Envira Gallery is a WordPress gallery plugin built specifically with photographers in mind. While most gallery plugins focus on visual display, Envira goes further: client galleries with password protection, WooCommerce integration for selling prints, album organisation for multiple galleries in a collection, and one of the fastest gallery loading implementations available. For photographers who need their WordPress site to function as both a portfolio and a client delivery platform, Envira covers the complete workflow.
What Makes Envira Different for Photographers
General gallery plugins display images attractively. Envira Gallery adds business-specific functionality: a client can receive a private link to their gallery, browse their proofing images, select favourites, and purchase digital downloads or print products – all within your WordPress site without a separate third-party proofing service. This positions Envira between a pure display plugin (Modula, FooGallery) and a dedicated client platform (ShootProof, Pic-Time).
The trade-off is cost: the proofing and WooCommerce features require higher-tier Envira plans ($99-299/year). For photographers who only need portfolio display without client delivery, simpler and cheaper gallery plugins handle that use case just as well.
Step 1: Create a Gallery
Go to Envira Gallery -> Add New. The gallery creation interface uploads images and provides configuration tabs for appearance, lightbox, mobile, and miscellaneous settings. Upload your images and arrange them by dragging thumbnails into the desired order. Envira automatically generates optimised thumbnail sizes from your uploaded images.
In the Configuration tab, select your gallery layout: Automatic Grid (equal-size cells, cleanest look), Mason (Pinterest-style varied heights), Vertical, or Horizontal. For photography portfolios, Automatic Grid or Mason layouts present images most professionally.
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Step 2: Lightbox Configuration
Envira’s lightbox is one of its strongest features. Go to the Lightbox tab. Configure:
- Lightbox theme – dark background (standard for photography), light background, or custom
- Image title and caption – display below the image in lightbox, or as an overlay
- Social sharing – show sharing buttons in the lightbox for visitors to share specific images
- Keyboard navigation – allow arrow keys to navigate between images in lightbox
- Fullscreen mode – allow visitors to view images fullscreen by clicking the expand icon
For client proofing galleries, enable the “Favourites” feature in the lightbox so clients can mark images they want. Saved favourites are accessible in the client’s gallery view and can be exported as a list for the photographer.
Step 3: Password Protection for Client Galleries
Envira Pro includes gallery-level password protection for private client galleries. Each gallery gets its own password configured in the gallery settings. Share the gallery URL and password with the client. They enter the password to view the gallery, and the password remains on their device for the session.
This replaces the need for a separate client proofing platform for basic delivery. The client views images in Envira’s lightbox, marks favourites, and can download or purchase (with WooCommerce integration). For photographers using WordPress already, keeping client delivery within the same site avoids the subscription cost of a dedicated proofing platform.
Step 4: Albums for Multi-Gallery Organisation
Go to Envira Gallery -> Albums -> Add New. Albums are collections of galleries – useful for grouping wedding galleries by year, or portfolio galleries by category. The album displays thumbnails representing each gallery, which visitors click to enter the individual gallery. Albums appear on your site using an album shortcode, similar to individual gallery shortcodes.