What your guests see
A web album per event: enter the access code, view the images, download and share them. The codes for the three sample events are printed on the page.
Your own photo booth cloud: gallery, web album and event management - without a subscription
The question operators ask most often is: "Could you provide a gallery and event management?" It exists - and it belongs to you rather than to a provider. A setup assistant installs it on perfectly ordinary rented web space: enter the credentials, press the button, and after about five minutes it is running. No server, no terminal, no Docker. If you have ever ordered a domain, you can do this too.
In the software it is called the "self-hosted web server". That sounds like a server room and a night shift - what it really means is a web hosting package for a few euros a month, the kind millions of websites run on. The technical part is handled by the assistant.
Live demo
Take a look before you decide
Both sides run as an open demo - no form, no sign-up with us, no appointment needed.
What you see
The admin area with events, images and settings. The demo login details are printed on the page, and nothing is saved - so everything can be tried out.
Coming from LumaBooth, dslrBooth or another cloud service?
Then you already know how it works: images go up after the shot, guests get a link or a QR code, the album can be shared. Your own area does exactly the same - just without a monthly cloud fee, without storage tiers and without a third-party platform between you and the images.
| What you know from the cloud | How it works in your own area |
|---|---|
| A gallery link per event | A web album per event that guests open straight from the screen with a QR code. |
| Sharing a single image | A single-image QR for an instant download, plus email delivery - both without an app or sign-up. |
| A storage plan with a cap | The hosting package sets the space: 100 GB carries around 30 events at once, and you can upgrade at any time. |
| A monthly fee per booth or account | Only the rent for the web space - and it stays the same whether you run one booth or four. |
| Images stored with the software vendor | Images stored with your host, under your domain, on your contract. |
| Subscription ends, access ends | You can reach the files over FTP at any time - no running subscription with anyone required. |
| Customer access usually not included | A dedicated host frontend: the wedding couple sees their images and removes unwanted ones themselves. |
All product names and trademarks belong to their respective owners; there is no business relationship. The scope and pricing of the services mentioned change over time - this comparison is meant as orientation for anyone switching.
Why your own storage beats a cloud subscription
A central cloud with monthly billing would be possible - deliberately, there is none. That works in your favour.
The images stay yours
Guest photos are sensitive. On your own web space they sit with a provider you picked, under a contract that belongs to you. Nobody has to explain to the end customer where else a copy might be stored.
No fee per event
A central service would have to pass on storage and operating costs - usually per event or per month. Web space costs a fixed amount, whether you run one event a month or eight.
You stay independent
If everything runs at one provider, your business depends on their price list and availability. On your own web space you can change host without the photo booth noticing.
A clean answer for customers
At corporate parties and weddings the question about the storage location is standard. "On my own server" is an answer that wins bookings - and one you can actually back up.
The setup assistant takes the technical part off your hands
Until now the package for rented web space was something for people who know FTP and databases. The assistant turns that around: you enter the credentials, it does the rest. If all you have ever done is create a cloud account, this takes a handful of clicks more - once, and never again.
- Book web space: order a hosting package with PHP and MySQL - it takes about as long as ordering a domain.
- Find the credentials: the FTP account and the database are listed in the host's customer area. Nothing else is needed.
- Start the assistant: the program runs on your Windows PC, asks for the details and checks beforehand whether the package is suitable.
- Let it run: uploading files, creating the database, writing the configuration, issuing the API key - all automatic.
- Connect the photo booth: enter the address and key in the admin area under "Accounts", test the connection, done.
Easier than a WordPress installation
That is not a marketing line but an honest comparison: with WordPress you upload files, create a database, click through a setup and then look after theme, plugins and updates. Here the whole middle part is gone - the assistant does upload, database and configuration in one pass. In practice it takes around five minutes, most of it waiting for the upload.
The setup assistant is provided on request with an active licence - it is not a public download. A short message through the contact form is enough.
What you need
Requirements at the host
- Web space with PHP: any common hosting package with a current PHP version will do.
- One MySQL database: one is enough; most packages include several.
