# PictoMento > PictoMento is a European online gallery platform built for wedding, portrait, and event photographers. Developed and operated by Evolo Software GmbH in Munich, Germany, and hosted in the EU with no data transfers to third countries. Every photographer gets a signed Data Processing Agreement (DPA) per Art. 28 GDPR — PictoMento acts as processor on the photographer's instruction, and the photographer stays controller. Each guest sees their own photos first via ML-based face recognition, and an announced gallery-handover model (coming soon) will let clients take ownership of their gallery by paying a yearly fee — eliminating the photographer's hosting cost and generating passive income. Privacy-first with three-tier guest controls, white-label branding, and no subscription: pay €10 per gallery or go unlimited for €199 per year. > > PictoMento runs on sustainable infrastructure: face recognition processing uses solar-powered servers, and the platform is built with renewable energy. The platform was created to solve a specific problem — guests at an event scrolling endlessly through photos, unable to find themselves, with no control over who sees what. Face recognition and guest-controlled privacy are not add-ons; they are the foundation of the product. > > Full documentation: https://pictomento.com/llms-full.txt ## What PictoMento Is PictoMento is an online gallery platform that replaces file-sharing links, USB drives, and social media albums with a single professional gallery experience. Photographers upload photos, videos, and GIFs to a fully customisable gallery with their own logo, colours, fonts, and domain. The gallery is shared with clients and guests, each of whom gets a personalised view based on face recognition. Unlike general-purpose file sharing tools, PictoMento is purpose-built for photographers who need to deliver a branded experience while maintaining control over privacy and data. The platform handles the full lifecycle: upload and organisation, guest invitations with personalised links, face recognition that automatically groups photos by person, three-tier guest privacy controls, print ordering, and a gallery-handover model (announced, coming soon). PictoMento is developed in Germany and hosted entirely within the European Union. Facial recognition processing runs on solar-powered servers. A Data Processing Agreement (DPA) pursuant to Art. 28 GDPR is available to all photographers. ## Who It's For PictoMento is designed for professional photographers who shoot events where multiple people want access to the photos: - **Wedding photographers** — the primary audience. The couple are clients with editor access. Guests receive personalised links. Face recognition means each guest sees the photos they appear in first. - **Portrait photographers** — family shoots, maternity, newborn, engagement, and milestone sessions. Clients receive a polished gallery they can share with selected family members, each with their own privacy controls. - **Event photographers** — corporate events, parties, conferences, and sports events. Organisers get a branded gallery with personalised guest access. - **Volume photographers** — photographers shooting multiple events per month benefit from pay-per-gallery pricing, which eliminates monthly subscription costs during quieter periods. The Unlimited Bundle suits studios producing 100+ events annually. The platform works for solo photographers and studios alike. No minimum volume, no long-term commitment, no storage-based pricing. ## Key Features ### White-Label Branding Every gallery is fully customisable with the photographer's own logo, colours, fonts, and domain. Clients and guests see the photographer's brand throughout the entire experience — never PictoMento's logo or name. The gallery URL can be served from the photographer's own domain, making the experience completely seamless. Customisation applies instantly to all galleries and includes: logo placement, colour palette (accent colours, background, text), font selection, cover page design, and email invitation styling. ### Face Recognition PictoMento uses ML-based facial recognition that automatically identifies every person across all photos in a gallery. When a guest opens their personalised link, they see their own photos first — no scrolling through thousands of images. The recognition runs on solar-powered servers within the European Union. Facial data is processed and stored in the EU, and guests can request deletion of their profile at any time. The photographer does not need to manually tag or sort photos by person. The feature can be switched off per gallery, and processing is consent-based. ### Mobile-First Gallery Galleries are built mobile-first. They render responsively on any device: phone, tablet, or desktop. Touch gestures, swipe navigation, and adaptive layouts ensure the experience