Filenames are the product
A construction client stores images in a project folder for a decade, and the filename is the only metadata that survives every copy, email and upload. Mine run date, project code, area, subject, sequence: 20260412_RVR14_L02-Corridor_Ductwork_003.jpg. It sorts chronologically, it groups by area, and it says what the frame is without opening it. Camera filenames do none of that and collide the moment two bodies are used on the same job. I rename on ingest, before anything else happens, and I never renumber after delivery because clients cite filenames in emails and a renumbered set breaks every reference.
Two sets, not seven
Deliver a full-resolution set and a web set, and stop there. The full set is the archival copy: original pixel dimensions, minimal compression, embedded color profile, metadata intact. The web set is long-edge 2000 pixels, converted to sRGB, quality around 80, for email and social use by people who will otherwise send a 45-megabyte file to a phone. Anything more granular — print-ready crops, square versions, cover images — should be made on request rather than guessed at, because guessing produces the folder of variants nobody can navigate. Label the two folders plainly. “Full resolution” and “Web” beats “Hi-res v2 FINAL.”
Color profile is where most deliveries quietly fail
If you edit in Adobe RGB or ProPhoto and deliver without embedding the profile, every image will open dull and slightly wrong in a browser and in most office software. That is the single most common cause of a client saying the photographs “looked better on your screen.” Embed the profile on the archival set, and convert the web set to sRGB rather than merely assigning it. Anyone whose images are heading into print material has a further set of decisions to make, which is why I treat color management for trades who print their own material as a separate conversation rather than something to solve inside a delivery folder.
Metadata that survives
Keep the capture timestamp. Keep GPS where it exists and where privacy allows. Add a copyright notice, a creator field, and a one-line caption in the description field, because those are the fields most content management systems read. Do not strip EXIF on documentation work under any circumstances — the capture time is the single most valuable attribute of a construction photograph and it is the first thing anyone asks about when an image is used as evidence. The Library of Congress publishes a long-running assessment of which digital formats are sustainable for long-term preservation, and the short version for photographers is that ordinary JPEG and TIFF will still open in thirty years while proprietary raw formats are a bet on a manufacturer.
Delivery mechanics
A download link with an expiry date is not archiving. I deliver by link for convenience and simultaneously provide the client with a single zipped archive they can drop into their own project storage, because links expire, people leave companies, and the request to resend a two-year-old set arrives with depressing regularity. I keep my own copy for a minimum of three years on two separate drives in two locations, and for anything tied to a warranty or a claim, longer. Tell the client in writing how long you will hold the files. If they know it is three years, they will archive properly; if they assume it is forever, they will not.
Frequently asked questions
Should raw files be delivered to the client? Normally no, unless it was contracted. Raw files are working material and clients rarely have the tools or the intent to process them correctly.
What size should web images be? Long edge 2000 pixels covers almost every use. Anything larger just ends up as an unoptimized page asset.
How long should a photographer retain project files? Three years as a working default, longer where the work supports a warranty, a claim, or a permit record.