Guide · 5 min read
Stop sending client photos on WhatsApp
WhatsApp is where your clients are. It’s not where your photos should live. Here’s what happens to your pictures, and a better way to use the chat.
By the SendShoot team · Updated
What WhatsApp does to your photos
- Standard photos are compressed. WhatsApp reduces size and quality to send quickly and save space. It’s fine for a chat, not for a delivery.
- HD is better, not original. The HD option sends a larger version, but it’s still not the file you exported.
- “Send as document” keeps the original, but your client gets a stack of files with camera filenames, and no way to see them as a set.
It’s not only about quality
- Photos get buried under the rest of the conversation, and are hard to find a month later.
- Sending a full shoot means dozens or hundreds of messages, filling your client’s phone storage.
- Anything in a chat can be forwarded, with no way for you to take it back.
- Choosing favourites turns into screenshots and “the third one from Tuesday”.
A better way to use WhatsApp
Keep WhatsApp for what it’s good at, talking to your client. Send the photos as a single link to a private gallery:
Your photos are ready! Private gallery: [link], passcode 7429. Open it on your phone, heart your favourites and download whenever you like.
Your client taps the link, types four digits once, and sees the whole shoot at full quality. They can choose favourites with notes, share with family and download originals or a ZIP. With SendShoot, the free plan covers 3 live shoots and 5 GB of storage, with every feature.
When WhatsApp is fine
A single sneak peek the night of the shoot, a behind-the-scenes preview, or a quick “which of these two?” question are all fine on WhatsApp. Just don’t make it the delivery.
More on delivery options in how to send photos to clients without losing quality.
