Photo & Video Delivery Standard
How to send photos and video to Cavmir
Before you send, ask one question: could a stranger open the link with no account and no app, and download the whole set as a single file? If yes, send it. If no, use our upload link or fix the setting below.
That is the whole rule. Everything in this document exists to make that one test pass. It comes in three short steps — what to put in the package, how to send it, and, if you use a cloud folder, the one setting on your platform that lets us grab everything at once.
What to send
One package with two sizes of every image, your video, and clear file names. Section 1.
How to send it
Best is our private upload link. A transfer service or a download-enabled cloud folder also work. Section 2.
Set the platform to allow bulk download
If you share a cloud folder, turn on whole-set download. Section 3 has the setting for ten platforms.
What to send
.zip is ideal.
Inside it, keep two sizes of every image in their own folders, plus a folder for video.sRGB, always
Export in the sRGB color space — not Adobe RGB or ProPhoto — or the colors shift once the photos are on the web.
JPEG for delivery — no HEIC
JPEG is the delivery format. Do not send HEIC — the Apple format will not drop into websites, so convert to JPEG first. Send RAW or the camera originals only if we ask.
Mix landscape and portrait
Include a mix of horizontal (landscape) wide frames for desktop heroes and some vertical (portrait) frames for mobile heroes.
MP4, highest-quality master
Send video as MP4 (H.264) at the highest-quality master, and note the length.
Sequential, lowercase, no spaces
Name files sequentially, zero-padded, with a property-slug prefix, lowercase, no spaces, ASCII only —
for example 3100-n-ocean_01.jpg. Camera codes with leading underscores like
_JJL1452.jpg are not ideal.
Nice to have
A short caption or shot-list .txt or .csv naming each room, so we label
every photo correctly.
How to send it
The Cavmir upload link
We send you a private, password-protected upload link — a file request. You drag your files in and that is it: nothing to configure, nothing public, nothing that can be set to view-only by mistake. Recommended for every photographer.
Email us and we will send your upload link. It is the one method that always works, on any device.
A transfer service — one property at a time
Use WeTransfer, Smash, or TransferNow: upload the package, enter our email, and we receive it as a single zip. Simple and reliable for one property at a time.
A cloud folder link with downloading enabled
Share a cloud folder — but only after you turn on whole-set download. This is the method that goes wrong most often, because most platforms default to view-only. Section 3 gives the exact setting that matters for the ten platforms we see most.
Why not just a link?
A link is only good if we can pull everything from it in one go. A view-only folder, an expired transfer, or a re-compressed album all fail the one test — and then the shoot stalls while we ask for it again.
Share it so we can grab everything
| Platform | Do this | The setting that matters | Gotcha |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google Drive | Put everything in one folder, then Share and set access to “Anyone with the link” as
Viewer. We download the folder as a .zip. |
Share the parent folder, “Anyone with the link”, Viewer. | Share the folder, not individual files. Huge folders may come as several zips — that is fine. |
| Dropbox | One folder, then Share, Create link, “Anyone with the link can view”. We open it and use Download, “Download as .zip”. | Link set to view; download left enabled. | Very large or 40,000-plus-file folders can fail to zip — split them, or use a Dropbox File Request (same idea as our upload link). |
| OneDrive the right way |
This is where the last delivery went wrong. Instead of a plain view-folder link: (a) right-click the
top folder, compress to a single .zip, and share that one file; or (b) share to our email
so we are named recipients; or (c) best, use our upload link. |
Share one zipped file, or add us as named recipients so the Download button unlocks. | A signed-out “Share folder (view)” link only lets us download one file at a time — never send that and expect the whole set. |
| WeTransfer | Add your files or folder, then send to our email or create a link. We receive one zip. | Free sends up to 2 GB; larger sets need Pro or a split. | Free transfers expire in a few days — tell us the day you sent it so we grab it in time. |
| Pixieset | Open the Collection, enable Digital Download, and allow “All Photos” at High Resolution. Optionally set a PIN and send it with the link. | Digital Download on, full resolution, whole-gallery allowed. | Download is off by default on some plans — that leaves the gallery view-only. |
Platforms 6–10 continue on the next page.
Share it so we can grab everything
| Platform | Do this | The setting that matters | Gotcha |
|---|---|---|---|
| ShootProof | In the gallery download settings, allow “Download entire gallery” at full size, set a PIN, and send us the link and PIN. | Gallery-wide download at full resolution. | Per-photo download is not the same as the whole gallery — enable the gallery-wide option. |
| SmugMug | In gallery settings, turn Downloads on and allow the Original or Largest size. Add an optional password, then share the link. | Downloads on; Original / Largest size allowed. | Downloads default off on many galleries — check before you send. |
| Google Photos | Share the album; we use “Download all”. This works, but Google Photos re-compresses and strips resolution and metadata. | Shared album with download available — previews only. | Quality loss; not for hero images. For real delivery use Drive or our upload link. |
| iCloud / Apple Photos | Avoid for delivery — shared albums compress and hand over HEIC. If you are on Apple, export as JPEG (sRGB) first, then use WeTransfer or our upload link. | Export JPEG (sRGB) first; do not share the iCloud album itself. | HEIC will not drop into websites. |
| FTP / SFTP or Frame.io video-heavy |
If you run FTP/SFTP or Frame.io, send us the host and credentials directly — in a separate message from the link — and turn on download. | Download or export enabled; credentials sent separately. | Do not email the password beside the link. |
Whatever platform you use, the test is the same: a stranger, no account, no app, downloads the whole set as a single file. If any setting above blocks that, switch it on — or just ask us for the upload link.
When in doubt
Could a stranger open the link with no account and no app, and download the whole set as a single file? If yes, send it. If no, use our upload link or fix the setting.
When in doubt, ask us for the upload link — it always works. It never needs a setting turned on, it does not expire while you are waiting, and it keeps every file at full quality.
Bottom line
One package, two image sizes, sRGB JPEG, a mix of landscape and portrait, and video as MP4 — sent so we can download all of it at once. When a platform makes that hard, the upload link makes it easy.