Answer
Sharing Photos With Clients on OneDrive: What the Link Exposes
A OneDrive link can be opened by anyone who has it, lets them download without signing in, and turns editing on by default. That is fine for a working file. For a client delivery, check three settings before you send it.
Updated 24 September 2026
When a client's marketing team works in Microsoft 365, a OneDrive link can feel like the polite way to hand over a shoot.
It is a reasonable instinct. It is also worth knowing exactly what the link allows before you send it, because some defaults are set for colleagues editing documents, not for clients receiving photographs.
Every Microsoft statement below comes from two Microsoft support articles, fetched on 24 September 2026 and listed under Sources. Microsoft's plan comparison pages did not load that day, so this page gives no OneDrive or Microsoft 365 price and no storage figure.
The short answer
OneDrive works for sending files to a client who already uses it. Three settings decide whether it is safe.
First, the link type. An Anyone link works for whoever holds it, including someone it was forwarded to.
Second, editing. Microsoft states that Allow editing is turned on by default. On a shared folder, edit access lets the recipient delete anything in it.
Third, the extras. Microsoft states expiration dates and passwords are only available to Microsoft 365 subscribers, and that block download is only available for work or school accounts.
What OneDrive does not do is proofing. There is no step in Microsoft's sharing article for a client to pick frames, and the page they open is Microsoft's, not yours.
The four link types, and what each one means for a client
Microsoft lists four kinds of sharing link.
| Link type | What Microsoft states | For a photo delivery |
|---|---|---|
| Anyone | Works for whoever has it, whether they receive it directly from you or forwarded from someone else. People can view, copy or download without signing in. | Easiest for the client. Also the one that travels furthest if forwarded. |
| People in your organization | Listed as a link type. | Your organization, not the client's, so it rarely fits an outside client. |
| People with existing access | Listed as a link type. | Reaches only people already given access, so it adds nobody new. |
| Specific people | Gives access only to the people you specify. | The tightest option. You name each recipient in advance. |
For most client deliveries the choice is between Anyone and Specific people. Anyone is frictionless. Specific people is controlled. Pick deliberately rather than taking whatever the dialog offers first.
Editing is on by default, and that matters for a folder
This is the setting that catches photographers out.
Microsoft states that Allow editing is turned on by default. For a document, that is often what you want. For a delivery folder, it is not.
Microsoft also states what edit access to a folder allows: the recipient can copy, move, edit, rename, share and delete anything in the folder. A client tidying up their own view of the shoot could remove files from yours.
The fix is one click. Turn off Allow editing before you create the link. Then open the link in a private window and confirm you can only view and download.
Expiry, passwords and blocking downloads
| Control | Who gets it, per Microsoft |
|---|---|
| Expiration date on a link | Only available to Microsoft 365 subscribers |
| Password on a link | Only available to Microsoft 365 subscribers |
| Block download | Only available for work or school accounts |
Read together, these mean a photographer on a personal account without a Microsoft 365 subscription sends a link with no password and no end date. Anyone who receives it, directly or forwarded, can view, copy or download without signing in.
That can be acceptable for final files the client paid for. It is a poor fit for proofs you have not been paid for yet.
Size limits you are unlikely to hit, and one you might
Microsoft publishes a maximum upload of 250 GB per file. No photograph comes near that.
When sharing a folder, Microsoft states the total number of items inside is limited to 50,000. A single shoot will not reach it, but a folder that holds years of client work could.
On the website, Microsoft states you can only copy up to 2,500 files at one time. That is a limit on copying, not on sharing, but it shapes how you reorganise large jobs.
Where it breaks for a corporate client
A corporate shoot usually has a review step. The marketing lead, the brand manager and sometimes an agency all need to agree on which frames go to retouching.
No picks. Microsoft's sharing article describes viewing, copying, downloading and editing. It describes no way for a client to mark the frames they want and send that list to you. The selection comes back as an email thread, and you retype it.
