Control how guests download photos

Gallery-wide settings

Start in the gallery’s Settings → Downloads:

• Allow downloads is the master switch. With it off, the gallery is view-only.
• Download PIN adds a code that is required for every download: one photo, a handful, a section, or the whole gallery. Looking at the gallery does not need it.

You can include the PIN in the delivery email with one checkbox. Anyone you send a shared set to needs it as well, and it is included in that email too.

Pick which photos clients can download

Open Settings → Downloads → Choose what clients can download. These controls work in both standalone and wedding galleries.

For a whole section: choose Allow downloads or View only beside its name. If you have no sections, click the underlined Create a section link. You can also create one with Add Section in the Photos tab.

For one photo: open Pick which photos can be downloaded and click Allow downloads or View only beside that photo. You do not need to select a checkbox first. Changes save automatically. Search by filename or filter by section to find a photo.

For several photos: click Change several photos, select the photos, then choose the download setting you want for that group.

A photo normally uses its section’s setting. Changing that photo overrides its section. Reset to section setting removes your individual choice; photos outside a section show Reset to default instead. Photos outside a section allow downloads by default. Once you have saved individual choices, these photo controls open automatically next time you visit Downloads.

For example, set Proofs to View only and Finals to Allow downloads. Clients can see both sections, but they can only download the Finals. To let them download one proof too, click Allow downloads beside that photo.

The gallery-wide Allow downloads switch always wins: turning it off blocks all client downloads, including photos you allowed individually. Videos also need Allow video downloads turned on.

View-only photos stay visible and can still be favorited or ordered as prints. Individual saves, selected saves, section ZIPs, full-gallery ZIPs and shared sets include only allowed files. Prepared ZIP links stop working when access settings change; clients can request a new ZIP with the current choices.

These controls cannot take back files already saved or stop someone from capturing a visible preview.

Apply a watermark to this gallery

Open the gallery’s Settings → Watermark. Upload a logo or enter text, choose the position, and adjust the Size and Opacity sliders here. Editing a control creates a design just for this gallery. Turn on Apply watermark. Galleries using studio defaults require the studio’s Watermark available switch; customized designs are independent. Changes save automatically.

This applies to all existing photos and future uploads. The gallery shows a preview and updates its progress as the watermarked downloads are prepared. See Logo, studio name and branding for the full setup.

What guests can download

• One photo at a time, from the photo view.
• Several at once, with Select → Save.
• A whole section. Inside a section tab, the top Download button becomes “Download Ceremony” (or whatever the section is called), with “Entire gallery” one tap away.
• The entire gallery, with Download all.
• A shared set, from the link a vendor received.

Saving to the Photos app

In an individual photo’s Download menu, supported iPhones and iPads show Save to Photos. The guest taps it, waits for the file to prepare, taps Save to Photos again and chooses Save Image in the device’s sharing menu. Shared-set links offer the same action. It uses the original download unless watermark settings require a watermarked copy, and still enforces download permissions and PINs.

Other devices that support sharing files show Save or share photo; destinations depend on the device. Browsers without support keep the normal file-download options, and files that cannot be shared offer Download file instead. A website cannot silently write to a guest’s Photos library. Full-gallery and section ZIPs remain file downloads, which go to Files on iPhone.

See Download your gallery for guest instructions.

Sizes

For single photos and selections, the downloader chooses between:

• High resolution. The original file, for printing.
• Web size. A smaller 2048px copy for posting and texting.

To keep gallery previews watermarked while delivering clean files, open Gallery → Settings → Watermark, leave Apply watermark on and turn Watermark downloads off. Single-photo and selection downloads honor the size chosen above; gallery, section and shared-set ZIPs contain original full-resolution photos.

With Watermark downloads and Apply watermark on and an active gallery design, individual photo downloads and ZIPs use watermarked web-size copies, regardless of the size selected. Original full-resolution files stay untouched. If the current watermark is still being prepared, the guest is asked to try again shortly; a pending watermarked photo is not delivered as an unmarked original.

Existing galleries keep their previous download watermark setting; new galleries default to clean downloads. After changing the setting, clients should request a new download. Previously prepared ZIP links are invalidated; files already saved to a device do not change. Clean downloads do not wait for watermark processing. A watermark baked into the uploaded original cannot be removed by this setting.

Large downloads

Up to 30 photos download straight away. Larger galleries, sections and shared sets are zipped in the background: the guest leaves an email and receives one link when it is ready. The link stays valid for up to 7 days, unless the photographer changes access settings. If it hasn’t arrived within a few minutes, ask them to check their spam or junk folder.

Videos

Videos are never included in a ZIP. They are downloaded from their own tile, and they have a separate Allow video downloads switch. See Add videos to a gallery.

Know when someone downloads

Turn on download notifications in Settings.