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Client Features

Galleries are not just for looking at photos. They are collaborative spaces where your clients can interact with the work, pick their favorites, and communicate their preferences back to you. The Settings tab in the gallery editor has an Experience section where you control exactly which features are available.

Experience settings​

Allow Collections​

Turn this on, and clients can build a curated list of their favorite photos. This is one of the most powerful features in CoreHue because it turns the gallery into a selection tool.

Allow Submission​

When collections are enabled, this toggle controls whether clients can submit their collection to you. Submitting locks in their picks and sends them to your dashboard for review. If you turn submission off, clients can still build collections for their own reference, but they cannot send them to you.

Lock After Submission​

This toggle is only active when submission is turned on. When enabled, the gallery locks after the client submits their collection. They can still view the gallery, but they cannot modify their picks or create a new collection. This is useful when you want a clean, final selection without back-and-forth changes.

If submission is turned off, this toggle is disabled since there is nothing to lock after.

Allow Downloads​

Controls whether visitors can download photos from the gallery. When off, there are no download buttons anywhere. When on, visitors can download individual photos and, depending on your other settings, entire chapters or the full gallery. You can also control downloads at the chapter level for more granular control.

Download sizes​

When downloads are enabled, you choose which sizes to offer. You always have the option of the Original file (exactly as you uploaded it) plus one Optimized size. The optimized sizes are:

  • High (2400px). Great for high-quality prints and large screen viewing.
  • Standard (1200px). Perfect for social media, blog posts, and everyday sharing.
  • Small (640px). Good for quick sharing, messaging apps, and small screen use.

You pick the combination that makes sense for each gallery. For a wedding, you might offer original plus high. For a quick social media set, maybe just standard.

Download PIN​

A four-digit code that visitors must enter before any download starts. This is separate from the gallery password and gives you an extra layer of control over who actually takes files home. Click Generate to create a PIN, and use the Copy button to grab it. Share the PIN only with the people you want to have download access.

Slideshow​

Turn this on, and visitors get a slideshow button in the gallery. Clicking it launches a full-screen auto-play mode that cycles through the photos at a relaxed pace. It is a beautiful way for clients to experience the gallery, especially on a large screen or when showing photos to family and friends.

Social Sharing​

Enable this, and share buttons appear on the gallery so visitors can post a link to the gallery on social media. A simple way to get your work seen by a wider audience through your clients' networks.

What clients actually experience​

Here is what the gallery feels like from your client's perspective when features are turned on.

The collection panel​

When a client decides to start building a collection, a side panel slides in from the right. This panel shows all the photos they have picked so far, displayed as small thumbnails. They can review their selections, remove photos they have changed their mind about, and add notes to individual photos or the collection as a whole. The panel stays accessible as they browse, so they can keep adding picks without losing their place.

The heart icon​

The heart icon is how clients add photos to their collection. When a client hovers over any photo in the grid, a small heart icon appears in the corner of the image. Clicking it adds the photo to their collection. The heart fills in to show it has been selected. Clicking it again removes the photo from the collection. It is simple, intuitive, and feels natural.

Submitting a collection​

When the client is happy with their picks, they click the submit button in the collection panel. This sends the entire collection, including any notes, to your dashboard. You get a clear view of exactly which photos were chosen and what the client had to say about them. Once submitted, the collection is locked (if you have Lock After Submission enabled) and appears in your Activity tab.

When visitors browse the photo grid, hovering over any image reveals overlay icons. A heart icon for adding to a collection (if collections are enabled) and a download icon (if downloads are enabled). These overlays are subtle and disappear when the cursor moves away, keeping the gallery clean.

Image protection​

CoreHue includes basic protections to discourage casual copying. Right-clicking on images is disabled, and dragging images out of the browser is blocked. These are not bulletproof security measures, but they signal to visitors that the photos are not free to take, and they prevent the most common ways people accidentally save images without permission.