About us

Independent reviews, written by people who install the software

PhotoLib exists because DAM buying advice was either vendor marketing or listicles written from screenshots. Since 2019 we've tested photo library and digital asset management software the only way that produces real answers: by deploying it ourselves and measuring.

What we do

We install, configure and stress-test DAM, MAM and photo management tools against standardized libraries — then publish rankings, reviews and comparisons built on those measurements. Every score traces to the same 38-point scorecard. We re-test yearly because software changes and scores expire.

Some links on this site earn us a commission when you buy or subscribe. That never affects placement — the scorecard is filled in before anyone checks whether a vendor has an affiliate program. The details live in our affiliate disclosure.

The team

Marta Kowalski · Lead DAM Reviewer
Marta spent nine years implementing DAM systems for photo agencies, manufacturers and a national museum before joining PhotoLib in 2021 to run the test lab. She holds an MSc in Information Science, completed IPTC Photo Metadata Working Group training, and is a member of the DAM Guru Network. She owns the benchmark suite: every timed test, round-trip check and stress catalog on this site runs on her rig. Specialties: metadata standards (IPTC/XMP), controlled vocabularies, on-premise deployments.

James Tran · Senior Editor
James shot weddings and editorial work for eight years (BFA in Photography, ASMP member), then spent another eight implementing DAM systems for museums and media companies before switching sides to review them. His personal 410,000-image archive is the stress-test library behind our photographer-facing rankings. He writes the buying guides and maintains the testing methodology. Specialties: photography workflow, photo archiving, migration projects.

How we make money

Affiliate commissions and nothing else: no sponsored placements, no paid reviews, no vendor "partnerships" that touch editorial. If a vendor without an affiliate program deserves #1, they get #1 — it has happened, and the ranking stayed.

Corrections

Prices, versions and features in this market change monthly. Every commercial page carries its verification date, and we fix errors within days of learning about them — tell us here.