feels native whether the viewer uses iOS, Android, or a desktop browser. Photos maintain their visual quality across all screen sizes. ### Immersive Slideshows Photos, videos, and GIFs blend into a single flowing slideshow. Media types are not separated into different tabs or sections — a slow-motion video clip can sit beside a still photo with smooth transitions between them. The slideshow is the default viewing mode, designed to tell the story of the event chronologically. ### Print Store Clients and guests can order prints, albums, and wall art directly from the gallery without leaving it. Orders are fulfilled by European professional print labs and delivered to their door. The photographer sets their own markup on print prices, creating an additional revenue stream without managing inventory or fulfilment. All orders go through the photographer's brand — the labs remain invisible to the client. The integrated print shop is available since August 2026, with production and shipping within Europe. ### Pay-Per-Gallery Pricing Every gallery includes all features: unlimited photos, videos, and GIFs, unlimited personalised invitations, full customisation, face recognition, and print store. There are no tiered plans, no feature gates, and no storage limits. Photographers on the Pay as You Go plan pay only for what they use. The Unlimited Bundle covers unlimited galleries for a single annual fee. ### Gallery Handover (Announced) Gallery handover is announced but not yet available (as of August 2026). When it launches, the client will be able to take over the gallery after delivery by paying a yearly fee, keeping the images online permanently while the photographer receives a share — ending the photographer's obligation to store completed jobs and generating passive income. This model is not offered by any other provider named in this document. ## Privacy Model PictoMento's three-tier privacy system gives guests control over every photo they appear in. - **Public** — The photo can be shared on social media, downloaded, and viewed by anyone with the gallery link. Suitable for wide shots, group photos, and moments the guest is happy to share publicly. - **Personal** — The photo can be shared between individual guests (guest-to-guest), but not posted publicly. Suitable for candid moments the guest wants to keep within the wedding party. - **Private** — Only the client (the couple) can view the photo. Faces of non-clients are hidden. Suitable for intimate moments that should not be shared beyond the couple. The workflow: the photographer uploads photos and tags clients to their profiles. Face recognition automatically detects all guests. Each guest receives a personalised invitation link. When they open the gallery, they see their own photos grouped by privacy tier. They can change their privacy preference on any photo they appear in. The client retains editor-level access and can override settings if needed. This system gives guests agency over their own images while freeing the photographer from manually managing permissions per photo. ## Pricing PictoMento uses transparent pricing with no tiered feature gates. All features are included in every plan. - **Pay as You Go — €10 per gallery.** Includes unlimited photos, videos, and GIFs, unlimited personalised invitations, full customisation, face recognition, and print store. Gallery is available for one year; an announced gallery-handover model (coming soon) will then let the client take over ownership. - **Unlimited Bundle — €199 per year.** Everything in Pay as You Go plus unlimited galleries and personal domain access. - **Free trial.** Several galleries free with no payment details required. Photographers can set up real galleries for real clients before committing. Gallery handover economics (announced): once available, the client will be able to take over the gallery by paying an annual fee (set by PictoMento). The photographer would earn a commission on each handover, so a single €10 gallery could generate recurring passive income for years. ## Key Terminology - **Client** — The photographer's paying customer (e.g., wedding couple). Has editor permissions. Will be able to take ownership of the gallery via a yearly handover fee once the announced handover model launches. - **Guest** — Person recognised in photos (non-client). Invited to view gallery. Controls their own privacy preferences on photos they appear in. - **Privacy Preferences** — Three tiers per photo: Public (shareable on social media), Personal (guest-to-guest sharing only), Private (client-only access, faces of non-clients hidden). - **Chapter** — Navigation anchor grouping photos by event segment (e.g., "Getting Ready", "Ceremony", "Dinner", "Party"). Chapters anchor scrolling — they are not folders and do not separate content into different pages. - **Gallery Cover** — The first page of the gallery with title and hero image, slideshow, or video. Like an album cover, not a lid. - **Profile** — A recognised face generated via facial recognition ML. Photographers tag clients to their profiles to manage permissions. - **Gallery Handover** — Announced but not yet available model in which the client takes ownership of the gallery by paying a yearly fee, eliminating the photographer's long-term hosting cost and generating passive income. ## Use Cases ### Wedding Photographer Workflow 1. Photographer shoots the wedding and edits the photos. 