**. Changing or removing this link also changes the main contact's gallery access. Linking a gallery that belongs to another job moves it to the selected job. ## Add photos Choose how to add your photos: | Method | How to start | | ----------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Browser | In **Photos**, choose **Upload photos**, select a scene or **No scene**, and choose your JPEG files. Inside a scene, use **Upload to this scene**. | | LYGHTBOX Uploader | Install the Mac app, then use **Open uploader** from your gallery. Follow the [Uploader guide](/docs/uploader) for connection and upload steps. | | Lightroom Classic | Install the LYGHTBOX plugin and Uploader, then upload photos from Lightroom. Follow the [Lightroom guide](/docs/lightroom) for setup. | The desktop downloads are also available in **Settings → Galleries → Connections**. The uploader requires macOS 13 or later on a Mac with Apple silicon. Keep it open while publishing from Lightroom. Wait for the upload to finish and check that the photos appear in your gallery before sharing it. Browser uploads accept JPEG photos; export other formats as JPEG first. ## Organize photos into scenes Scenes divide a gallery into sections, such as Getting ready, Ceremony, and Portraits. In **Photos**, choose **Scenes**, enter a **New scene** name, and choose **Add scene**. Rename scenes there, or drag them into order. Arrow buttons offer another way to reorder them. Upload directly into a scene, drag photos between scenes, or select photos and choose **Move to scene**. Photos without a scene appear under **No scene**. Open a scene with **View all** to work with its photos, and use **Load more photos** when available. Open the menu on a photo to choose **Set as cover**, **Replace photo**, or **Move to scene**. Deleting a photo also removes it from everyone's favourites. A scene must be empty before it can be removed. ## Choose the design and download options Open **Design** to change the gallery name, cover style, font, and cover date. A linked gallery can use its event date. Choose **Save changes**, then **Preview gallery** to see how it looks. Turn on **Watermark previews with your logo** if you want watermarked previews. Add your studio logo first if prompted. Clients cannot download photos while watermarking is on. In the gallery's **Settings** tab, choose which downloads to offer: - **Web-size downloads:** smaller photos for sharing online. - **Full-resolution downloads:** the uploaded original files for printing and keeping. Choose **Save changes** after adjusting them. If watermarking is on, these choices take effect when you turn it off in **Design**. The **Show on account portfolio** setting controls whether the gallery appears on your account's gallery page. It does not make a private gallery public; only people with access can see it. ## Set access and invite guests Open **Sharing** and choose **Who can view**: - **Main contact and guests:** viewers sign in with their invited email address. - **Anyone with the link:** people can view photos without signing in. Set **Link expiry** if access should end on a particular date. The gallery remains available until the end of that day in your account's timezone. Leave it blank if you do not want an expiry date. Choose **Save access**. Under **People**, check the main contact from the gallery's project or booking. Make sure they have an email address and can access the client portal. For other viewers, enter a name and email under **Guests**, then choose **Add guest**. Adding a guest does not send an email. After publishing the gallery, select the people you want to invite under **Email invitations**, write your message, and choose **Send invitations**. You can invite up to 50 people at a time. For a private gallery, clients choose **Sign in to view**, enter the invited email address, and select **Send code**. They enter the emailed code and choose **Sign in**. They do not need a studio team account. Removing someone from **Guests** removes the access you gave them as a guest. Anyone can still view a gallery set to **Anyone with the link**. ## Publish and share Review your photos, access, expiry, and download settings, then choose **Publish gallery**. Publishing follows your preferences in **Settings → Galleries → Publishing**: - **Ask before sending invitations** lets you decide whether to email clients when publishing. - **Send invitations automatically** sends invitations to the main contact and gallery guests when you publish. You can set a default invitation message there too. Publishing lets the people you chose view the gallery. Mark the project or booking delivered separately in Fulfillment. In **Sharing**, choose **Copy link** to share the gallery address. **Change link address** lets you customize it. Publish before sending the link to clients. Choose **Unpublish** to stop client access while keeping your photos and favourites. You must unpublish before using **Delete gallery** in the gallery's Settings. Deleting permanently removes the gallery, its photos, and favourites. ## Review favourites and download photos Clients use the heart on a photo to save a favourite, then open **Favourites** to review their choices. Without signing in, their choices stay in that browser. Signing in keeps favourites across devices and lets you review their selections. In your gallery's **Photos** tab, use the **Favourites** filter to choose a person and review their saved photos. When downloads are enabled, clients can download a photo, selected photos, a scene, their favourites, or the gallery. They choose from the sizes you allow. Full resolution means the file you uploaded to LYGHTBOX, including the export size you chose in Lightroom. A single photo downloads right away. For several photos, LYGHTBOX emails a download link when they are ready. Viewers who are not signed in enter the email address that should receive it. Large downloads may be split into parts. Download each part to save all the photos. ## Troubleshooting - **A client cannot open the gallery:** check that it is published and has not expired. For a private gallery, ask them to sign in with the email address listed under **People**. Make sure the main contact can access the client portal, or add the client as a guest. - **A guest did not receive an invitation:** adding a guest alone sends no email. Select them under **Email invitations** and send after publishing. - **Downloads are missing:** turn off watermarking in **Design** and choose the photo sizes clients can download in **Settings**. Save both changes. - **A download link no longer works:** open the gallery and choose your photos to download again. - **Client favourites are missing:** ask the client to sign in with the same email they used before. Choices saved without signing in remain in the browser where they were made. - **A photo did not upload:** check that it is a JPEG and look in the gallery before trying again. Use the [Uploader troubleshooting steps](/docs/uploader) for desktop uploads. - **A gallery is missing from your list:** clear the search, **Status**, and **Privacy** filters and check you are in the correct studio account. ## Related guides - Install and connect [LYGHTBOX Uploader](/docs/uploader). - Publish photos with the [Lightroom Classic plugin](/docs/lightroom). - Keep client work together in [projects](/docs/projects) and [bookings](/docs/bookings). - Manage editing and delivery in [Fulfillment](/docs/fulfillment).