When social platforms such as Instagram started chasing video clicks shortly after TikTok et al crashed their way into the social media landscape, many photographers were left wondering where their pictures belonged. Street photographer Alan Schaller decided to stop waiting for someone else to fix it. He built Irys, a new photo app made by photographers, for photographers, and it’s just gone live…
I had the good fortune to catch up with Alan Schaller and hear his story. He doesn’t strike you as a man with time to spare. When we speak, he’s in Tokyo juggling three exhibitions, a brace of photo shoots, and the global launch of a swanky new social platform, Irys.
Schaller co-founded Street Photography International on Instagram in 2015 and watched it grow into a 1.7-million-strong community. But then along came Reels, a propensity to favour video content and algorithmic chaos. “Photographers helped build those platforms,” he told me. “Then one day they moved on.”
Unlike me, who simply moaned about it all, Schaller took the bull by the horns and built his own app. Irys is his answer to the short-attention-span internet. It’s a clean, high-resolution space for still images. There are no follower counts, no ads, no data sales. Curation is done by real editors, not algorithms. “Numbers became a proxy for merit,” he says. “I want the work to stand on its own.”
Irys bans generative AI and limits screenshots and unauthorized sharing. Fine-art nudity is allowed with context, moderation is handled by humans, and storage supports full-size files so the pictures stay sharp.
There’s a free tier, but the small subscription unlocks pro-level tools. “Hosting, privacy, and proper moderation cost money,” Schaller says. “We’re doing it properly.”
Groups are central to Irys’s mission. Photographers can form communities, post photowalks, or share private collections for workshops and clients. I’m also excited to hear that print fulfilment, publishing and exhibitions is on the imminent horizon. “You make the pictures,” Schaller says. “We’ll handle the rest.”
Unlike Instagram, Irys isn’t trying to be everything for everyone. It’s a niche built on purpose, not scale. Schaller calls it complementary rather than competitive. “Meta builds for everyone,” he says. “We’re building for photographers.”
In a world where the photograph has been reduced to a thumbnail between videos, Irys feels like a cool place to hang with like-minded photographers. A place to slow down, look harder and remember why we pick up a camera in the first place.
The app has only been live for a couple of weeks, although I did enjoy some time in the pre-release phase and I’ve got to say I have really enjoyed connecting to fellow photographers on a more meaningful level.
Irys is available now on the App Store and Google Play.
