Upload photos
Start a new order, add the photos you want edited, follow the uploads, and remove a photo you added by mistake.
Every order starts in its project workspace: one page where you add photos, write your instructions and mark up individual photos. This page covers the first part — getting your photos in. Nothing is charged while you upload.
Before you start
- Sign in to the Client Portal at app.tucia.com.
- Have the files on the device you are using. If you develop RAW files with a preset, keep each
.xmpsidecar next to its RAW file and add both — the portal pairs them for you.
Steps
Click New order
Click New order in the top bar. A new draft order is created and its workspace opens straight away. The header shows ← Orders, the project name (empty at first, with the placeholder Untitled project), the save status Changes save automatically, a photo counter and an Add photos button. Above the page, the three steps of an order are shown as 1 Photos & instructions · 2 Review · 3 Pay.
Add your photos
The empty workspace is one large upload area: Drag photos here to start. Drag files onto it, or click Choose photos and pick them in the file dialog. You can select many files at once. Uploading starts the moment you choose them — there is no separate upload button.
Follow the Uploads panel
An Uploads panel appears above your photos with one row per file: name, progress bar, percentage and Cancel. Three files upload at a time; the rest wait their turn. When a file finishes, its row disappears and the photo appears under Photos to edit.
Let the previews arrive
Previews are made after the upload finishes. JPG, PNG and WebP files show a quick preview right away; RAW and PSD files show their file type, for example .ARW with No preview, for a few seconds until the real preview replaces it. A file in this state is uploaded correctly — it is not a failed upload.
Name the project
Click Untitled project in the header and type a name, up to 50 characters. It saves on its own and becomes the order name in your order list.
Move on to your instructions
As soon as the first photo has uploaded, the right-hand column appears with Project instructions and the Order summary: the number of editing photos, the Total in credits, the estimated delivery and the button Continue to review. Write your instructions next — see Write editing instructions.
Up to 500 MB per file. This project holds up to 500 photos.
Ways to add photos
All three do the same thing, and every new photo lands in Photos to edit:
- The large upload area on an empty project — drag files onto it or click Choose photos.
- Add photos in the header, at any time.
- The Add photos card at the end of Photos to edit (“Drag files here or click”). Once a project has photos you can also drop files anywhere on the page.
There is no switch for reference images while you upload. To make a photo a free reference image, upload it like any other and then move it to Reference images — see Organize photos.
Supported files
- Formats: JPG, JPEG, PNG, WebP, BMP, HEIC, HEIF, PSD, TIFF, TIF, and camera RAW — CR2, CR3, CRW, NEF, RW2, ARW, SR2, SRF, SRW, DNG, RAF, 3FR, ORF, X3F.
- Up to 500 MB per file.
- XMP sidecars (
.xmp; Safari’s.xmp.zipis accepted too) are paired with the RAW file of the same name and do not count as photos. You see XMP file for DSC_0412.ARW attached, or XMP file saved — upload DSC_0412 to pair it when the RAW file has not arrived yet. The order you upload them in does not matter. A paired photo shows XMP next to its number on the card, and after the format in Table. - A file that cannot be added is never dropped silently. It is listed on the page with the reason — Not added. This file type isn’t supported. or Not added. Files can be up to 500 MB. — and a message tells you how many files were not added.
More detail: Supported formats and RAW files and XMP sidecars.
If an upload fails
A failed row in the Uploads panel shows the reason in red — for example Network error while uploading or Upload timed out — with Retry and Remove. Click Retry to send the file again, or Remove to drop it from the list.
While a file is still uploading or a failed row is waiting, Continue to review cannot be used. The line under the button tells you why, for example Waiting for 1 upload to finish. or 1 upload failed. Retry or remove it first.
Remove a photo
Photos are removed one at a time — there is no multi-select.
- Click the ✕ in the top-right corner of the photo, or open the photo’s ⋯ menu (it appears when you hover the photo) and choose Delete photo.
- Confirm in Delete this photo? The dialog names the file and its size and warns that its notes and marked areas go with it. This can’t be undone.
- Click Delete. A message confirms, for example IMG_2031.jpg removed, and the counter and Total update.
To get rid of a whole draft instead, see Delete a draft order.
How many photos you can add
Your account may have two limits. The numbers differ from account to account and our team can change them, so the portal always shows the ones that apply to you:
- Photos per project. The header counter shows it, for example 4 / 500 photos; with no limit it simply says 4 photos. When a project is full, extra files are listed as Not added. This project is full (500 of 500). and an Upload limit for this project panel suggests splitting the set — Start a new project opens another draft.
- Active projects at a time. An active project is one that has photos and is not closed or canceled — empty drafts do not count. If you are at the limit, a new project shows Adding photos is paused until you close or finish another project. A project that already has photos is never blocked by this limit.
New accounts start with smaller limits for their first few projects; they grow as we work together.
Leaving while photos upload
If you click away while files are still uploading, the portal asks first: Uploads still in progress, with Leave anyway and Stay on this page. Leaving stops the unfinished files; photos that already finished are kept. On a phone, keep the page open until uploads finish — switching apps or locking the screen can stop an upload.
What happens next
Your photos are saved on the order as soon as they finish, and the order waits under Drafts in the top bar until you pay. Next, organize your photos if some are only references, and write your instructions.