How to Collect Photos From Clients
Collect useful photos from clients with a clear shot list, phone upload instructions and a check for missing views before you start the work.
Product demonstration: Product screenshots use fictional demonstration data; sample requests are illustrative, not measured customer results.
To collect photos from clients, specify the views you need and give them a place to upload the original files. Ask for enough context to understand each image, then check the result before deciding whether another view is needed.
Use a shot list to collect photos from clients
Illustrative request for a property discussion:
Please upload the following to [portal link] for [purpose]:
- One wide view of [room or location].
- A closer view of [specific detail], in focus.
- A view showing how that detail relates to the surrounding area.
Take the photos only from a safe, accessible position. Tell [contact] which view you cannot provide. Wait for each upload to finish before leaving the portal.
Request only images needed for the work. Avoid unrelated people, personal documents or private areas in the frame. An upload timestamp records receipt; it does not prove when or where the photo was taken.
Capture now or choose an existing image
Product demonstration with fictional data. These are browser upload controls; the camera or file picker opens on the client’s device.
Use Choose file for saved images or Take Photo to capture one on a phone. The phone's camera or picker depends on the browser and permissions. If direct capture is unavailable, take the photograph separately, then select the saved file.
Selecting the original image avoids relying on a copy already resized by a chat service. The portal cannot restore detail lost before upload. Droplana is a file-exchange tool, not a photo editor, proofing gallery or evidence-verification service.
Give the client one return location
Droplana gives each client one private, persistent portal for sending documents and receiving files back. Clients do not create accounts or install an app. Strict mode, the default, requires email verification on a new device; a verified browser is remembered for 90 days. A stable portal address is different from a permanent access link, which is available only in Relaxed mode.
Client uploads must be enabled by the business. Explain verification before sending the request; a link does not bypass the selected access setting. The contractor page shows how photos can sit alongside estimates and returned paperwork.
Review missing views and unclear detail
Open the images and compare them with the shot list. Use a per-file comment for a correction: “Please add a wider view so we can see which wall this detail belongs to.” Supplying a file does not prove the requested view is adequate.
Checklist inactivity reminders are on by default and can be disabled by the business: after 7 days of client inactivity with unfulfilled items, the client gets a nudge naming what is missing; after 14 days the business is notified instead. This is one notification at each stage per stall, reset by client activity. Optional item due dates have their own reminder, prepared two days before and on the date. It is not sent once the item is supplied, and it reaches the client with their next email, which can be later that day or the following day. The business or the client can switch it off. These are upload-checklist reminders, not approval chasing or automatic recurring requests.
A checklist can request several views, but it does not automatically sort by location, select a preferred photograph or create a new weekly request.
Check size and retention
Free costs €0 and supports 3 clients, 2 GB total storage, files up to 100 MB and one business owner. Each Free file expires 180 days after upload; the client and portal remain. Solo is €19/month or €190/year plus tax, with unlimited clients, 50 GB total storage, 1 GB files and one business seat. Active paid plans have no plan-imposed retention limit, subject to expiry settings, deletion and cancellation.
Compare plans before collecting large image sets. Do not treat the portal as a long-term photo archive. If the subject is paper rather than a site or object, use the document-photo guide to check page completeness and legibility.
Questions before you start
Can clients take photos directly from the portal?
The portal offers Take Photo and Choose file controls. The available camera or picker depends on the phone, browser and permissions; saved images can also be selected for upload.
Are photo requests covered by automatic reminders?
Photos requested as checklist items can use the fixed inactivity reminders and optional due-date reminders. There is no automatic recurring shot list or photo approval workflow.
Is Droplana a photo proofing gallery?
No. It supports file uploads, downloads, per-file comments and status markers. It does not provide gallery proof selection, image editing or verification of when and where a photo was taken.