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Workflow Playbook
Prepare numbered photo proofs, check orientation and privacy, review a PDF contact sheet for missing images and cropped previews, and hand off a traceable client selection ledger.
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This workflow serves photographers and event teams who need a client to choose images without losing the link back to the originals. Its result is a reviewed contact-sheet PDF set and a versioned selection ledger, not a final album or retouch approval. Keep authorized originals unchanged, inventory dimensions and formats, and record their SHA-256 digests. Two cameras may both produce IMG_0001.JPG: a filename alone is not a safe identity.
Assign IDs such as P0001 and P0002 in a separate ledger before editing. Suggested fields are proof ID, source path, source hash, derivative path, actual uploaded basename, batch, PDF version and client decision. These fields are maintained separately; the tools do not create a complete selection system. Preserve IDs when files move between pages or a sheet is regenerated. Ask the client to reply with ID and version, not “the third photo on page two.”
Work from copies. Correct EXIF orientation before stripping metadata; removing the orientation tag first can leave a portrait sideways. Resize for preview without upscaling small files or changing composition unintentionally, and inspect portrait, landscape and unusually wide examples against the originals. Keep derivative filenames and processing paths in the ledger after every step. The contact-sheet tool uses the basename of the file it actually receives, not a promised display name or an automatic proof sequence.
Choose contain when selection depends on the full composition. Its empty borders are preferable to a missing head or product edge. Cover fills a thumbnail cell by cropping and can be useful for a deliberate overview, but it should not conceal content that affects the decision. If the client needs detail, supply separately authorized larger previews with the same IDs. A small contact sheet cannot establish focus quality, accurate colour or final retouching.
Check visual content, names and metadata independently. The metadata viewer can expose GPS, device and author fields; a clean report is not proof that every possible identifier has been removed. For JPEG copies requiring removal, choose removeAll explicitly. Other available actions retain some or all metadata. This operation re-encodes JPEG and can remove colour-profile information, so inspect appearance and avoid repeated lossy processing.
The contact sheet defaults to EXIF lines enabled. Disable them explicitly for an external selection sheet when unnecessary; this only changes displayed lines and does not clean the source image. Faces, signs, reflections and revealing filenames remain a separate review. If a watermark is needed, apply it to a derivative and keep it clear of decision-critical details. A manually supplied proof ID can help survive filename changes, but must be checked against the ledger. A watermark neither anonymizes the photo nor prevents copying. Recheck final derivatives after all transformations and never upload material without permission merely to inspect it.
The tool considers only the first 120 supplied paths and can skip missing or unsupported files. Split larger jobs into named batches before submission. It processes the accepted files in supplied order; do not assume automatic sorting. An accepted path can still produce a blank browser-rendered image. Compare the expected list with reported image counts and then inspect every visible cell, not just the first page. For 53 approved images in a 4-by-5 grid, expect three logical sheets, but verify the actual PDF page count and layout rather than trusting a calculated sheet estimate.
Check that each intended ID appears once across the delivery set, labels are readable, long names are not clipped and thumbnails match the ledger. A missing image needs a reason and rerun or explicit exclusion; do not silently renumber the remaining proofs. Record paper size, orientation, grid, fit mode, EXIF choice and optional watermark settings. Hash final PDFs and retain local originals, derivatives and the reviewer-approved ledger in controlled storage, not just temporary download links. A changed selection produces a new PDF version while preserving IDs. Use the RAW workflow for camera development, the metadata workflow for broader inspection and the print-layout workflow for later page assembly.
Workflow playbook
Inspect the batch and hash originals. Create a separate ledger mapping proof IDs to original paths and hashes; do not assume camera basenames are unique.
Correct orientation before metadata removal, resize without unintended cropping and compare representative previews with originals. Record every new derivative path against its proof ID.
Inspect metadata, use removeAll on JPEG working copies when required and re-inspect the final files. Optionally add an approved proof/ID watermark without obscuring the subject.
Supply at most 120 approved files per batch in intended order, show filenames and choose contain or deliberate cover. Set EXIF display explicitly and record which actual input basename labels each proof.
Use contain when the client must judge composition; cover fills the cell but can hide edge subjects. Choose grid density for actual-size legibility, not maximum images per page.
Review pixels, filenames and metadata independently. Disable EXIF lines when unnecessary and inspect final derivatives; hiding report lines is not metadata removal, and stripping metadata does not anonymize faces.
The contact-sheet tool reads only the first 120 supplied paths and skips missing or unsupported files. Divide larger selections deliberately and reconcile expected, accepted and visibly rendered IDs before sending.
Open every PDF page, reconcile IDs and thumbnail contents with the ledger and investigate missing or blank cells. Hash final copies and request feedback by proof ID and sheet version, not page position.