How to use/share/download/print your wedding gallery, and other helpful tips

“Can we share the gallery?”

Of course, I’d love for everyone to enjoy them! If you’ve already shared the preview link they’ll be sent an invite automatically when the full gallery opens up for them. That’s usually a couple of days after you which gives you time to enjoy everything yourselves first, and perhaps hide any photos you want to keep private.

If you’ve not shared it yet, just send out the special ‘Friends & Family’ link that’s included in your own gallery invite email. People with this link won’t be able to see photos you’ve hidden, so they only see what you want them to.

TOP TIP: always send the family & friends link from your gallery invite email – don’t copy and paste the URL from your browser window as that won’t allow guests to log in, for security reasons.

“Can we share some on Instagram?”

Absolutely, whatever social media you’re into is fine by me, they’re yours to share (or not). If you do share I just have ask a couple of favours:

• First, please don’t alter the photos, such as with a filter or making it B&W if it was colour.
• And also, please can you give @owenbphoto a mention in the caption – thank you so much! A lot of lovely couples like you look for their wedding photographer on Instagram so a credit helps them find me and I REALLY appreciate it.

TOP TIP: Instagram loves to crop things square but they look much better full width! When you select an image to post if it’s cropped just tap the button that looks like two opposing arrow-heads and it’ll zoom the photo out to full size. It’ll still crop vertical photos a wee bit but that’s fine. Oh and this won’t work if there’s photos of different ‘shapes’ in a carousel post, such as a mix horizontal and vertical photos.

“Can we send photos to our florist, hair & makeup, venue, etc?”

I’m very happy to share photos with them for their social media etc, but for boring copyright reasons please don’t send any photos yourself.

This is just because I need to know who’s using which images. So I’m happy to send them a link to check out the photos and pick a few which I’ll send them, along with a usage license for their social media and website. I’ve also got this page on my website explaining how they’re allowed to use them:

• owenbweddings.com/share-the-love/

“What’s the best way to enjoy the gallery?”

It works on pretty much everything from iPhones to desktops, but you’ll get the best view on a larger screen so the photos flow in a grid instead of stacking up in a big column.

You can click the double arrowhead button on horizontal images in the main view to enlarge them within the grid – give it a try!

If you feel like you’re ‘missing’ images scrolling through the main gallery view, click on an image to ‘focus’ it and then click Play at the top. It’ll present each photo in chronological order so you can just let the whole day wash over you…

“Can we keep some images private?”

Yes, just login with your Client Account and click the ‘eye’ button on any images you want to keep private. You’ll still be able to see them, and they’ll be included in your digital archive, but nobody else will see them in the gallery unless they log in with your Client Account too.

“How long is the gallery online for?”

Your gallery will stay online for a minimum of six months. Then if you’re enjoying having your photos available online to view whenever you like you can purchase an annual extension directly from the gallery. If for some reason that option isn’t available in the gallery just get in touch and we can arrange it for you ourselves.

“How do we download the photos?”

You can download photos individually by clicking the download button on each one; or you can select a bunch of favourites, go to the Favourites tab in the navigation bar and download all of those together from that screen; or you can download everything at once using the Download button in the navigation bar on the main gallery screen.

You can download in ‘high resolution’ (the maximum size for archiving and printing) or ‘web size’ (a smaller size for emailing and social media).

If you can’t see the download button anywhere then it may either be due to an outstanding balance on your invoice, or a case of turning it off and on again at my end. Get in touch and we’ll get it sorted for you.

TOP TIP: download everything all at once as soon as possible, and ideally keep two copies – one on your computer, and one on an external hard drive or in a cloud backup service. Please note, we don’t guarantee availability of replacements after we’ve delivered the gallery, so please take care of your digital files!

“Can we see everything you didn’t include?”

You can trust me to pick the best photos to tell the story. I include everything that’s good, captures a unique moment, and helps tell the story of the day, and I don’t set limits – if I love the photo, and sometimes even if I don’t but it adds to the story, it’s in the gallery. I reject photos that are duplicates, technically faulty (shaky, blurry), ugly (bad angle, blinking, chewing), or don’t add anything to the story. Going through the rejects probably won’t be as fun or as interesting as you might think!

Of course, if you’re absolutely certain you want to trawl through thousands and thousands of mostly identical or just plain rubbish photos, and if I’ve not already deleted them, there’s a couple of paid options available to either view the unprocessed rejects online or receive the unedited raw files on a hard drive you supply.

“What if there’s no download button, and a watermark on the images?”

This can happen if the system sees an outstanding balance on the account. If it’s appearing in error let me know and I can get it fixed manually.

“What happens about the album we ordered from you?”

Ahhh this is by far the best bit of getting your photos back! Once it’s in your hands you’re gonna LOVE IT.

If you’ve ordered one of my custom-designed lay-flat albums (either a handmade Heirloom album, or a Premium Leatherette Photobook) I’ll get in touch in a week or two with all the details about how to choose photos, how many photos to choose, how to upgrade your album, and how the design process works. So for now just relax and enjoy your gallery!

“How long is the gallery online for?”

Your gallery will stay online for a minimum of six months. Then if you’re enjoying having your photos available online to view whenever you like you can purchase an annual extension directly from the gallery. If for some reason that option isn’t available in the gallery just get in touch and we can arrange it for you ourselves.

“Should we start designing our album in the gallery?”

No, the hard-cover album available to order in the gallery is NOT the same as the one you’ve ordered from me. Please do not spend any time designing an album in the gallery unless you’re ordering it for a friend.

For your custom-designed album all you need to do is select the photos you want, and I’ll send you an email about that shortly.

The album you can design in the gallery shop is a simple traditional photobook, with thin floppy pages that are bound in the centre. You design it yourself slotting photos into a few very limited templates. It’s great for friends and family, but for your main album you get a better experience with my custom-designed books, which use much thicker paper and open completely flat for stunning double page spreads. Plus you don’t have to lift a finger to design it. To order a custom-designed album just send me an email.

Please don’t spend any time starting a design in the gallery, my design will be completely different. 

“When do you need our album selection by?”

Ideally as soon as possible after you start choosing, while you’re still the most excited about them. If you leave it too long it can start to seem like a chore you’ve got to get done, and you shouldn’t ever feel that way about your wedding photos!

Of course, sometimes life gets in the way and that’s totally understandable.

But, bear in mind that my album suppliers put prices up annually, and many albums are paid for up to a year in advance. If my album prices have gone up since your initial order I reserve the right to charge the difference if it’s taken longer than two months to receive your initial selection or to receive feedback on any album draft.

“Can we still get an album if we didn’t order one already?”

Yes, you can order your album any time. Just get in touch by email and we’ll take it from there. If you know what kind of album you’d like (handmade Heirloom album or Premium Leatherette Photobook) let me know and I’ll send an invoice for the basic spec, 10×10 with fifteen spreads. It’s fine to add more spreads later once you’ve chosen the photos, and any other upgrades you might want.