[Photographer Name] · Portfolio + Proofing

A photographer site. Public marketing galleries up top. Password-gated client proofing galleries underneath. One inquiry form.

Source of truth

Vercel auto-deploys. Public galleries are MDX in the repo (the photographer or you curate). Private client galleries live in Cloudinary folders, indexed in a small SQLite database tracking access codes + favorites.

Tech stack

Next.js 15 (App Router) + React + Tailwind v4. Cloudinary for image hosting, transformation (AVIF/WebP, responsive sizes), and the per-photo download URL. SQLite (via Turso) for client galleries + favorites. Resend for inquiry emails. Vercel hosting.

Deploy

git push origin main. Vercel + Cloudinary pull. New client gallery = upload to Cloudinary folder + add an entry to the client_galleries table.

File map

• app/page.tsx home with featured work, about, inquiry CTA
• app/galleries/[slug]/page.tsx public marketing galleries (weddings, portraits, brands)
• app/clients/[code]/page.tsx password-gated client proofing gallery
• app/clients/[code]/favorites/page.tsx shareable favorites view
• app/inquire/page.tsx inquiry form
• app/api/inquire/route.ts POST -> Resend
• app/api/favorites/route.ts toggle favorite per-photo
• db/schema.sql client_galleries, client_favorites
• components/Lightbox.tsx keyboard-navigable, swipe on mobile
• components/MasonryGrid.tsx responsive Cloudinary-powered grid

.env keys

• CLOUDINARY_CLOUD_NAME, CLOUDINARY_API_KEY, CLOUDINARY_API_SECRET
• TURSO_DATABASE_URL, TURSO_AUTH_TOKEN
• RESEND_API_KEY
• RESEND_NOTIFY_EMAIL photographer's inbox
• CLIENT_GALLERY_BASE_URL for links sent to clients

Hard rules

• Images are Cloudinary-hosted with f_auto,q_auto transforms. Never serve a raw JPEG.
• Responsive image sources: srcSet includes 400w, 800w, 1600w, 2400w. Mobile devices don't need 2400w.
• Client galleries are HMAC-gated by access code in the URL. Anyone with the code sees the gallery. Authenticated favorites use a per-visitor cookie.
• Downloads are watermarked unless the client paid (track in the client_galleries row). Watermarks via Cloudinary overlay.
• Lightbox supports keyboard arrows + swipe. Slow lightboxes are a tell that you didn't actually shoot anything.
• Inquiry form fields are minimal: name, email, event date, type, message. Anything more loses leads.

Recent significant changes

• 2026-05-06: Scaffolded. Locked: Cloudinary over self-hosted (transforms + delivery), Turso for galleries (edge-fast, free tier generous), Resend for inquiries (DX).

Next session: start here

1. Set up Cloudinary, create folder convention: public/, clients/<code>/.
2. Create Turso DB. Apply db/schema.sql.
3. Upload 30-50 of the photographer's best photos. Featured gallery goes live.
4. Build one client gallery end-to-end with a real access code.
5. Test inquiry form. Confirm Resend delivers to the photographer's actual inbox.