COMMUNITY PLATFORM · BUILT END TO END
Big Photo Hunt
One photo a week. The community decides.
A weekly rhythm for photographers. Members submit one photo, the community upvotes, and a Weekly Top 10 is crowned. Between rounds they find each other by camera system, genre and location, which is what turns a gallery into a community.
The whole product in one paragraph
Most photography sites are either a portfolio host or a feed. Big Photo Hunt is a weekly game. Submitting is deliberately limited, voting is one click, and a visible Hunt Score rewards people for taking part rather than for posting the most. Everything else in the product exists to help members find the people worth following between rounds.
IN THE CLIENT’S WORDS
Hear it from the person who commissioned it
A short video from the client on what was built and how it went.
THE FEED
Upvote your favourite photos
The main feed is built for a single action. Members scroll high-resolution work and upvote in one tap, with sorting that surfaces photographers they have not seen yet rather than the same popular accounts. A new-members rail runs alongside it, so every visit is also a chance to meet someone.
- One-tap upvoting
- Sorting that favours photographers you have not seen
- Photos, activity, people, analyze and board views
- New-members rail with follow and say-hi actions
DISCOVERY
Your People
The part that makes the community stick. Rather than a follower count, members get recommendations built from what they actually shoot, camera system and genre, alongside where they are. Each suggestion comes with three sample frames, so the decision to follow is made on the work.
- Recommendations by camera system and genre
- Followers, following and recommended views
- Three-frame preview on every suggestion
- Members spanning the US, Europe, Asia and Australia
IDENTITY
Profiles built for meeting people
A profile here answers more than what someone shoots. Alongside gear, genres and a Hunt Score, members state what they are good at and what they would like to meet others for: collaboration, travel, learning, networking, sharing gear. It reframes the profile from a portfolio into an introduction.
- Hunt Score and follower stats
- Camera system, genres and member-since date
- Matchmaking fields for what members are good at and want to meet for
- Hunted photos and a separate personal gallery
MONETISATION
Turning the community into a subscription
A free tier gets members into the weekly hunt; Pro Hunter unlocks the tools that regulars want. I implemented the payment side end to end with Stripe, covering the upgrade flow, monthly and annual billing, and the plan gating that decides what each member can actually do.
- Stripe checkout for the Pro Hunter upgrade
- Monthly and annual billing, with the annual saving shown up front
- Plan gating across queueing, profile slots and giveaway entry
- Free tier kept fully playable so the weekly hunt stays open to everyone
THE WEEKLY RHYTHM
How a week runs
- 1
Hunt My Photo
Members submit their photo for the week, cropping it in the browser before it uploads.
- 2
The community votes
Everyone upvotes through the feed across the week.
- 3
Top 10 is crowned
The week closes, the Weekly Top 10 is published, and Hunt Scores update.
- 4
It resets
A new round opens automatically, with no manual administration between cycles.
My role
Built solo, end to end
I was the only engineer on this. That covered the architecture, the React single-page frontend, the Express and Node.js REST API, media handling for heavy high-resolution uploads, the recommendation logic behind Your People, Stripe subscription billing for the Pro Hunter tier, and the weekly competition cycle that opens and closes without anyone touching it.
- Architecture and data model
- React single-page frontend
- Express and Node.js REST API
- Client-side image optimisation and cropping
- Paginated feed built for speed
- Recommendation and Hunt Score logic
- Stripe subscription billing and plan gating
- PostgreSQL data layer
- Deployed on AWS
Live production platform, built and shipped end to end as the sole engineer.
THE PLATFORM
Every screen, up close
Screenshots from the live platform. Select any image to view it full size.
Landing & Discovery Experience
The hero community showcase welcoming photographers worldwide to grow their craft, find inspiration, and connect.
Photo Feed & Upvoting Engine
Interactive photo gallery allowing members to view high-resolution photographs, upvote favorites, and discover new creators.
'Your People' Community Network
Social discovery dashboard matching photographers based on camera systems (Nikon, Canon, Sony, Pentax), photographic genres, and location.
Photographer Profile & Hunt Score
Comprehensive creator profiles featuring member stats, gear inventory, specialties, and Hunt Score ranking.
Personal Gallery & Portfolio Grid
High-resolution responsive photo showcase highlighting individual member collections and community likes.
Pro Membership & Subscription Checkout
The upgrade flow comparing the free tier against Pro Hunter, with monthly and annual billing and Stripe handling payment.