Start with the photos you want to deliver, upload them to a gallery and check how a guest will open and download them on a phone. A wedding gallery might follow the ceremony and reception; a race gallery might follow points along the course. Choose a structure your guests will recognize.
Before sending the link, decide who can open it, which files they can download and how long the gallery will stay available.
Prepare the final set
Remove technical failures, near-duplicates, accidental frames, and photographs that should not be shared. Keep a separate master archive if the contract requires it. The public or guest-facing gallery should be a deliberate delivery set.
For multi-part events, group images by a structure guests already know: ceremony and reception, race zones, conference days, stages, teams, or award categories.
Decide public, private, and download rules
Choose whether the gallery is public, unlisted, protected by a code, or available only to invited people. Then decide what each person may download.
Write these choices down:
- Who can open the gallery?
- Can the link be forwarded?
- Are files previews or originals?
- Can guests download one image or a batch?
- Where can a guest report a missing or incorrect image?
- When will the gallery close?
- What remains in the master archive afterward?
Design for a phone first
Use readable labels, large tap targets, stable image dimensions, and a clear loading state. Test on a slower connection. Avoid making guests create an account unless the protection gained is worth the friction.
For very large collections, browsing by page may still be frustrating. A service such as Event Face Finder can add event-scoped guest search while the organizer controls the underlying gallery and downloads.
Gallery launch checklist
- Open the link in a signed-out browser window.
- Test the access code and an incorrect code.
- Check the first screen at phone width.
- Confirm image orientation and color.
- Download each available file type.
- Test the gallery support contact.
- Check the expiry message.
- Send the link to one colleague who did not build it.
Keep the handoff simple
Use one canonical link in email, QR codes, and follow-up messages. If the destination changes, redirect the old route rather than circulating a second competing address.
Before launch, give the final link to someone outside the project and check whether they can open, find, and download a photo without help.
Set up the gallery before you share it
Add your photos, choose what guests can download and open the gallery on your phone before sending the link.
Create an event
