Venue & Settings
Portfolio & Gallery
Last updated 19 May 2026
Portfolio & Gallery
Showcase your best work with before-and-after transformation images on your public storefront, complete with client consent tracking that complies with Australian, UK, and New Zealand privacy law.
TL;DR
- The portfolio requires a PRO subscription. Images are hidden until client consent is obtained.
- Three consent methods: digital link (30-day expiry), verbal witnessed consent, or record later.
- The most common mistake is toggling "Enable Portfolio" on but forgetting to obtain consent for individual images, both are required for an image to appear publicly.
- Check all three conditions: Enable Portfolio toggled on, consent obtained per image, and each image set to visible.
Overview
The portfolio lets you:
- Upload before-and-after photo pairs linked to a service and staff member
- Obtain client consent via a signed digital link or in-salon verbal witness recording
- Display published images on your storefront with an interactive comparison slider
- Tag images with AI-generated style tags (Natural, Bold, Classic, Dramatic, and more)
- Let customers filter your gallery by service, stylist, and style tag
- Track image status, published, pending consent, or hidden
Note
The portfolio feature requires a PRO subscription. Images are hidden by default until client consent is obtained.
Accessing the portfolio
On web
Go to Portfolio in the sidebar. The admin dashboard shows a grid of all your images with status badges, stats cards, and action buttons.
On mobile
Tap More → Portfolio. The same grid layout appears, with a "+" floating action button for uploads.
Uploading images
Upload images from the web or mobile app using the upload form, each image requires a before and after photo pair.
Step 1: Open the upload form
- Click "Upload Photos" (web, top-right) or tap the "+" button (mobile).
- The upload page opens with guidance: "Use high-quality images with consistent lighting. Photos are cropped to 3:4, optimised to WebP, and hidden until client consent is obtained."
Step 2: Add the before and after images
- Drag and drop or use the file picker to upload a Before image.
- Drag and drop or use the file picker to upload an After image.
- Each image opens a cropping dialog, adjust zoom, pan, and rotation as needed. Images are cropped to 3:4 aspect ratio.
Step 3: Add metadata
| Field | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Service | No | Select the service shown in the images |
| Staff member | No | Select the stylist or technician who performed the work |
| Client | No | Search and select an existing client, or enter a name |
| Title | No | A short title for the image (shown on the gallery) |
| Caption | No | A longer description (shown in the lightbox view) |
| Appointment date | No | When the service was performed |
If the client had a recent booking, the uploader can auto-fill metadata from recent bookings (last 30 days).
Step 4: Choose a consent method
Choose one of three consent options:
| Method | What happens |
|---|---|
| Verbal Consent | You confirm the client verbally agreed. Enter your name as witness. The image is published immediately. |
| Send Consent Link | Enter the client's email. A secure link (valid 30 days) is sent for digital signature. The image stays hidden until signed. |
| Later | The image is saved but hidden. You can request or record consent at any time from the dashboard. |
Step 5: Upload
Click "Upload" or "Create package". The success screen offers "Upload Another" or "View Portfolio".
Managing consent
Consent is required before any image is publicly visible. OpenChair supports two consent methods.
Digital consent link
- On the portfolio dashboard, find an image with a "Pending Consent" badge.
- Click "Request Consent".
- Enter the client's email or phone number in the dialog (placeholder: "client@email.com or +61412345678").
- Click "Send Request". The client receives a secure link valid for 30 days.
The client's consent form includes:
- A side-by-side preview of their before-and-after images
- Your venue's consent agreement text (customisable in settings)
- Privacy preferences: "Display anonymously" (show as initials only) and "Allow social media sharing"
- A digital signature field (typed full name)
Once the client clicks "Confirm Consent", the image is automatically published.
Verbal (witnessed) consent
- On the portfolio dashboard, click "Record Verbal Consent" on a pending image.
- The dialog shows the before-and-after images for confirmation.
- Enter your name in the "Your name (witness)" field.
- Optionally enter the client's name.
- Tick the confirmation checkbox: "I confirm this client verbally consented to their before & after photos being displayed publicly."
- Click "Record Consent". The image is published immediately.
Tip
If a client gave consent during their booking (via the portfolio pre-authorisation toggle on the confirmation screen), the "Check Pre-Auth" lookup can verify this without needing a separate consent request.
