Delivery

Learning goal

You will be able to deliver edited photos to the client in a way they can open easily, use correctly and store safely. You will compare the pros and cons of email, an online gallery, a shared cloud folder and physical delivery in different situations. According to the client's need you will prepare a delivery set made of separate versions for the internet and for print, name the files clearly and embed color profiles in the files. You will plan the turnaround time according to the date in the contract, send an early preview of a few frames when needed, and write with the delivery a delivery note explaining what was delivered, the usage rights and how long the link will stay open. By passing a reference frame and a color note to the people who will print the photos or use them in design, so that different skin tones look right in print, you will keep the care going in the last link of the process too.

The question

The twelve photos are ready. Your friend tries to send them to the baker by email, and on the first try the files turn out too big to send. They shrink them and try again; this time they go, but when the baker opens them on their phone they all download separately, their names are meaningless numbers, and two days later the brochure designer writes, "These are too small for print."

A week later the baker says they deleted a file from their phone and asks for it again. Your friend realizes that delivery is as much a job as shooting and editing the photos. How are photos delivered to the client? By what route, at what size, when and with what explanation?

Context

In the export lesson you learned to export photos for the internet and for print with different size, compression and sharpening settings (Lesson 17.9). In the color management lesson you saw the role of the profile that says which color space a file works in (Lesson 25.2). In the previous lesson, too, you wrote the delivery date and the files' storage period into the contract (Lesson 28.7).

This lesson takes up the last step in which the work reaches the client. Delivery is the last and often the most remembered moment of the client's experience with the photographer. Photos that are properly named, correctly sized, easy to open and come with a clear note feel like a continuation of the care at the shoot; a messy delivery, on the other hand, can weaken the impression of even a good shoot.

Simple explanation

By what route are photos delivered?

Email is handy for a few small files, but because of size limits, compression and files downloading one by one, it is usually not suitable for delivering a whole job. A shared cloud folder can carry large files, but it is hard for the client to browse, choose and understand which file is for what.

An online gallery is a delivery route in which the photos are displayed in an orderly way on a web page, and the client can browse them, mark the ones they like, download them one by one or all at once, and share them with others if they want. Many photographers, especially in jobs with people, set up the gallery not as public but protected by a password or viewable only by those who know the link. Physical delivery, that is, a memory stick or printed photos, is still meaningful for some clients and adds weight to the delivery as an object; but on its own it isn't a backup. Whichever route is chosen, you need to think about how the client will open the files: if the baker looks from their phone, it matters that the gallery opens comfortably on a phone; if the designer downloads from a computer, that bulk download is easy.

Link expiry is how long an online gallery or a download link will stay open. This period is written in the delivery note and in the contract; the client knows they need to download the files within this period and store them in their own system. Whether a new copy can be requested from the photographer's archive after the period is up depends on the contract's file storage clause.

How is a delivery set prepared?

A delivery set is all the files of a job prepared for the client's different uses. In the baker's case two versions are needed: files for the internet and social media with the long edge reduced, an sRGB profile and light sharpening, and files for the brochure at full resolution, exported with settings suitable for print. The two versions are delivered in separate folders, with folder names that clearly say where they will be used. At weddings or in home portraits this set can often also include a few large files to be printed for the wall and small versions to be shared on a phone. Before delivery every file is opened and checked once: are the colors right, is the tone of the faces as it was in editing, is the number of files the same as written in the quote?

The files are named clearly: the client's name, the date of the job and a sequence number, for example. The color profile is embedded in each file, so that the program or designer opening the file can interpret the colors correctly. Converting the print version to the color system suited to the printer is usually the designer's or the printer's job; if the photographer doesn't do this stage themselves, they pass on as a note which profile the files were prepared with.

This note matters for skin. In a brochure print, especially on cheap paper and in high-speed printing, dark tones can easily close up and a dark-skinned face can lose its detail. The photographer can send the designer or the printer a reference frame, for example a screen proof in which the master's face looks right, and a short note saying they want to see a color proof before printing. Different skin tones appearing in their own color in the brochure too is a care kept up to the last link of the process.

When and with what note is delivery made?

Turnaround time is the period from the shoot until the photos reach the client, written in the contract. This period varies with the type of job and the editing load; what matters is keeping to the promised date and, if possible, delivering a little early. In some jobs, especially if the client is waiting impatiently, sending a preview of a few frames shortly after the shoot both keeps the excitement alive and shows the client the work is going well.

