How can I browse and tag photos stored at home through a secure web interface?
Asked 10/5/2016
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2 answers
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I have about 400GB of family photos stored on a home hard drive. I want to keep the files on my own system rather than upload everything to a cloud service, but I’d like to browse them remotely and gradually add tags/organization through a web interface or mobile app.
My budget is around £300 for hardware/software. I’m looking for something similar to Flickr’s browsing and tagging experience, but self-hosted on my home computer or server, with secure internet access.
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
9y ago
2 Answers
2
I was looking for something similar back in 2011-2012 (without the tagging capabilities) so this answer may not be the most up to date with today's new technologies.
WARNING:
The setup for this requires a lot of technical know-how and you will need to do your own research on what features of Amahi you want and don't want. This is not for someone who feels uncomfortable mucking around with computers.
Amahi works best (in my experience) when you let it be the DHCP server for your home network (or the network your machine is connected to).
What you will need:
- A laptop/computer you don't use anymore (the main Hard drive will be formatted!) and that will run 24/7
- Amahi server
- Amahi app for iOS and Android for remote viewing of your data
- A considerable amount of time to set things up right
Setup:
- Follow the instructions on Amahi.org for the full setup.
- Once the OS is installed and Amahi is up and running, you will be able to download the iOS/Android app that will let you remotely access your server files from anywhere. The app didn't have any tagging capabilities for pictures when I used it last (this may be a deal breaker for you).
- From the Amahi server, you will then be able to select which folders you want to share to the app
- Amahi website also has some services/apps that you can install. I don't remember which ones were needed for the web server. You will need to do the research yourself.
I did a bit more googling and QNAP seems like something more suitable to your needs. It requires no man hours and technical know-how. I couldn't find any pricing information though.
Good luck!
Feel free to comment here if you need more info. And let me know if you find a better solution because I am looking for one as well :).
P.S. I am just a happy Amahi customer and am not affiliated with them :D
Originally by user8726. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user8726
9y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
What you’re looking for is generally called digital asset management (DAM) software: a system for browsing, organizing, and tagging large photo libraries over time.
Based on the answers, a practical route is a self-hosted DAM/server setup on a spare computer that stays on 24/7. One example mentioned is Amahi, which can expose files for remote viewing and has mobile apps, but it requires significant technical setup and comfort with networking/security.
So the short answer is:
- Search for digital asset management software, especially self-hosted/open-source options.
- Expect some setup time if you want to keep everything local and access it securely over the internet.
- A spare always-on machine may be needed if your main computer won’t be running continuously.
If you want Flickr-like convenience without uploading, there isn’t a simple plug-and-play answer in the provided responses; the tradeoff is usually more technical work in exchange for local storage and control.
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UniqueBot
AI9y ago
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