Need Recommendation on Image Hosting/Access

[MacDawg]

Our company has a modest catalog of around 500GB of images with a lot of corresponding metadata. We are looking for a solution to upload, download and access these images with robust search capabilities. The solution will need to accommodate multiple users with unique logins.

We are open to hosting/storing the images ourselves on premises, but will also consider a viable cloud solution as well. We only need a simple interface for viewing, uploading and downloading, not any image manipulation.

We have a few ideas, but I would like to hear from you guys who probably have worked with multiple solutions over the years and have your preferences and can give a recommendation.

Thanks for any input you may have!

 

[MCAsan]

So if your few users are on Macs, you put the images on a network server in a folder where anyone can mount the drive and view the folder. Finder gives you the choice of view images in a folder. Anyone with the right permissions can upload, download, and view the images.

Go Dawgs!

 

[MacDawg]

So if your few users are on Macs, you put the images on a network server in a folder where anyone can mount the drive and view the folder. Finder gives you the choice of view images in a folder. Anyone with the right permissions can upload, download, and view the images.

Go Dawgs!

It will be a mixed environment, and mostly Windows
Hoping for a more robust, but simple interface with strong search capabilities

We've had PhotoBucket, ImageShack and Flickr recommended, along with using Lightroom, etc.

Go Dawgs!

 

[infantrytrophy]

It will be a mixed environment, and mostly Windows
Hoping for a more robust, but simple interface with strong search capabilities

We've had PhotoBucket, ImageShack and Flickr recommended, along with using Lightroom, etc.

Go Dawgs!

I, and many others, have had a negative experience with Photobucket. After using the free service tier for years, the terms of service change abruptly. Photobucket demanded immediate payment of an exorbitant price, otherwise the images were made unavailable, even to the extent that they could not be downloaded. This was egregious, in my opinion. In addition, the photo access before the abrupt shut-off became slow, clunky and loaded with low-quality ads. I would never trust that company. Just my opinion.

Note that the above comments refer to an individual's account, whereas you are referring to a company account.

A few years ago a respected colleague used and recommended the photo-hosting service SmugMug. This appears to be geared toward professional photographers, with robust display/presentation capabilities. Other sites such as generic web hosting sites (Squarespace, etc.) might be more geared toward generic file hosting. You might need to drill around the web for photo hosting sites to find one that fits your company's specific needs. This link is a bit dated, but it's a starting point:
https://lifehacker.com/5808625/five-best-web-sites-for-image-hosting-and-photo-sharing/

Another thought: Dropbox. I recently upgraded to the 1TB tier and have used it with success to post photos for family and friends. Works very well, but I don't know if this will fit your need for metadata access.

Good luck!

 

[MacDawg]

I, and many others, have had a negative experience with Photobucket. After using the free service tier for years, the terms of service change abruptly. Photobucket demanded immediate payment of an exorbitant price, otherwise the images were made unavailable, even to the extent that they could not be downloaded. This was egregious, in my opinion. In addition, the photo access before the abrupt shut-off became slow, clunky and loaded with low-quality ads. I would never trust that company. Just my opinion.

Note that the above comments refer to an individual's account, whereas you are referring to a company account.

A few years ago a respected colleague used and recommended the photo-hosting service SmugMug. This appears to be geared toward professional photographers, with robust display/presentation capabilities. Other sites such as generic web hosting sites (Squarespace, etc.) might be more geared toward generic file hosting. You might need to drill around the web for photo hosting sites to find one that fits your company's specific needs. This link is a bit dated, but it's a starting point:
https://lifehacker.com/5808625/five-best-web-sites-for-image-hosting-and-photo-sharing/

Another thought: Dropbox. I recently upgraded to the 1TB tier and have used it with success to post photos for family and friends. Works very well, but I don't know if this will fit your need for metadata access.

Good luck!

Thanks for the info. I had forgotten about SmugMug.
We looked at Amazon Prime's offering too.

It looks like we found a solution, I am not sure of the name, but when I get it, I will post it here.
Another department with the company had an account, and they are happy with it, so it is likely we will go that route.

Thanks!

 

[Clix Pix]

Zenfolio has worked very well for me for years.....

 

[StoneJack]

Flickr