A portfolio site is how many photographers, illustrators, designers and architects get hired. It is also a public copy of your work, often at a size and in a format you do not fully control once it is on the web. The useful habit is to treat the site as a shop window, and to keep a dated record of the originals you chose to put in that window. A TimeBind is a dated, checkable record that an exact file existed no later than a recorded time and still matches. The fingerprint is made in the browser, and the file stays on your device. It does not prove that you own the work, and a live webpage is not, by itself, a record of the original file.
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Table of Contents
The site is a copy, not the archive
When you publish a project, at least three files often exist:
- The working original — a RAW, a layered PSD or TIFF, a full-resolution export, a vector file, a drawing set.
- The web version — a compressed JPEG, a short video, a PDF lookbook, sometimes with a watermark.
- The page — HTML, a gallery script, a CDN cache, a theme that may change when you switch templates.
If a copy appears on another site, or if a client says they already had the image, the page on your domain may have changed, the CDN may have replaced the file, and the “Date created” on a downloaded JPEG will not tell a clear story. See what happens to file dates when you copy, zip or download and how to prove someone copied your work.
A portfolio platform can still be the right place to show the work. It is rarely the right place to keep the only copy.
A publish routine that keeps the originals straight
Use this when you add a project, refresh a homepage selection, or send a private client gallery.
- Choose the original you are actually publishing from. Pick the master file, not a WhatsApp preview.
- Export a web version on purpose. Note the size, colour space and any watermark. That export is a file in its own right.
- Date the files that would matter later. For most people that is the master, and sometimes the exact web export you posted. Click here to start. How to timestamp a file has the steps. Your first Pooled TimeBind is free; after that, TimeBinds start from US$5, and an ASAP TimeBind is US$15.
- Then publish the web version to the portfolio, a client gallery, or both.
- Keep a short project note in your own records: project title, date published, URL, and the file names you dated. If the theme or the slug changes, the note still points at the files.
- Back up the masters off the website. A portfolio host is not your backup. See secure cloud backup and versioning for creative files.
Illustrators will find a close companion in timestamp portfolio work before you post it online. The same idea applies to photographers, designers and architects: date first, then post. The creator and architecture hubs collect the related guides.
If you also send a private proofing gallery or a full-resolution pack, treat that as a delivery. See sending large files to clients safely.
What a portfolio platform should do for you — and what it will not
A dedicated portfolio builder is often easier than a general website tool when you care about image quality, client galleries, and a clean mobile view. Feature sets to look for, without treating any vendor as unique:
- Hosting and themes that are actually designed for visual work, including a custom domain.
- Client proofing or private galleries, if you show unpublished work to a commissioner.
- A way to export or retrieve your images if you leave, not only to display them.
- Sensible defaults for image resolution and for how much of a master file you are sending to a public CDN.
What the platform will not do, even when it is excellent:
- Keep a dated, independent record of your master files.
- Prevent someone from taking a screenshot or downloading a displayed image.
- Prove authorship or ownership if a similar image appears elsewhere.
- Survive, as a perfect archive, every theme change, plan downgrade, or account issue.
That is why the dated original lives in a folder you control, and the site holds a copy you are willing to show.
Account security belongs in the same picture. A hijacked portfolio can replace your images or your contact details. See password and account security for creators.
Watermarks, low-resolution posts, and still keeping a record
Some people post only a watermarked or a low-resolution version, and keep the master offline. That is a reasonable publishing choice. It does not remove the need to date the master, and, if arguments later turn on what was actually shown, to date the exact web export too. A watermark can be cropped or imitated. A fingerprint of the file you hold is a different kind of check.
If you use Content Credentials (C2PA) in a camera or an editor, treat that as useful extra context when it is present, not as a substitute for a file you still have. See Content Credentials (C2PA) vs a timestamp. Do not assume every social network will preserve those credentials when you post.
For the wider problem of lookalike and AI-altered copies, see how to protect yourself from AI forgeries. TimeBinder does not detect AI. A dated original can show that your file existed by a date and still matches; it cannot, by itself, prove that another image was generated by a model.
After you publish
Once a project is live:
- Do not overwrite the dated master with a later retouch and keep the same file name as if nothing happened. Save a new version and, if the published work changes, date the new export.
- If you take a project down, keep the dated files anyway. A taken-down page is a poor archive.
- If you migrate from one host to another, migrate the records in your folder as well as the images. The new URL will not inherit a file history.
If you also need a signed commission agreement or a model release, that is a separate document. See e-signing contracts, NDAs and split sheets.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Should I timestamp the RAW file or the JPEG I post?
Date the master you would rely on later, and consider dating the exact web export if you may need to show what was published. They are different files.
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Does putting work on my own domain prove I made it first?
No. Domain records and “first posted on my site” claims are easy to argue about, and pages change. A dated file you still hold is a clearer record of the bytes.
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What if my portfolio host goes down or I change platforms?
You should still have the masters, the dated exports, and the certificates in a backup you control. The site is the shop window.
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Can I date a whole project folder at once?
You can zip a project and date the zip, or date up to 10 files in one TimeBind. If you later change one image, the zip is a different file. For a public site, dating the masters you actually posted is usually enough.
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Does a TimeBind prove I own the image?
No. It shows that an exact file existed no later than the recorded time and still matches. Ownership and authorship are separate questions.
Date the next original before you post it
Your first Pooled TimeBind is free, with no credit card required. After that, TimeBinds start from US$5, and an ASAP TimeBind is US$15. Click here to start, or see plans and pricing.