- FTP access: part of every web hosting package, listed in the customer area.
- A domain or subdomain: for example gallery.your-photobooth.com - usually included.
What you explicitly do not need
- No server of your own, no root access, no data centre.
- No command line, no Docker, no Linux knowledge.
- No service provider to do the installation for you.
- No fixed IP and no machine running at home around the clock.
If you would rather stay in your own data centre: the same solution is still available as a Docker image.
Which hosting package covers how many events?
Web hosting from STRATO has been tested and is recommended - the assistant runs through it reliably. As a rule of thumb, around 3 GB per event applies, which covers layout images, single shots and animations from a normal evening.
| Package | Web space | Databases | Events online at once (3 GB each) | Who it suits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | 50 GB | 2 | about 15 | One booth, occasional events, a low-risk way to try it out. |
| Basic | 100 GB | 25 | about 30 | The usual rental business: an event every weekend, albums staying online for a few weeks. |
| Plus | 150 GB | 50 | about 45 | Several booths in parallel, or customers who want their album open for a long time. |
| Pro | 200 GB | 75 | about 60 | A full season with several booths and long retention periods. |
Storage and database figures according to the provider, as of September 2026; all packages come with a current PHP version and without a traffic limit. Regular list prices are in the single-digit to low double-digit euro range per month depending on the package, with promotional prices often lower - please check prices, contract terms and features directly with the provider. STRATO is a trademark of its respective owner; there is no business relationship. Other hosts with PHP, MySQL and FTP work just as well.
Storage is a rolling stock, not an annual budget
The numbers above say how many events can be online at the same time - not how many you may run per year. Once a customer has their images the event is cleared and the space is free again. Anyone who keeps albums open for four weeks and then deletes them will get through a full season on 100 GB. If it turns out to be too little, you upgrade the package at the host - no reinstallation needed.
"I have never hosted anything" - the honest answers
What if I enter something wrong?
The assistant checks the details before it creates anything and says in plain words what is wrong - a mistyped FTP password, for instance, or a package without a suitable database. A second attempt costs nothing.
Do I have to handle updates?
The self-hosted web server is updated together with the photo booth software, which tells you when a new version belongs to it. There is no maintenance contract and no weekly upkeep.
And if I get stuck?
Then a short message is enough. The assistant is provided on request anyway, and support is included for the first setup. There is also a check script that tells you in advance whether a hosting package is suitable.
Can I try it first?
Yes. A small package costs a few euros a month and can be cancelled monthly. That is enough to run through the whole process once before you commit.
What you get afterwards
After the setup the entire online side of RAWCaptureBooth is in your own hands:
- A web album per event: guests open it with a QR code, single images come with their own QR download.
- Event and image management: view, sort and delete captures - including remotely.
- Host access: the wedding couple or corporate customer gets their own interface and can remove unwanted images themselves.
- Management portal: all booths on one page, with status, counters and remote commands.
- Event handover: a fully prepared event travels through your own server to a second photo booth.
Frequently asked questions
Deliberately not as a central subscription service. The same functions - management portal, event management, web album, single-image QR and host access - run as a self-hosted web server on web space that belongs to you. The setup assistant turns that into a five-minute job.
No. The assistant runs on your Windows PC, asks for the address, the FTP account and the database details and handles upload, database and configuration itself. No terminal, no Docker, no server of your own.
At around 3 GB per event a package with 50 GB carries about 15 events at the same time, 100 GB about 30, 150 GB about 45 and 200 GB about 60. Because events can be cleared after handover, the storage is a rolling stock rather than an annual budget.
Web hosting from STRATO has been tested and is recommended. In principle any hosting package with a current PHP version, a MySQL database and FTP access will do.
Only the rent for the web space, in the single-digit to low double-digit euro range per month depending on the package. The self-hosted web server itself has no running fee - it is part of the package with an active licence and is provided on request.
Both work. For your own server or data centre the same solution is available as a Docker image. Rented web space is simply the fastest route for everyone without their own infrastructure.