We replaced a subscription-based gallery platform with a branded delivery portal connected to cloud storage owned by the studio. The studio pays raw storage costs instead of escalating per-gallery fees, retains control of its image library, and avoids vendor lock-in.
- No per-gallery delivery fees
- Raw cloud-storage pricing
- Files remain in the studio's own account
- Storage providers can be changed without rebuilding every gallery
- Clients retain a polished, branded delivery experience
The Business
The client is a photography studio delivering a growing archive of finished images to customers.
The Cost and Ownership Constraint
The studio was paying a gallery-delivery subscription that became more expensive as the number of galleries and stored images increased. Traditional gallery platforms often bundle the client experience with storage the platform controls. As the studio grows, it pays more to store and deliver its own work. Leaving becomes increasingly difficult because years of client files must first be moved away from the vendor. The studio was paying for both a service and the dependency that kept it locked into that service.
The Solution
We separated the branded client experience from the underlying storage. The delivery portal points to a cloud-storage account owned by the studio, such as Cloudflare R2, Backblaze B2, Google Cloud Storage, or another compatible provider. Clients still receive an organized, branded gallery, but the image files never leave the studio's control. Changing the underlying provider later becomes a configuration decision rather than a years-long migration.
What We Built
Business Value Created
The recurring gallery subscription was eliminated. The studio now pays infrastructure costs directly, maintains ownership of every file, and can continue growing its archive without becoming increasingly dependent on a single gallery vendor.