Controlling Access – Zenfolio

If you’re like many photographers, you may find it necessary to specify who has access to your images based on clientele expectations for privacy. You can specify who can access each individual image, or more commonly, an entire Gallery or Group.

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Click on the image that matches your view for instructions specific to your interface.

Original Photos Page: Controlling Access

To set up your default setting for Groups, Galleries and images, it’s most efficient to make changes to the All Photographs Group. Why? Since all of the Groups, Galleries and images are placed within All Photographs, its settings are the default for all of your photographs. It is also possible to make changes for multiple items within a group.

For a presentation on the available options found in Access Control, check out the video below.

The following access settings can be applied to your Groups, Galleries and Images:

Public
Private
Access with a password
Access allowed to users on the list only

Access Settings may be inherited by items contained inside. For example, if you make a Gallery Private, and all the photographs inside the Gallery have an access setting set to Same as a containing item, then all of the images will automatically become Private as well. This is a convenient way of applying the same setting to a large number of items.

Items with Access Settings other than Public do not show up in Search and Browse. You can also explicitly choose not to include an item in Search and Browse, even though it is open for public access.

You also have the option to protect your photographs from being Added to Collections by other users.

While it is possible to edit the Access Control settings for each and every item, including individual images, we do recommend that you save yourself some time by making Access Control changes at the Gallery or Group level. When applied at the Gallery level, by default, the settings will also apply to all of the images contained in the Gallery.

To Make a Gallery or Group Public

Any Zenfolio registered or unregistered visitors can view items designated as Public. By default, all images that you upload to your Zenfolio page will be public unless you change the access. Here’s how to do this:

Go to Photos in the Main Menu within your account.
Select the desired Gallery in the Organizer.
Under the Details Column, click on Gallery Access. An Access Control window will appear.
Uncheck the 'Same as Containing...' if necessary.
In the Access tab, mark the circle for Public - open to all visitors.
Click Save for the new settings to take effect immediately.

Alternatively, if the container is public as well, you may check Same as containing item to have all items within inherit the setting. This will allow you in the future to change settings globally and have them propagate to all the items inside.

Please note that the above steps can be applied to multiple selected items as one operation.

To Make an Item Private

Only you, the owner, can view items designated as Private. You have to log in to the Zenfolio website for the system to recognize you and to show your Private items.

The Private setting can be applied to images, Galleries, and Groups.

A quick way to hide all of your images is to set 'All Photographs' to private (as long as the Groups and Galleries are set to "Same as a containing...").

Go to Photos in the Main Menu within your account.
Select the desired Gallery in the Organizer.
Under the Details Column, click on Gallery Access. An Access Control window will appear.
Uncheck the 'Same as Containing...' if necessary.
In the Access tab, mark the circle for Private - open and visible to owner only.
Click Save for the new settings to take effect immediately.

Alternatively, if the container is private as well, you may check Same as containing item to have all items within inherit the setting. This will allow you in the future to change settings globally and have them propagate to all the items inside.

Please note that the above steps can be applied to multiple selected items as one operation.

Using the 'Private' Setting and Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

The top level Group in your account is called the All Photographs Group. This Group contains all of the Galleries and images within your account. If this Group is set to 'Private' in its Access Control settings, it will cause your website's homepage to not be indexable by search engines like Google. This will cause your website to not appear in search results.

So, if you would like your site to appear in search results, you’ll want to make sure that the All Photographs Group is not set to 'Private' in Access Control settings.

You can protect your images and keep them private by locking the individual Groups and Galleries that contain your private images. You can also set individual Groups and Galleries to not be searchable by search engines.

To Lock an Item with a Password

Any Zenfolio registered and unregistered visitor who is given the password can view items designated as Locked with a Password. This setting can be applied to images, Galleries, Groups, and even the homepage.

You can also assign a password to select images within a public Gallery, if you wish. Visitors will be able to view only public photographs in the Gallery, and will be required to enter the appropriate password to see any protected images.

To enhance the security of password-protected Galleries, entering an incorrect password too many times will lock that user out of the gallery for a period of time. After entering an incorrect password too many times, we will display the following message:

"You have one more attempt remaining before this gallery may be locked. Please contact photographer if you do not remember the password".

If they enter an incorrect password again, we will send a notification email to you, the photographer.

Don’t forget, if you password protect a Gallery but still wish to show a cover thumbnail for it, you’ll need to ensure that the image you choose for the cover thumbnail is set to Public. Here’s more information on setting a visible cover thumbnail for a password-protected gallery.

It’s worth noting that while you (the photographer) are logged in, you will never be prompted to enter a password to view any of your own Galleries, as the system recognizes you as being the owner of your account.

If you want to see exactly what your visitors will see when accessing your website (which we actually recommend you try), you’ll want to make sure you are logged out of your account. Once logged out, you will be able to see your website exactly as your visitors do, including the need to enter passwords to access your Galleries.

