gleam

An online marketplace to match freelance photographers with individuals/groups seeking photography sessions.

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Inspiration

Currently, photographers are often recruited through formal studios, personal portfolios, online gig platforms, Free & For Sale, etc. There is no centralized means for people to find photographers, it is difficult to make comparisons based on factors like price, experience, style, and schedules. Our platform aims to (1) streamline this process for those seeking photographers, and (2) provide a platform, especially for newer photographers, to find clients and have a platform to grow and showcase their skills. We aim to make logistical planning and the details of a photoshoot much more transparent for both parties.

What it does

Goal: Online marketplace to match freelance photographers with individuals/groups seeking photography sessions.

Main Audience: Start off by targeting student/university environments, where there are many people interested in photography with varying levels of experience as well as people looking for photographers for graduation, student organizations, LinkedIn/online dating profiles, etc. In the future, could be expanded to connect more advanced photographers with businesses (e.g. travel agencies, Airbnb listings, real estate, travel guides, etc.)

Core Features/Screens: 2 types of accounts - photographers and clients The photographer profile includes: Price, schedule/availability, photography style, experience, reviews from past clients, links to portfolio, etc.

Client accounts include: Marketplace of listings, filter by location, price, style, timing, group size, purpose (professional, casual, dance, sports, etc.), Listings view, appointment scheduling interface

How we built it

iOS mobile app using Swift.

Challenges we ran into

  • Implementing the location picker in order to allow users to enter their desired search location and search for photographers by distance.
  • Image compression: limitations of free firebase platform (storage space, loading times), in comparison to sacrificing quality of photos.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

  • Design!
  • Incorporating open-source libraries
  • Learning and using many new libraries
  • Collaboration using source control

What we learned

  • Swift
  • Firebase
  • Product design and team management

What's next for gleam

  • More direct methods of communication and scheduling within the app, such as availability calendars, an appointment booking system, and chatting between photographers and users
  • Improving load times by asynchronously fetching data and smarter storage (possibly image compression)
  • Provide photographers with a more interactive platform to discover clients and build their portfolios with others
  • Listing filter by tags
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