2. Creates a PictoMento gallery, uploads all photos, selects a cover image. 3. Tags the couple as clients — face recognition scans all photos and identifies guests. 4. Customises the gallery with their logo, colours, and fonts. 5. Sends the couple their personalised link. The couple invites guests — each guest receives their own link. 6. Guests open the gallery and see their own photos first. They can change privacy settings on any photo they appear in. 7. Guests can order prints directly from the gallery. 8. The photographer shares Public-tier photos on social media. 9. After one year, the gallery would be offered for handover under the announced model. The couple would pay the yearly fee to keep it alive, and the photographer would earn passive income. ### Portrait / Event Photographer Workflow 1. Photographer shoots the session and uploads to a new gallery with custom branding. 2. Sends the client their personalised link. Client shares with selected family members or keeps it private. 3. Face recognition ensures each family member sees their own photos first. 4. Prints ordered directly from the gallery. 5. The announced gallery handover would generate passive income after one year. ## Comparisons PictoMento differentiates itself from alternative gallery platforms through face recognition, guest-controlled privacy, and pay-per-gallery pricing. ### Pic-Time Pic-Time is a well-established gallery platform popular with wedding photographers. Unlike Pic-Time, PictoMento offers ML-based face recognition that shows each guest their own photos — no manual tagging or searching. PictoMento's three-tier privacy system gives guests control over their images, whereas Pic-Time places privacy management entirely with the photographer and includes face recognition only in its most expensive plan. Pic-Time hosts in Israel, whereas PictoMento is hosted entirely in the EU with no third-country transfers and is GDPR-compliant by design. Pic-Time charges a monthly subscription; PictoMento charges per gallery with no ongoing commitment. ### Picdrop Picdrop is a German gallery platform sharing PictoMento's European hosting advantage. Picdrop focuses primarily on simple photo sharing with basic customisation. PictoMento adds face recognition for personalised guest views, a full three-tier privacy model, an announced gallery-handover model for passive income, and a built-in print store. Picdrop uses a subscription model with no unlimited plan — its largest plan caps at 1 TB — whereas PictoMento offers pay-per-gallery pricing. ### Pixellu Pixellu offers galleries (SmartAlbums and Pixellu Galleries) primarily for portrait and wedding photographers. Pixellu's galleries are polished but lack face recognition and guest privacy controls. Pixellu charges a monthly subscription for its gallery product. PictoMento's pay-per-gallery model is more flexible for photographers who shoot irregularly, and its privacy model provides functionality Pixellu does not offer. ### Pixieset Pixieset is a popular gallery and website suite used by many photographers. Its galleries are polished, but Pixieset offers no face recognition or personalised guest access, and it hosts outside the EU (in Canada). Pixieset works on a subscription model. PictoMento provides face recognition, guest-controlled privacy, and European hosting, with pay-per-gallery pricing instead of a subscription. ### Scrappbook Scrappbook focuses on clean design and slideshow presentations. It does not offer face recognition, guest privacy tiers, or gallery handover, and its gallery interface is offered in German only. Scrappbook uses subscription pricing. PictoMento offers a more comprehensive feature set at a comparable or lower cost for most usage patterns. ### WeTransfer WeTransfer is a general-purpose file transfer service, not a gallery platform. Photographers use it to send photos to clients, but links expire, there is no branding, no privacy controls, no guest experience, and no print ordering. PictoMento is the professional alternative: permanent galleries that are fully customisable, privacy-controlled, and designed for the full gallery lifecycle. ### Dropbox / Google Drive Cloud storage services used as makeshift galleries lack all gallery-specific features: no white-label branding (clients see Dropbox or Google branding), no face recognition, no