Finally, while it is possible to edit the Access Control settings for each and every item, including individual images, we do recommend that you save yourself some time by making Access Control changes at the Gallery or Group level. When applied at the Gallery level, by default, the settings will also apply to all of the images contained in the Gallery. This is especially important when locking Galleries with a password: if individual photos are locked, then the system will ask the site visitor for the password to view every image in the Gallery. When applied at the Gallery level, they will only be asked for the password once, when they first reach the Gallery.

Here’s how you can lock your images (on a Gallery level) with a password via Access Control Settings:

Go to Photos in the Main Menu within your account.
Select the desired Gallery in the Organizer.
Under the Details Column, click on Gallery Access. An Access Control window will appear.
Uncheck the 'Same as Containing...' if necessary.
In the Access tab, mark the circle for Locked with password.
Enter the desired password into the fields provided.
A hint can be added as well. If preventing unauthorized access is important, no hints should be provided.
Click Save for the new settings to take effect immediately.

Alternatively, if the container is locked with a password as well, and you would like the same password to apply to the new item, you may check Same as containing item to have it inherit the setting. This will allow you in the future to change settings globally and have them propagate to all the items inside.

Please note that the above steps can be applied to multiple selected items as one operation.

One last note: as photographer, you reserve the right to change the password in the Access Control window at any time. If you forget the password you set, you can override it with a new password without needing to remember the old one, or you can click Show to view the password.

These days, you need a password for just about everything under the sun.
Here are a few tips for creating strong passwords for your Galleries:

Use a mix of characters including upper/lower case, numbers, & punctuation
Never use the same password for more than one Gallery
Make all passwords at least 7 characters long
Only share with trusted people, and encourage clients to be safe with their passwords
Do not use obvious password hints
Do not use the subject’s name as the password
Do not use any part of the Gallery URL as a password
Be sure to set the Gallery password BEFORE uploading images into it

To Only Allow Access to Users on the List

With this setting, access is controlled by a member list of registered Zenfolio users (that you create). In other words, only website visitors that you specify can view designated Groups, Galleries, or images.

In this process, website visitors are required to log in as a registered user for the system to recognize them and to allow them to view designated items. Other visitors and guests will be unaware of the existence of these items.

This can be particularly convenient for event photography when only the event participants are allowed access to images from that specific event.

Keep in mind that items with Access Settings other than Public do not show up in Search and Browse. You can also explicitly choose not to include an item in Search and Browse, even though it is open for public access.

It’s also possible to protect your images from being Added to Collections by other users.

Here’s how to only allow access to users on a list:

Go to Photos in the Main Menu within your account.
Select the desired Gallery in the Organizer.
Under the Details Column, click on Gallery Access. An Access Control window will appear.
Uncheck the 'Same as Containing...' if necessary.
In the Access tab, mark the circle for Allow access to these registered Zenfolio users only.
In the text field, type in the user name of a Zenfolio member you would like to allow viewing this item. Click Add after the name. The name will be validated and then added to the list.

Continue by typing in User Names and adding them one-by-one. If you decide to remove a user, select the name in the member list and click Remove.
Click Save for the new settings to take effect immediately.

Alternatively, if the container is open to the same list of Zenfolio members, you may check Same as containing item to have it inherit the setting. This will allow you in the future to change settings globally and have them propagate to all the items inside.

Please note that the above steps can be applied to multiple selected items as one operation.

You can add or remove users from the list at any time in the Access Control window. As the owner, you are always one of the allowed users even though your user name is not listed.

Inheriting Access Control Settings

Access Control settings can be "inherited" by items contained inside. In fact, this inheriting trait is actually set up by default as a convenient way to apply the same setting to a large number of items. For example, if you make a Gallery Private, and all the images inside the Gallery have an Access Setting set to Same as containing item, then all of these images will automatically become Private as well.

Pro tip: A quick way to hide all images within your account is to set your All Photographs Group to Private, and ensure that the Same as Containing item box in Access Controls is checked. In doing this, the Private setting will be propagated to all the Groups, Galleries and images inheriting access control.

Setting Access Controls for Multiple Items

To save yourself some time, you may want to select multiple items to make uniform Access changes at once. Within a Group you can select multiple Galleries, and within a Gallery you can select multiple Photos - simply by holding the Control Key on your keyboard (Command key on a Mac) while clicking on multiple items.

Please note that when you change the Access Settings for multiple items at once, all of the previous Access Control settings that were applied to the items will be overwritten.

More of a visual learner? Check out this video on how to create secure client Galleries:

New Photos Page: Controlling Access

The following access settings can be applied to your Groups, Galleries and Images:

Public
Private
Access with a password
Access allowed to users on the list only

Access Settings may be inherited by items contained inside. For example, if you make a Gallery Private, and all the photographs inside the Gallery have an access setting set to Same as a containing item , then all of the images will automatically become Private as well. This is a convenient way of applying the same setting to a large number of items.

Items with Access Settings other than Public do not show up in Search and Browse. You can also explicitly choose not to include an item in Search and Browse, even though it is open for public access.

You also have the option to protect your photographs from being Added to Collections by other users.