About
Made by photographers, for photographers.
Kōlab is a free photography app built around weekly challenges called Missions. Find something worth shooting, put up what you came back with, and get feedback from photographers who shoot what you shoot. It's on iPhone, Android and the web, and it's run by a very small team who'd much rather you were out shooting than scrolling.
Built with hundreds of photographers
Added to Kōlab this week, by the photographers who took them
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Where it came from
It started on a rainy weekend.
You've probably been there. You spend hours out shooting and more hours editing, put up the shot you're proudest of, and it gets a handful of likes, a fire emoji and a bot selling crypto. Or you try something new, it does worse than your usual stuff, and you end up posting the same kind of shot again. After a while, photography starts to feel like work.
That's exactly where Tom Dalton, Kōlab's founder, ended up. He'd grown an Instagram to over 25,000 followers, and it was eating his weekends. Whenever he posted something different from his usual style, people unfollowed. He still wanted to get out and shoot. He was just tired of shooting for an algorithm.
So one rainy weekend he started sketching what a different kind of photography app could look like. Instead of everyone competing for the same likes, photographers would work towards a shared goal: the same brief, lots of different answers, and people helping each other get better. That's where the name comes from. Kōlab is short for collaboration.
Since then, hundreds of photographers have helped build it, testing early versions on Zoom calls, suggesting features and telling us straight when something wasn't working. It's a collaborative project as much as it's an app about collaboration, and it still works that way today.
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The team
A very small team, on purpose.
Kolab Social LTD is a small, independent UK company, and this is the whole team. When you send us a message, it goes straight to the people who can actually change the app.
We're privately funded rather than paid for by advertising. An app that runs on ads needs as much of your attention as it can get, and sooner or later it brings back the rankings and follower counts to keep you scrolling. We'd rather you put the phone down and went outside with your camera.
If you want to talk to somebody, drop us an email. A real person reads it, promise.
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Ambassadors
The photographers helping us build it.
Our ambassadors are Kōlab photographers who set Missions, try new features before anyone else and tell us straight when something isn't working. Tap any of them to see their work.
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Sebastian Nielson
@sebash_nielson
Commercial Aircraft
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Chayan
@chayan
Wingtip Wednesday
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Daniël Monnik
@danimonach
From Below
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Egor Shkorov
@egor.shkorov
From Below
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Mayank
@aerospace_aviation
The Shot You Missed
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Batur Pekcan
@hbpekcan
Feet on the Ground
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Sachin Cody
@taxiway_alpha
People
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Mathew Masters
@aviationwithmathew
Taking Flight
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Ido Sarne
@idodoesphotos
Aircraft in the Wild
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Harry Burgess
@harryburgess
From Below
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Rogan Cabral
@skiesuprogan
Commercial Aircraft
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Sam Batty
@av._.photography._
From Below
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Cameron Screech
@screechphotography
Idyllic Aircraft
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Mathieu
@mathieu
Commercial Aircraft
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Paul Moseley
@magic_photos15
The October Workshop
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Fintan Reckless
@fintan
After Dark
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Dave Andrews
@daveandrewsphotos
Long Exposure
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Maizie Derrick
@mmphotography
From Below
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Where we are now
Still early, and still building it together.
A rainy weekend
The first sketch of a different kind of photography app.
Testing
Photographers try early versions on Zoom calls and tell us what's missing.
Late 2025
Kōlab goes live on iPhone.
Spring 2026
The web and Android follow.
Now
A new Mission every Monday, and still building it together.
What we're here for
To help photographers enjoy getting out and shooting again, and to get better at it together.
Kōlab as the first place you take a new shot: to get ideas, get feedback and see how far you've come. Then post it wherever you like, Instagram included.
No, the line over the o isn't a typo.
The line over the o is a nod to Japan (kō can mean success in Japanese), and if you squint, the ō looks a bit like a camera. Photographers from New Zealand often assume it's a Kiwi app. It isn't, but Tom has spent plenty of winters out there, so we're happy to take that one.
What you can do here
Shoot, put it up, talk about it, go again.
Missions
A new Mission every Monday, with a proper brief to get you trying something new. Pick one, go and shoot it, then see how everyone else tackled the same idea (often in ways you'd never have thought of).
Putting a shot up
Your shots go up in full resolution, in the shape you took them. Portrait, panoramic, square, whatever you've got, wingtips and all.
Having a look around
Browse the Missions, flick through the Daily Spotlight, or lose ten minutes in somebody's Edit Reveal. You don't even need an account to have a nose around.
Comments that say something
People comment on what they noticed: the light, the timing, the edit, the thing you did without realising. Handy for next time you're out, and a lot more useful than another fire emoji.
Edit Reveal
Put your unedited file behind the finished shot and anyone can drag between the two, so people can see exactly what the edit did.
Feedback Rooms, in beta
Stuck on a shot? Open a private room and a few photographers will take a proper look and tell you what they'd try. Only you and the people helping can see it.
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The promise
What you can hold us to.
- We will never use your photographs to train generative AI models, and we'll never sell or license them to anyone else.
- Nothing cropped, ever. Your shots go up in full, in the shape you took them.
- No follower counts, no like tallies, no ranking. Your photography isn't a number here.
- Your work stays yours. You keep full rights, and you can delete any of it whenever you like.
Same height, each in its own shape
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Come and shoot with us.
Kōlab is free, and you can look around before you sign up. Open a few shots, find a Mission you like the sound of, then go and shoot it!
Working with us
Brands, clubs, workshops and events can set their own Missions here. If you've got photographers and a good idea for something they could shoot, we'd love to hear it. Have a look at how running a Mission works.