Recommend a cloud photo site

vigilante · Mar 16, 2015

I have a specific need and I'm wondering what I should try out.

Here are some points to consider.

This is for a business.
The purpose of the site is for company browsing, not public browsing (unless specifically shared, public album, etc)
We need others to be able to upload. We have contracts with our people with photo-release agreements. Basically they can shoot photos and we can use them. But we need a way for them to upload their stuff to us.

When the boss browses the site, he may choose to grab a photo or two to share on Facebook, or download it and use on the blog, etc. The point is we need this photo "hub" as a means of browsing the catalog.

There are many ways to get files, like FTP or any kind of file uploader on a website, we could build a form, or they could share them with us using their own cloud drives, etc etc. What I'm trying to do is unify services so that I don't have to try and integrate 10 different services. Nor do I want to tell all our contractors they must go sign up for Flickr accounts and upload everything there first etc.

I want this to be a painless process. I give them a link, they go there. They can upload photos to us. If that contractor is ever terminated, They would need to lose any access to uploading, downloading, or even viewing any albums. So there is some security here.

Every tool I look at just has limitations. Flickr is no good, you can only share photos in a group, but the photos will actually belong to us, the licensing is wrong. Dropbox, Box, OneDrive, et al do not cater to being photo-centric.

What sort of service is there where we can store company photos privately, then share them as needed, then accept uploads from others, and grant them limited access too (plus revoke)? We would expect all normal photo-management features like showing meta-data, EXIF, and ability to tag, with categories/folders and search and group shots for exporting. Even basic online photo-editing features would be nice to throw in a quick crop and exposure adjustment for example.

I would like it if I don't have to force our contractors to sign up. Maybe instead I just have some kind of access password for example.

Any thoughts?

Light Guru · Mar 16, 2015

I don't think your going to find an existing service for what you want. You are probably going to have to develop it yourself.

vigilante · Mar 16, 2015

Probably true, but I can't be the only person who has ever wanted to gather photos from others in an easy way and keep said photos relatively private with limited access, and still browse them easily online like a catalog.

The_Traveler · Mar 16, 2015

Here there everywhere 3 personal cloud storage systems Computerworld

table1349 · Mar 16, 2015

vigilante said:
I have a specific need and I'm wondering what I should try out.

Here are some points to consider.

This is for a business.
The purpose of the site is for company browsing, not public browsing (unless specifically shared, public album, etc)
We need others to be able to upload. We have contracts with our people with photo-release agreements. Basically they can shoot photos and we can use them. But we need a way for them to upload their stuff to us.

When the boss browses the site, he may choose to grab a photo or two to share on Facebook, or download it and use on the blog, etc. The point is we need this photo "hub" as a means of browsing the catalog.

There are many ways to get files, like FTP or any kind of file uploader on a website, we could build a form, or they could share them with us using their own cloud drives, etc etc. What I'm trying to do is unify services so that I don't have to try and integrate 10 different services. Nor do I want to tell all our contractors they must go sign up for Flickr accounts and upload everything there first etc.

I want this to be a painless process. I give them a link, they go there. They can upload photos to us. If that contractor is ever terminated, They would need to lose any access to uploading, downloading, or even viewing any albums. So there is some security here.

Every tool I look at just has limitations. Flickr is no good, you can only share photos in a group, but the photos will actually belong to us, the licensing is wrong. Dropbox, Box, OneDrive, et al do not cater to being photo-centric.

What sort of service is there where we can store company photos privately, then share them as needed, then accept uploads from others, and grant them limited access too (plus revoke)? We would expect all normal photo-management features like showing meta-data, EXIF, and ability to tag, with categories/folders and search and group shots for exporting. Even basic online photo-editing features would be nice to throw in a quick crop and exposure adjustment for example.

I would like it if I don't have to force our contractors to sign up. Maybe instead I just have some kind of access password for example.

Any thoughts?

Private server is the way to go.

KmH · Mar 16, 2015

Yep. + 1. Private server.

Light Guru · Mar 16, 2015

vigilante said:
Probably true, but I can't be the only person who has ever wanted to gather photos from others in an easy way and keep said photos relatively private with limited access, and still browse them easily online like a catalog.

Yes there are others who use simpler things but no two have the exact same needs. That's why there is not a cookie cutter solution, and why those places build a custom solution.

Gary A. · Mar 16, 2015

I use Smugmug. Each gallery on Smugmug can have it's own password. Give Smugmug a call and see if they can meet your needs.

Buckster · Mar 16, 2015

After reading your full description in the opening post, what comes to mind is WordPress.

1. There are so MANY different ready-made photo-centrist themes to choose from, including those that will display EXIF, and a whole host of whatever info per photo that you want from them, that you're likely to find something that suits well. If not, there are a multitude of companies and individuals eager to put one together to your specifications, or you can learn to do it yourself, and it's not difficult if you've ever done ANY coding at all.

2. You can set up multiple bloggers (users who can upload photos), each with their own unique passwords, which you can then revoke if need be.

3. You can choose to publish blog posts (web pages) that are for public consumption, or not. As long as they're only in "Review" status, those with access can see them, but they remain "unpublished".

4. Either way, all the photos from everyone get uploaded into a single repository, where you or your boss or whomever can pick and choose, and then use them for whatever purposes you deem fitting. If you sniff around at the various themes, you may even find one that can separate the photos into individual folders by who uploaded it, or just tell those who upload that they need to use, say, a 4 digit code as part of the photo name that indicates who gets credit for it. Have them put that code at the front of the photo, and you can do a sort by name on all the photos.

5. You can put the whole thing on any server you like, so if your company already has a server or server space somewhere, this can easily be added. I have a couple of separate WordPress sites running on the same server as my main website, just in their own folders, and everything plays fine together.

7. It's FAST. WordPress sites are really fast and efficient for working with, in all aspects.

6. It's REALLY easy to set up and manage WordPress. I learned how in no time by taking a few courses on Lynda.com and that's been working out well for me for the past few years, though I'm the only one who posts and uploads to my WordPress server areas. Those who will just log in to upload photos will only need a limited amount of knowledge to do their part.

vigilante · Mar 18, 2015

I'm surprised at the lack of services!
Seems an enterprising programmer could really make something with this cloud/photo/pro/corporate thing.

Anyway, a custom-made site does seem best, I just hate to reinvent the wheel when every photo-sharing service is really 90% of the way there!

The_Traveler · Mar 18, 2015

There are services; they just are not as economical, flexible, private as a private server.

FotosbyMike · Mar 18, 2015

HighTail is going to meet most of your needs it is a secure business class file transferring site. You can get free accounts with limits or business/enterprise level accounts which give you option like unlimited uploads and downloads, a dropbox type link(URL) for vendors to upload files, and also options to limit who and how long someone can access folder/files... much more.

jcwphoto · Apr 3, 2015

Your best bet is a synology server. They are cheap and easy to set up. Cloud sites for photography are too expensive.

Buckster · Apr 3, 2015

jcwphoto said:
Your best bet is a synology server. They are cheap and easy to set up. Cloud sites for photography are too expensive.

Good to know. How much will it cost me to set it up to store and access 30TB (to start)?

jcwphoto · Apr 3, 2015

Buckster said:
jcwphoto said:

Your best bet is a synology server. They are cheap and easy to set up. Cloud sites for photography are too expensive.

Click to expand...

Good to know. How much will it cost me to set it up to store and access 30TB (to start)?

Impossible to say. It depends on what you buy. B&H sells them. Then you have to buy hard drives.