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Beta Release v1.0

Photographers4u

Aggregating the fragmented Indian photography market. Standardizing payments, building community, and creating sustainable income streams.

RoleFull Stack & Product Design
StackNext.js, Supabase, Stripe
Timeline12 Weeks (Beta)
Live Platform

Discovery Phase

We interviewed 50+ photographers and identified a broken ecosystem. The industry expects premium output but offers gig-economy instability.

The Payment Gap

Venues get 100% advance. Photographers get 5%. This cashflow gap kills small studios.

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Ghosting Culture

Agencies source work then vanish. No contracts, no paper trail. We need escrow.

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Discovery Paradox

Clients can't find niche talent (e.g. Pune Food Stylist). They only see generic wedding portfolios.

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The Trust Engine.

Escrow Payments

We standardized a 30% Minimum Advance protocol. Funds are held in escrow via Stripe Connect until deliverables are approved, solving the trust deficit on both sides.

Community First

Unlike freelance marketplaces that isolate workers, we built a "Guild." Verified forums allow photographers to discuss pricing standards and blacklist bad clients.

System_Diagram_v2
Verified Pro
Book Now (30% Advance)

Feature Engineering

Technical Deep Dive

The 'Fair Price' Engine

We needed to solve undercutting without price-fixing. We built a calculator that generates a "Suggested Range" based on 3 variables, nudging clients toward fair market rates.

// Pricing Logic (Simplified)
const baseRate = getLocationBase(city);
const expMultiplier = user.years * 1.2;
const gearFactor = calculateGearScore(inventory);
return (baseRate * expMultiplier) + gearFactor;

High-Friction Onboarding

To ensure quality, we intentionally added friction. Unlike platforms that want "more users," we prioritized "verified users." We implemented a 3-step gate before a profile goes live.

  • 1Phone OTP + GSTIN Verification (Identity)
  • 2Minimum 5-Project Portfolio Upload (Quality)
  • 3Equipment Inventory Check (Capability)

Phase 1
Results

Data from the first 90 days of Beta deployment in Pune & Mumbai.

Photographers300+Onboarded & Verified
Avg. Advance₹8.5KUp from ₹2K industry avg
Time Saved40%In negotiation & invoicing

The Ecosystem Roadmap

Phase 2 (Current)

Freemium Monetization

Moving beyond transaction fees to sustainable recurring revenue.

  • Pro Badges & Priority Ranking
  • Video/Reels Portfolio Support
  • Lead Analytics Dashboard
Phase 3 (2026 Q3)

The Enterprise Layer

Tools for agencies to hire bulk talent and manage workflows.

  • White-label Dashboards
  • Collaborative Lightboxes
  • Native Mobile Apps (iOS/Android)