Personal Library
Every user gets their own photo library with timeline browsing and search by face, object, or location.
Your photos. Your server. Your rules.
Adam's Prism is a self-hosted photo management and team collaboration platform. No subscriptions. No third-party access. No one else's computer holding your most important project media.
Demo accounts are free and capped at 1 GB. No credit card required.
"Cloud" just means someone else's computer.
When you pay for a managed cloud platform, you are not paying to store your data. You are paying for permission to access it. The moment that subscription lapses or the company decides to restructure their pricing, that permission goes with it. Your files are still sitting on a server somewhere. You just no longer have the keys.
Getting out is not always simple either. Migration tools are limited, exports take days, and some platforms make it deliberately painful to leave. That is not a storage solution. That is a hostage arrangement with a monthly fee.
A self-hosted platform puts you in charge of the service layer. Your own private cloud, on your own hardware, with no subscription standing between you and your data. No price increases. No vendor decisions that affect your access. You hold the keys permanently.
That is not a technical flex. That is basic operational sanity.
Everything a team needs. Nothing you don't.
Excursions
Organize media by project, site, or event so field photos stay attached to real work.
Client Access
Clients can upload directly into your project queue. Nothing goes live until your team approves it.
Team Roles
Owners, Admins, Team Members, Clients, and Viewers each see the exact surface they need.
Storage You Control
Set per-user storage limits, monitor usage, and avoid runaway cloud bills.
White Label Ready
Use your own logo, color system, and client portal identity from day one.
You don't need a data centre. You need a $15 box.
Self-hosting sounds heavier than it is. Prism runs on modest hardware and mostly takes care of itself once deployed. Here are setups that work in the real world:
The Starter
Under $100 CAD
A Raspberry Pi 5 plus an external USB drive. Low power draw, shelf-sized hardware, and enough throughput for a small crew.
Approximate monthly electricity: under $2
Small Business Setup
$300-$600 CAD
A used mini PC or budget NAS with 2-4 drives in RAID. Redundancy and enough headroom for ongoing team usage.
Approximate monthly electricity: $5-$10
Team Setup
$800-$1,500 CAD
A small dedicated server or refurbished workstation for 10-20 active users and heavier media workloads.
Approximate monthly electricity: $15-$25
Rent a VPS
$6-$12 USD / month (+ object storage)
Run Prism on a VPS and connect directly to object storage. R2 integration is first-class in the platform, and AWS S3 or DigitalOcean Spaces also work cleanly.
Typical total: VPS $6-$12 + R2 ~$0.015/GB-mo, AWS S3 ~$0.023/GB-mo, or DO Spaces $5/mo incl. 250GB
Recommended push setup: VPS + Cloudflare R2. It keeps monthly costs predictable and plugs straight into Prism's storage flow without vendor lock-in.
What about maintenance?
Updates are one command. Backups can be automated to external drives or another server. The platform reports when something needs attention, and we provide a full setup guide.
What you'd pay elsewhere vs. what you pay here.
| Category | Managed Cloud | Adam's Prism (Self-Hosted) |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly cost | $15-$50+ per user | One-time hardware or $6-$12/mo VPS |
| Per-user fees | Yes | No |
| Your data on your hardware | No | Yes |
| Vendor lock-in | Yes | No |
| Storage limits | Tiered, pay for more | Whatever your hardware holds |
| Access when offline | Limited | Full (local network) |
| Price increases | Whenever they want | Never |
A team of 5 can easily spend $100-$200/month on managed platforms. A self-hosted Prism setup for the same team can cost about the price of a hard drive, once.
Built for people who work in the field.
Adam's Prism is built for teams taking photos across many sites and projects, where media needs structure, traceability, and context.
- Construction and trades teams documenting job sites
- Architecture and design firms tracking project progress
- Event and production teams organizing shoot assets
- Property managers recording site conditions
- Teams that need client-submitted photos in shared project space
If your team has lost track of files, argued over versions, or paid for storage that never matched your workflow, this platform is designed for that exact problem.
Demo accounts are free. No pitch, no pressure.
Explore the full library and collaboration flow with 1 GB free storage before deciding to self-host. No card required, no sales call required.
Create Your Free Demo Account1 GB free. No card required. Takes about two minutes.