A delivery note is the short piece of writing sent with the delivery that explains what was delivered, which file is for which use, the usage rights, how long the link will stay open, how long the files will be kept in the photographer's archive, and whom to contact if there is a problem. The note is a reference the client can return to even months later, and it heads off questions like "Where am I supposed to put these files?" Asking in a short message a few days after delivery whether everything is fine also makes the job close well; if the client is having a problem you learn it early, and if they are satisfied this is a natural moment to ask for a review or a referral. After delivery all the job's files are moved to the archive together with the quote, the contract and the delivery note.

Visual evidence

Your friend sets up an online gallery and protects it with a password. They open two folders: "Internet and social media" and "Brochure print." In the internet folder they put the files with an sRGB profile and the long edge reduced, and in the brochure folder the full-resolution files; all of them are named with the bakery's name, the shoot date and a sequence number.

In the brochure folder they add a short note for the designer and a reference frame in which the master's face looks right. In the note they write which profile the files were prepared with and state that they want to see a color proof before printing. When the designer sends the proof, the shadows of the master's face have closed up a little; the designer changes the print setting and in the new proof the texture of the face comes back.

They put the delivery note at the gallery's entrance: twelve photos, two folders for two uses, one year of internet and brochure use, the gallery staying open for three months, the files being kept in the archive for two years and the number to call if there is a problem. When the baker loses a file again a week later, this time they download it from the gallery themselves.

Common mistakes

Summary

Photos are delivered through an online gallery that the client can easily browse and download from, protected by a password if needed, as a delivery set made of separate versions for the internet and print according to the place of use, clearly named and with the color profile embedded. Delivery is made keeping to the period in the contract, with an early preview if needed, and completed with a delivery note explaining what was delivered, the usage rights, the link period and the archive period; for files going to print, a reference frame and a color proof are requested so that different skin tones stay in their own color in print too.

Mini assignment

In this assignment you will prepare a complete delivery for a job.

1. Export two separate versions, for the internet and for print, from five to ten photos you edited; name the files with the client's name, date and sequence number, and embed the color profile.
2. Set up an online gallery or shared folder you can use; put the two versions in separate folders and restrict access so that only the client can see it.
3. Write a delivery note: what was delivered, which folder is for which use, the usage rights, how long the link stays open, the archive period and contact information.
4. For a frame going to print, prepare a reference frame in which faces of different skin tones, if any, look right, and a short note asking the designer or printer for a color proof.

Check yourself

• Does your delivery set meet all of the client's uses?
• Is your delivery note enough for the client to use the files without asking you again?
• Did you take a step so that skin tones look right in the print process?

Glossary

Mini quiz

1. If a brochure designer says the files are too small for print, what is the problem?

• A) The color profile was embedded
• B) Only a version reduced for the internet was sent
• C) The gallery is password-protected
• D) The delivery note is long

2. What is one advantage of an online gallery?

• A) The client being able to browse the photos, mark the ones they like and download them easily
• B) It never closing
• C) It making a color profile unnecessary
• D) It printing the files automatically

3. Which of the following should be in a delivery note?

• A) The serial number of the camera used at the shoot
• B) The name of the editing program
• C) How long the link will stay open
• D) A list of the photographer's other clients

4. What can the photographer do to prevent the shadows of a dark-skinned face from closing up in a brochure print?

• A) Lightening the face a lot in editing
• B) Sending the designer a reference frame and asking for a color proof
• C) Removing the face from the brochure
• D) They can't do anything

Answers

1. B — Files reduced for the internet aren't enough for print; a separate print version is needed in the delivery set.
2. A — A gallery makes it easier for the client to see, choose and download the files in an orderly way.
3. C — The client should know they need to download the files and store them in their own system within this period.
4. B — A reference frame and a color proof show before printing whether the print settings carry skin tones correctly.

Summary card

• Email is for small files; deliver the job with a gallery.
• Separate versions for internet and print; clear names; embedded profile.
• Keep to the promised date; send an early preview if needed.
• Delivery note: what, where, for how long, whom to ask.
• A reference frame and color proof for print; every skin tone in its own color.

Bridge to the next lesson

The bakery job is finished, and when your friend looks back they see where the work faltered: they forgot for two days to transfer the cards to the computer, made the backup on a single disk, didn't cull before starting to edit, and named the archive folders differently for every job. Everything had gone fine, but partly by luck. For the next job they want every step to move forward in the same order and without getting lost. How does the work flow from shoot to delivery? The next lesson takes up the professional workflow stretching from preparation to archive.