I've started a lot of projects. This one is different.
I'm a software engineer by day and a photographer by passion. I've always wanted to blend the two. This year, I finally did something about it.
The spark
Our daughter is turning 10 in less than a month.
Something clicked.
We're always at events together. Always sharing photos with each other after. Always texting "hey can you send me yours?" and getting maybe 9 back from a 40-person party.
Why isn't there one place where it all just lives?
The rule I gave myself
Software engineers who love side projects know the trap: you start something, get it 80% done, and then life happens. After hours of coding at work, the last thing I wanted was to open a laptop for myself.
I've been a photographer long enough to know the best shots are candid. I'd always wanted to build something that combined both sides of what I do. I just never found the right reason to start.
I gave myself one rule: build it before her birthday. So we could actually use it at the event. Real deadline. Real stakes.
The name
Kapwa (kɐpˈwa) is a Filipino word with no single English equivalent. It means the shared self, the recognition that you and I are not truly separate.
That felt right for something built around the idea that the best memories from a gathering belong to everyone who was there, not just the person who happened to have their phone out.
What I built
One link. Everything.
Guests join by scanning a QR code. No app to download. No account to create. Just show up and share.
- Shared photo album — approve before anything goes live, auto-watermarked with your event
- Real RSVPs — know who's coming before you buy a thing
- Potluck sign-ups — no more three people bringing potato salad
- Gift registry — guests claim items, no duplicates
The photos that would otherwise live on eight different phones now belong to everyone.
The photo problem and Snap! mode
The best memories from your party shouldn't live in camera rolls nobody revisits. After every event, someone's texting "can you send me the photos?" for weeks afterward and getting maybe a third of them back.
And because I'm a photographer who loves a good candid, I built Snap! mode into Kapwa.
One shot. No preview. No retakes. Point, tap, and it's locked in. Nobody sees the photos until the host reveals the album.
It brings back disposable camera energy: the shots where people aren't posing, where things are actually happening. Those are always the ones worth keeping.
The first real event
I made the deadline.
Our first real event is Keachella, our daughter's 10th birthday on June 27. The event I built Kapwa for.
If you want to try it for your next gathering, your first event is free.