Clients rarely select by composition notes. They select by the name printed under the thumbnail. If that name is DSC_1842.jpg, the reply works only if you can map it back to the original. A short naming convention before you build the contact sheet makes that mapping automatic.
What a review name needs to do
The filename on the sheet should identify the job, the grouping, and the frame. It should stay unique inside the set, keep the original extension, and avoid characters that break downloads. Date and client codes help archives; camera-generated numbers do not help a client.
A reliable pattern is client-job-section-001.jpg. Examples:
lee-wedding-portraits-014.jpgoak-st-kitchen-03.jpgnorth-sku4481-pack-02.jpg
Rename copies, not the only originals
Apply the recipe to exported review files. Keep the camera originals or catalog names untouched until the job is archived. That protects you if a client asks for a frame you later need to find by EXIF or capture time.
Preview the whole set before you send it
Collisions and skipped numbers are easy to miss when you rename files one at a time. The online batch file renamer applies find-and-replace, numbering, and case steps in order and shows every proposed name first. Download the renamed copies only after the preview is clean. The batch renamer walkthrough covers the recipe steps.
Then put those names on the contact sheet
Once the review files are named, keep those names visible in the contact sheet editor. Tell the client to reply with filenames, not page positions. If you later open a proofing link, the same names appear in the dashboard submission and can be copied into Lightroom, Capture One, or a retouching list.