Customize your gallery styles

Gallery styles control the way that photos are displayed in your galleries on your site. SmugMug offers 5 gallery style options to all account levels. Gallery styles can be set in the gallery settings, or from the drop down menu at the top right of the site display for the gallery. We have more information about making those changes here. 

This article focuses on editing your gallery style display using the customize design tools. These tools allow you to adjust the overall layout and arrangement of images. 

Accessing the gallery style customize design settings

While logged in, open a gallery from your Site first, and then

1. Click Customize Design.
2. Select All Galleries content block. To change the design for the specific, open gallery, choose Make This Gallery Custom. 
3. Hover over the Galleries content block and click the wrench tool.
4. Choose the gallery style you want to edit from the list.
5. Adjust the settings.
6. Click Done.

You can also control the layout of the photos in your galleries through the Customizer:

1. While logged in, select Site from the navigation bar.
2. Choose Customize Design and go to the Layout tab.
3. Choose a Stretchy layout to fill the viewers browser window.
4. or  choose a Fixed-width layout to limit the content to a specific screen area. The Fixed-width layout keeps a consistent width, regardless of screen size.

Design options for the gallery styles

SmugMug offers five gallery style options:

Collage Landscape

• Displays your photos in a collage emphasizing landscape-oriented images.
• Supports a cover image.
• Customization Options: 
  • Breadcrumb display
  • Spacing between photos
  • Photo display size
  • Option to vary photo height
  • Shop icon display 
  • Photo info display location, alignment, hover

Collage Portrait

• Displays your photos in a collage emphasizing portrait-oriented images.
• Supports a cover image.
• Customization Options: 
  • Breadcrumb display
  • Spacing between photos
  • Photo size
  • Shop icon display
  • Photo info style and alignment

SmugMug

• Thumbnails are on the left, with the main display image on the right.
• Customization Options: 
  • Breadcrumb display
  • Adjust the size and spacing of thumbnails.
  • Control thumbnail size

Thumbnails

• Displays only thumbnails. Clicking a thumbnail shows a larger version in Lightbox mode.
• Supports a cover image. 
• Customization Options: 
  • Breadcrumb display
  • Spacing between photos
  • Photo size
  • Photo aspect ratio
  • Adjust thumbnail size, spacing, and aspect ratio.
  • Shop icon display 
  • Photo info display location, alignment, hover

Journal

• Create a visual story with large images and in-depth captions to describe people, places, and events.
• Customization Options: 
  • Breadcrumb display
  • Photo aspect ratio
  • Buy button color (as specified by your theme)

Customizing your gallery style is a powerful way to tailor the look and feel of your SmugMug site. By using the Customize Design tools, you can control the layout, arrangement, and style of your photos to create a unique experience for your visitors. With five distinct gallery styles to choose from—Collage Landscape, Collage Portrait, SmugMug, Thumbnails, and Journal—you have the flexibility to present your photos in a way that best suits your brand or aesthetic. Once you've made your adjustments, don't forget to publish your design changes to see them live on your site.

If you'd like to learn more about related customization options, check out our articles on Customizing Gallery Settings and Using the Design Tools.

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