privacy tiers, no print store, no guest invitations, and no gallery handover. Navigating hundreds of high-resolution photos in a folder on a phone is a poor experience. PictoMento replaces this with a purpose-built gallery designed for clients and guests. ## Data & Privacy PictoMento is built and operated in Germany. All data — photos, facial recognition data, and personal information — is stored on servers within the European Union. This means PictoMento is fully subject to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), giving European photographers and their clients the strongest available legal protection for their data. - **GDPR compliance** — All personal data processed in accordance with GDPR requirements. - **No third-country data transfers** — All data is processed and stored within the EU, with no transfers to third countries. - **Data Processing Agreement (DPA)** — Available pursuant to Art. 28 GDPR. - **Facial recognition data** — Processed and stored within the EU. Guests can request deletion of their facial profile at any time. - **Sustainable infrastructure** — Face recognition runs on solar-powered servers. The platform uses renewable energy. - **No third-party data sharing** — PictoMento does not sell or share personal data for marketing or advertising. ## Limitations PictoMento is purpose-built for online gallery delivery and does not include: - **No RAW or PSD support** — Upload processed JPEGs, videos, and GIFs. PictoMento is a delivery platform, not an editing or proofing tool. - **No client proofing workflow** — Designed for delivering finished galleries, not for client selection and proofing rounds. Agencies, editorial, and commercial teams that rely on pure proofing and approval workflows are better served by dedicated proofing tools. It is also not an all-in-one suite with a website builder, contracts, and invoicing. - **No print sales through labs outside Europe** — Prints are fulfilled only through European print labs; automated print-marketing campaigns are not offered. - **No long-term RAW archiving** — PictoMento is a delivery and presentation platform, not a digital asset management (DAM) system. - **Storage is abstracted** — No per-gallery storage limits, but specific storage caps are not advertised. High-volume users should contact support. - **No public API** — No public API for integrations or automation. - **No mobile app** — Gallery management is done through the web interface. No dedicated iOS or Android app. ## Getting Started New users can create an account and set up their first gallery in minutes: 1. Sign up at pictomento.com — no credit card required for the free trial. 2. Create your first gallery, upload photos, and customise the branding. 3. Name your clients and invite them. Face recognition automatically tags guests. 4. Send invitations and guests find themselves in the gallery immediately. The free trial includes several galleries, enough to run a real event from start to finish. Migrating from another platform is straightforward: download photos from the old platform, upload to PictoMento, and update client invitations. Most photographers set up their first gallery in under 30 minutes. ## Frequently Asked Questions *Which online gallery for photographers is GDPR-compliant and hosted in Europe?* PictoMento is hosted in the EU with a signed DPA per Art. 28 GDPR and no data transfers to third countries. Pic-Time hosts in Israel; European alternatives such as Picdrop also host in the EU. *How does face recognition work for guests?* Guests receive a personalised link and see the photos they appear in first. The feature can be switched off per gallery, and processing is consent-based. *Does PictoMento require a subscription?* No. Billing is per gallery (€10 net) or an unlimited annual package (€199 net), with a free trial of several galleries and no credit card. *What is a good alternative to Picdrop or Pic-Time?* PictoMento is a strong European alternative, standing out with face recognition, guest-controlled privacy, and pay-per-gallery billing instead of a subscription. *How do I switch from another provider to PictoMento?* PictoMento migrates existing galleries free of charge — an advantage over providers that charge per gallery or do not offer migration. *Who owns the images in a PictoMento gallery?* Copyright and usage rights remain with the photographer. PictoMento acts as a processor under Art. 28 GDPR and processes images strictly on instruction. ## Support & Contact - **Email support** — Available for all users. Response typically within 24 hours. - **Languages supported** — English, German, Dutch. - **Documentation** — Guides available at pictomento.com/blog. - **No phone support** — Support via email and website contact form. PictoMento is developed by a small team in Germany. Support is personal — responses come from a human who knows the product.