Consent revocation
Clients can withdraw consent at any time using the revocation link provided after signing. When consent is revoked:
- The images are immediately hidden from the public portfolio
- Images are permanently deleted within 30 days (in compliance with GDPR Article 17 right to erasure)
Portfolio dashboard
The admin dashboard shows four stats cards at the top:
| Metric | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Total Images | All uploaded images (published, pending, hidden) |
| Published | Images with consent that are publicly visible |
| Pending Consent | Images awaiting client consent |
| Hidden | Images with consent that have been manually hidden |
Image status badges
Each image card shows one or more badges:
| Badge | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Published (eye icon) | Image is live on the storefront |
| Hidden (eye-off icon) | Image has consent but is manually hidden |
| Pending Consent (clock icon) | Awaiting client consent |
| Witnessed (shield icon) | Consent recorded via staff witness |
| Signed (signature icon) | Consent obtained via digital link |
| No Social (ban icon) | Client opted out of social media sharing |
Image actions
| Action | When available |
|---|---|
| Request Consent | Before consent is obtained |
| Record Verbal Consent | Before consent is obtained |
| Copy Consent Link | After consent is obtained |
| Toggle Visibility (show/hide) | After consent is obtained |
| Delete | Always available (soft-delete, permanently removed after 30 days) |
Consent template editor
The text the client sees before they grant consent is editable. Open the consent template sheet from the Portfolio dashboard.
- Default text is compliance-ready (covers AU APP, UK GDPR, NZ Privacy Act 2020)
- Edit freely; 10,000 character cap
- Write with AI (when blank) or Rewrite (when text exists) — both Spark-metered (1 Spark per call), jurisdiction-aware based on your venue's country
- Reset to default button restores the built-in template
The AI uses your venue country to anchor the regulatory references — AU APP for Australia, UK GDPR for the UK, NZ Privacy Act 2020 for New Zealand. Outside those three countries, the AI uses "your applicable jurisdiction" as a neutral placeholder.
Owner-only edit. Managers and stylists see the template but can't modify it.
AI Portfolio insight (PRO)
The Portfolio dashboard shows a small AI insight card with a 1-2 sentence narrative + 1 actionable recommendation, generated from your last-30-day portfolio performance:
- Views
- Bookings attributed to portfolio
- Conversion rate
- Published image count
- Top services with visible images
Example: "Your portfolio brought in 12 bookings from 340 views this month — a 3.5% conversion rate. Adding before/after pairs for your bridal package would likely lift this further."
Cached for 7 days per venue (refreshes automatically when published images or recent metrics change). Spark-free at the operator surface (the cost is absorbed; cached output is reused).
Hand-written deterministic fallback when AI is unavailable or views are zero, so the card always renders something useful.
AI Title + Caption when promoting from Treatment Photos
When you promote a treatment photo to Portfolio (paired before/after only), an AI helper drafts a title (≤60 chars, 4-8 words) and caption (≤280 chars, 1-2 short sentences) based on the photo pair, the service name, and optionally the stylist name.
- Title example: "Soft balayage with face-framing highlights"
- Caption example: "Lifted three levels from a deep brunette base, with a hand-painted balayage to keep the grow-out soft and seamless."
The AI follows strict style rules — British English, no em dashes, no ellipses, no salon-slop words ("stunning", "gorgeous", "level up", "elevate", "reveal", "unveil"), no exclamation marks, no hashtags, no emoji.
Cost: 1 Spark per draft. Rate limit: 30 drafts per hour per venue. Non-salon content: AI returns empty strings if the image isn't a recognisable salon transformation. Write your own.
You can always edit the AI output before saving.
AI style tags
After consent is obtained, images are automatically tagged by AI with up to 3 style tags from the following taxonomy:
| Tag | Description |
|---|---|
| Natural | Understated, organic looks |
| Bold | High-impact, statement styles |
| Classic | Timeless, traditional techniques |
| Dramatic | Striking transformations |
| Low-Maintenance | Easy-care, practical styles |
| Editorial | Fashion-forward, editorial looks |
| Colourful | Vivid colour work |
| Precision | Technical, detail-focused cuts |
Style tags can be manually overridden, click the "+" on any image to add tags (up to 3), or click the refresh icon to re-run AI tagging. Tags are used by customers to filter the public gallery.
Public gallery
Published images appear on your storefront in the Portfolio section (heading: "Our Work") and on a dedicated gallery page at yourvenue.openchairpro.com/portfolio.
