A contact sheet is an online gallery of the best images from your shoot. It's a simple way for you and your client to review the shortlist and select the final images for the project.
It's a huge time saver for everyone involved. The client doesn't have to sift through every photo taken and the photographer only needs to retouch the ones the client likes.
This template is part of our guide on How to plan a photoshoot.
Follow this step-by-step guide to learn the modern process of making a photography contact sheet in Milanote, a free tool used by top creatives.
The Contact Sheet template is filled with a grid of landscape and portrait image placeholders.
Create a new board for your contact sheet.
Drag a board out from the toolbar. Give it a name, then double click to open it.
Choose the built-in Contact Sheet template.
Each new board gives you the options to start with a beautiful template. Find the Creative Brief template, then choose "Use this template".
You might have captured 200 images from your photoshoot but your client only needs 5 final images. It's time to reduce your list and upload a group of unedited images you want your client to choose from.
Upload images to your board.
Click the "Upload file" button or just drag a file onto your board. You can add images, logos, documents, videos, audio and much more.
While you can likely imagine the final composition of an image in your head, your client may not be able to. Spend a few minutes resizing or cropping the images where necessary, cutting out any background noise and getting the framing right so your client can see what the end result will be.
Crop images.
Double-click an image and press edit to crop or rotate it.
Providing some background on why you selected this shortlist of images will help your client understand your thinking. What is it that you love about these images? Share your thoughts on the lighting, composition or something special you see in them. Refer back to the brief or moodboard you created to tie the images into the initial concept.
Add a note to explain your thinking.
Start typing then use the formatting tools in the left hand toolbar.
Once you've prepared your contact sheet, it's time to share it with your client. This is an exciting moment for them as it's usually the first time they've seen the output from your photoshoot.
Invite someone else to view and comment.
Click the "Publish and share" link at the top of your board, choose "Allow comments & reactions" then press "Publish via secret link". Copy the link and share it with your client.
Encourage your client to highlight their favourites and leave comments to explain their thinking. From here, you'll have a clear list of final images to retouch and prepare for handover.
Start a conversation about the images.
Drag out a comment from the toolbar on the left and place it on your board. Other editors can reply to your comment.
Mention teammates to get their attention.
Type '@' in any text field to mention someone who has access to your board. They'll receive a notification and be able to respond to your comment.
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