How to Manage Your Portfolio and Flash Gallery on Ink Link

Ink Link gives you two galleries to showcase your work: a portfolio for completed tattoos and a flash gallery for pre-drawn designs. Here's how both work and how to use them effectively.

Portfolio vs Flash Gallery: What's the Difference?

These two galleries serve different purposes and clients interact with them differently.

Portfolio Gallery

Your portfolio shows tattoos you've completed on actual clients. This is where potential clients go to see your skill level, style versatility, and finished work. Think of it as your resume.

What to upload to your portfolio:

1. Completed tattoos (healed or fresh)
2. Work that demonstrates your technical ability
3. Different sizes, placements, and styles you offer
4. Cover-ups or rework (before-and-after shots work well)

Services & Flash Gallery

Your flash gallery displays pre-drawn designs that clients can book directly. You set the size options, time estimates, and pricing for each design upfront. When a client likes something, they pick a size, choose an available slot on your calendar, pay the deposit, and they're booked - often in under a minute.

Flash is useful for walk-in days, special events, or if you like drawing ahead. Because you've already specified the details, there's no back-and-forth messaging needed.

What to upload to your flash gallery:

1. Original designs you want to tattoo
2. Seasonal or event-specific flash sheets
3. Designs at different price points and time commitments
4. Work you're willing to repeat or modify

The main difference: Portfolio shows what you've done. Flash lets clients book what you want to do next.

Image Limits: Free vs Artist Pro

Your storage capacity depends on your subscription tier.

Free Tier: 100 Images Total

1. Shared between portfolio and flash combined
2. Good starting point for newer artists
3. Enough for roughly 50 portfolio pieces and 50 flash designs

Artist Pro ($14/month): 500 Images Total

1. Shared between portfolio and flash combined
2. Room for extensive documentation and seasonal rotations
3. Includes calendar integration, SMS notifications, and other premium features

If you're regularly deleting work to make room for new uploads, it's time to upgrade to Artist Pro.

Uploading Images: Technical Details

Ink Link handles image optimization automatically, but here's what you need to know about file requirements.

File Requirements

1. Portfolio/Flash images: 10MB maximum file size
2. Avatar images: 5MB maximum file size
3. Accepted formats: JPG, PNG, WebP, HEIC, HEIF
4. Recommended resolution: At least 1080px on the longest side

Automatic WebP Conversion

When you upload an image, Ink Link automatically converts it to WebP format. WebP is a modern image format that reduces file size without losing visible quality. This means faster loading times for clients browsing your work, especially on mobile devices.

If you shoot on an iPhone, your photos are likely in HEIC format. Ink Link converts these to WebP automatically - just upload directly from your camera roll.

Why this matters:

1. Your portfolio loads faster for clients
2. Better mobile experience with less data usage
3. You don't need to manually convert or optimize images before uploading

Setting Up Your Flash Gallery

Flash uploads work similarly to portfolio uploads, but you'll provide additional details that help clients understand what they're booking.

Flash Upload Information

When you upload a flash design, you can set:

1. Title and description: Name the design and add details about size or placement recommendations
2. Pricing: Set prices for different size options
3. Repeatable toggle: Turn this on if you're willing to tattoo this design multiple times
4. Modifiable toggle: Turn this on if clients can request changes to the design

The more information you provide upfront, the easier it is for clients to decide if they want to book.

Marking Flash as Claimed

For non-repeatable flash (one-of-a-kind designs), you can mark pieces as "Claimed" once someone books them. This shows a "Claimed" badge on the image so other clients know it's no longer available.

Automatic Claiming with Direct Booking

If you use direct booking, there's an option in the advanced settings to automatically mark flash as claimed when a client books it. This saves you from having to manually update each design after it's booked.

Manual Claiming

You can also mark flash as claimed manually:

1. Go to your flash gallery in your profile settings
2. Click on the flash design you want to update
3. Toggle "Mark as Claimed" in the edit dialog
4. Save your changes

Note: The claimed toggle only appears for non-repeatable flash. If a design is marked as repeatable, there's no need to mark it claimed since you're willing to tattoo it multiple times.

Updating Your Galleries

Regular updates keep your profile active and give clients new work to browse. How often you update depends on your workflow, but here are some general guidelines.

Portfolio Updates

Add new completed tattoos as you finish them. This keeps your portfolio current and shows potential clients that you're actively tattooing. If you're at your image limit, consider removing older pieces that no longer represent your current work.

Flash Updates

Rotate your flash seasonally or when designs get claimed. Fresh flash keeps clients coming back to see what's new. If a design has been sitting unclaimed for months, consider swapping it out for something different.

Ready to Upload Your Work?

Your galleries are the main way clients evaluate your work before booking. Keep your portfolio updated with completed tattoos and maintain an active flash gallery if you offer pre-drawn designs.

Start uploading: Go to your Ink Link profile settings to add images to your portfolio and flash galleries. The platform handles the technical optimization - you just need to upload your work.