No opened indicator. The sharing article fetched for this page does not describe a way to see whether the recipient opened the link. When the client goes quiet, you do not know whether they are deciding or have not looked.
Not your page. The client opens a folder view on Microsoft's own share page. Nothing fetched from Microsoft describes putting your studio's name, logo or domain on it.
None of this is a flaw in OneDrive. It is a document tool doing document things.
What a gallery adds for the same client
On clientgallery.io, the client opens a page on your studio's own subdomain with no platform branding. Each gallery can have its own password, and it does not depend on what subscription the client or you hold elsewhere.
Reviewers like and love frames and send the selection. The two-way Lightroom Classic plugin pulls those picks into your catalog, so the review round never becomes a spreadsheet.
Each gallery tile in the studio shows whether it has been opened, with filters for seen by client and not opened yet. Everything else in the analytics is account-wide, not per gallery: visits, photo views, favourites, picks sent, ZIP downloads and a device split.
Proofs are browser-compressed JPEGs of about 0.6 MB each, and hosted galleries do not expire while the account exists. The full-resolution set goes out as a ZIP per gallery, live for 3 days per handoff and re-uploadable any time, with 100 GB of standing ZIPs per account. There are no seats: a two-person studio shares one account.
The plan is $10 a month or $100 a year, and the first gallery is free.
If the client insists on OneDrive for the finals, send the finals there. The gallery handles the review; the client's own system takes the files at the end. The client gallery guide for commercial photographers covers that workflow, and the white label gallery guide covers the branding side. The same argument against Google's equivalent is on the Google Drive alternative page.
Sources
- Microsoft Support, Share files and folders in Microsoft OneDrive, https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/share-onedrive-files-and-folders-9fcc2f7d-de0c-4cec-93b0-a82024800c07, fetched 24 September 2026. Link types, forwarding, access without sign-in, editing default, folder edit rights, expiration and passwords for subscribers, block download for work or school accounts.
- Microsoft Support, Restrictions and limitations in OneDrive and SharePoint, https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/restrictions-and-limitations-in-onedrive-and-sharepoint-64883a5d-228e-48f5-b3d2-eb39e07630fa, fetched 24 September 2026. 250 GB per file, 50,000 items in a shared folder, 2,500 files per copy on the website.
- clientgallery.io product facts as shipped, checked 24 September 2026: plan price, subdomain, per-gallery password, picks, Lightroom Classic plugin, per-gallery opened indicator and account-wide analytics, no seats, proof size and the full-resolution ZIP window.
Frequently asked
Can I share photos with clients using OneDrive?
Yes. An Anyone link lets people view, copy or download without signing in. Before sending, turn off Allow editing, which Microsoft states is on by default, because edit access to a folder lets the recipient delete anything in it.
Can I put a password or expiry date on a OneDrive link?
Microsoft states expiration dates and passwords are only available to Microsoft 365 subscribers. Without a subscription, the link has neither.
Can I stop a client downloading from a OneDrive link?
Microsoft states block download is only available for work or school accounts. On a personal account the option is not there.
If my client forwards the OneDrive link, does it still work?
For an Anyone link, yes. Microsoft states it works whether people receive it directly from you or forwarded from someone else. A Specific people link gives access only to the people you name.
Can a client pick their favourite photos in OneDrive?
Microsoft's sharing article describes viewing, copying, downloading and editing, and no way to mark and send a selection. A client gallery collects likes and loves and returns them to your Lightroom Classic catalog.
Is there a file size limit on OneDrive?
Microsoft publishes a maximum of 250 GB per file. When sharing a folder, the total number of items inside is limited to 50,000.
Your client galleries, under your name
Branded galleries, client selections and a Lightroom Classic workflow. Start with your first gallery, then compare the current plan. Full-resolution delivery is a separate handoff with its own limits and conditions.
Run the review round in a gallery