How customers interact with the gallery
- Desktop: 3-column grid with hover to toggle between before and after
- Mobile: Horizontally scrollable carousel with tap to toggle
- The first image shows a hint: "Slide to reveal the transformation"
- Clicking an image opens a full-screen lightbox with keyboard navigation (arrow keys)
- Filters at the top let customers narrow by service, stylist, and style tags
The storefront section shows a "View all transformations →" link to the full gallery page.
Individual staff portfolios
Each staff member's profile page (yourvenue.openchairpro.com/team/[staffId]) includes their personal portfolio, only images where that staff member is tagged.
Settings
Go to Portfolio → "Settings" (top-right button) to configure:
| Setting | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Enable Portfolio | Toggle the portfolio gallery on your public storefront | Off |
| Consent Agreement Text | Customise the legal text shown to clients during the consent form | Pre-filled with AU/UK/NZ compliant default |
The settings page includes a Compliance Notice section explaining requirements under:
- Australia (APP): Explicit consent required; clients can access and modify their data at any time
- United Kingdom (UK GDPR): Consent must be freely given, specific, informed, and unambiguous; right to erasure applies
- New Zealand (Privacy Act 2020): Inform clients before collection; obtain explicit consent
Click "Reset to Default" to restore the original consent text. Click "Save Settings" to save.
Reordering images
Drag and drop images on the admin dashboard to set their display order. On mobile, long-press an image to enter reorder mode (with haptic feedback). The order you set is reflected on the public gallery.
Who can do what
Image management actions are divided between owners and team members, some actions, like updating portfolio settings, are owner-only.
| Action | Owner | Team (staff) |
|---|---|---|
| Upload images | Yes | Yes |
| Record verbal consent | Yes | Yes |
| Request consent link | Yes | Yes |
| Toggle image visibility | Yes | Yes |
| Delete images | Yes | Yes |
| Edit style tags | Yes | Yes |
| Update portfolio settings | Yes | No |
| Re-run AI tagging | Yes | No |
Platform differences
Most portfolio management is available on both web and mobile, with a few features restricted to web.
| Feature | Web | Mobile |
|---|---|---|
| Navigation | Sidebar → Portfolio | More → Portfolio |
| Upload | Dedicated page with drag-drop | Full-screen form with file picker |
| Image grid | 3-column responsive grid | 2-column (phone), 3-column (tablet) |
| Reordering | Drag-and-drop | Long-press with haptic feedback |
| Detail view | Inline card actions | iPad: side panel; Phone: full-screen |
| Settings | Dedicated settings sub-page | Not available (web only) |
Troubleshooting
| Issue | Solution |
|---|---|
| Images not showing on the storefront | Check three things: (1) Enable Portfolio must be toggled on in settings, (2) each image must have consent obtained, and (3) each image must be toggled to visible (not hidden). |
| Consent link expired | Consent links are valid for 30 days. Request a new consent link from the dashboard by clicking "Request Consent" on the image. |
| Client wants their photos removed | The client can use the revocation link from their consent confirmation. Alternatively, you can delete the image from the dashboard, it will be permanently removed within 30 days. |
| Style tags not appearing | AI tags are generated only after consent is obtained. If tags are missing on a consented image, click the refresh icon to re-run AI tagging. |
| "Too many consent requests" error | Consent requests are rate-limited to 10 per hour per image. Wait before retrying. |
| Images look dark or washed out | Enable the Image enhancement toggle in your storefront hero settings (under Content → Hero). This applies a subtle brightness and contrast boost to portfolio and hero images. |
| Upload fails or times out | Ensure each image is a supported format (JPEG, PNG, WebP). Images are automatically converted to WebP and cropped to 3:4 aspect ratio. Very large files (over 10 MB) may time out, try a smaller file. |
FAQ
Does the portfolio feature require PRO?
Yes, the portfolio feature requires a PRO subscription. Images are hidden by default until client consent is obtained, and the Enable Portfolio toggle in settings must also be turned on before images appear publicly.
How do I get client consent for portfolio images?
Choose one of three methods during upload: send a digital consent link (emailed to the client, valid 30 days), record verbal witnessed consent (image published immediately), or save the image and obtain consent later from the dashboard.
Why aren't my portfolio images showing on the storefront?
Check all three conditions: Enable Portfolio must be toggled on in Portfolio → Settings, each individual image must have consent obtained (not "Pending Consent" status), and each image must be set to visible (not manually hidden).
How long are consent links valid?
Consent links are valid for 30 days. If a link has expired, go to the portfolio dashboard, find the image with the "Pending Consent" badge, and click "Request Consent" to send a new link.