Here’s a complete Dev.to-style blog post you can copy and paste or publish to your own blog:
🚀 Building ViewProof: A Photographer-Client Album Sharing Platform with React, Firebase & Cloudinary
Published on [Dev.to] by Aayush Raj
📸 Introduction
In this solo-built project, I created ViewProof — a modern web app for photographers to share albums with clients, who can view, approve, and comment on photos individually. It solves a real problem in client communication and delivery — and gave me hands-on experience with full-stack technologies, UI/UX, and deployment.
🌟 What is ViewProof?
A tool for photographers to upload photo albums and share them securely with clients. Clients can approve/reject photos and leave comments per image.
🔑 Key Features:
- 👤 Role-based access: Photographer & Client
- 🖼️ Album upload with image previews (using Cloudinary)
- 🧑💼 Clients can approve/reject photos and leave feedback
- ✏️ Rename/Delete albums (for photographers)
- 🔐 Access control — only the intended user can view the album
- 📈 Progress indicator (e.g., 8/10 photos approved)
⚙️ Tech Stack
| Category | Stack |
|---|---|
| Frontend | React, TailwindCSS |
| Backend | Firebase Auth & Firestore |
| File Hosting | Cloudinary (chunk upload) |
| Deployment | Vercel |
🧠 What I Learned
This project pushed me beyond basic CRUD:
🔐 Firebase Authentication & Role Access
- Users register with a role (
photographerorclient) - On login, the UI adjusts based on role
- Protected routes and album access checks ensure only the right user sees the right content
☁️ Cloudinary File Upload
- Implemented chunked uploads for better large-file handling
- Stored photo metadata in Firestore, while image URLs came from Cloudinary
- Used
FormDataand REST API rather than an SDK for full control
🎨 UI/UX and Responsiveness
- Built a clean, minimal interface using Tailwind
- Prioritized mobile-friendliness (tested on various breakpoints)
- Focused on microinteractions like loading spinners, status badges, and modals
📸 Demo
✅ Live Demo: https://view-proof.vercel.app
📂 GitHub Repo: https://github.com/Aayush-2825/viewproof
🧪 What's Next?
If I extend this project, I’d add:
- 🔔 Email or push notifications for new uploads
- 📥 Zip download option for approved photos
- 💬 Real-time chat or comment thread per album
- 🧾 Admin dashboard for photographers
🙌 Final Words
This project helped me solidify full-stack concepts, learn real-world file management, and improve my UI/UX thinking. If you're learning React and Firebase, or just looking for a solo project to showcase on your portfolio — something like ViewProof is a great bet.
If you liked this, let’s connect:
Top comments (0)