How to Deliver Client Galleries and Maintain Your Portfolio from One Platform

If you deliver galleries through one tool and maintain your portfolio through another, you're doing the same work twice.

You export photos. You upload to your gallery platform for the client. Then you log into Squarespace, select the portfolio images again, and upload them separately — with separate captions, in a separately maintained order, updated at a separately scheduled time.

It's not that either tool is broken. It's that they don't know each other exists.

---

The Dual-Tool Problem

The typical photographer setup looks like this:

• Gallery delivery: Pixieset, Picdrop, Google Drive, or similar
• Portfolio website: Squarespace, Format, Wix, or similar

These tools were built for different purposes by different companies. There's no native connection between them. Every new portfolio update requires you to:

1. Decide which gallery images to feature
2. Export those images (again, if they were already exported for the client)
3. Log into your portfolio platform
4. Create or update a portfolio gallery
5. Upload images
6. Write a description
7. Arrange order
8. Publish

For every shoot you deliver. Forever.

The frustrating part isn't any single one of these steps. It's the cumulative overhead across every delivery you make for the rest of your career.

---

What One Platform Delivering Both Looks Like

The alternative: a platform where your delivered galleries automatically populate your portfolio.

Here's the Lumeny model:

1. You create a gallery for your client (same as any other platform)
2. You deliver the gallery — share the link and PIN with your client
3. That same gallery appears in your Lumeny portfolio automatically

No second upload. No second platform. No separate portfolio session.

Your portfolio is always current because it's the same system as your delivery. The two things are no longer separate workflows — they're the same workflow.

---

The Curation Question

A common objection: "But I don't want every client gallery in my portfolio."

Fair. Not every shoot belongs in your public portfolio — some are private by client preference, some are test shoots or personal projects, some just aren't portfolio-level work.

Lumeny handles this with visibility settings:

• Client + Portfolio: the gallery is delivered to the client and appears in your public portfolio
• Client only: the gallery is delivered but doesn't appear in your portfolio (for private or one-off shoots)
• Portfolio only: appears in your portfolio but has no client-facing delivery link (for personal projects)

You control which galleries appear publicly, without the overhead of maintaining a separate portfolio website.

---

The Time Calculation

Let's be specific about what this saves:

With two tools:

• Gallery delivery: 20 min
• Portfolio update: 30–45 min
• Total: 50–65 min per shoot (delivery side)

With one platform:

• Gallery delivery (with automatic portfolio): 20 min
• Portfolio update: 0 min
• Total: 20 min per shoot

For a photographer delivering 24 shoots per year, that's 10–11 hours saved annually. Just from removing the redundant step.

---

Migrating From Two Tools to One

If you're currently running Squarespace + a gallery platform, here's the migration:

Step 1: Assess your current portfolio Which galleries do you actually want to keep? Be selective — migrate only what's still representative of your best current work.

Step 2: Set up Lumeny Start your 14-day trial. Create your first gallery and deliver it. See how the portfolio layer works.

Step 3: Import your key portfolio galleries Upload your best 6–10 existing galleries as portfolio items. This is a one-time effort.

Step 4: Set new deliveries to auto-populate portfolio From this point, every new delivery you make keeps your portfolio current automatically.

Step 5: After 30 days, cancel your separate portfolio platform When you're confident the Lumeny portfolio covers everything you need, cancel the Squarespace or Format subscription.

See: how to build a portfolio from client galleries

---

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use a custom domain for my Lumeny portfolio? Yes, with Lumeny Pro (€19/month). Your portfolio and galleries live on your own domain — full ownership of the experience.

Is a Lumeny portfolio as flexible as Squarespace? It's more focused. Squarespace gives you a general-purpose website builder. Lumeny gives you a photography-specific portfolio that's built from your delivered galleries. If you need a blog, a contact form, or a custom page layout, Squarespace has more flexibility. If you need a clean, current photography portfolio without the maintenance — Lumeny is the simpler choice.

What happens to my Squarespace portfolio during the transition? Keep it running during the trial period. Run both in parallel for 2–4 weeks. Once you're satisfied with the Lumeny portfolio, point your domain there (Pro plan) and cancel Squarespace.

Does the auto-portfolio update immediately on delivery? Yes. The moment you deliver a gallery (mark it as delivered and share the link), it appears in your portfolio — if you've set it to be portfolio-visible.

---

---

Written by Christian Bauer, founder of Lumeny and photographer with 10+ years of experience.