CDN distribution

A journalist in Berlin clicks your press kit link at 9 AM local time. She needs three approved stills for a piece going live in two hours. If those images take 30 seconds each to download from your server in Los Angeles, she's already frustrated before the page finishes loading.

That's why ReelStorage serves your images from the edge.

What CDN distribution actually means for your workflow

CDN stands for Content Delivery Network, but you don't need to care about the infrastructure. Here's what it does for you: when someone requests an image, it's served from whichever server is physically closest to them. Instead of every request traveling back to one origin server, cached copies sit at edge locations around the world.

The result is fast load times everywhere. Thumbnails in your approval gallery render instantly. High-resolution downloads start immediately instead of buffering. Press teams on deadline get what they need without waiting.

Automatic image optimization

When you upload photos to ReelStorage, you upload your originals. Full resolution, full quality, exactly as they came off the camera or out of your editing software.

Behind the scenes, ReelStorage generates optimized versions for delivery:

Modern formats: Images are converted to WebP and AVIF, which are significantly smaller than JPEG at the same visual quality. Older browsers that don't support these formats automatically receive JPEG.

Responsive sizing: Multiple size variants are generated so that a phone screen doesn't download a 50-megapixel file. The right size is served based on the requesting device and context.

Smart compression: Quality settings are tuned to maintain visual fidelity while reducing file size. The difference is invisible to the eye but measurable in load time.

You don't configure any of this. It happens automatically for every image in your library.

How caching works

The first time someone requests an image, it's fetched from the origin, optimized, and cached at the edge location nearest to them. Every subsequent request for that same image, from anyone in that region, is served directly from the cache.

This means:

• First view: Slightly longer (origin fetch + optimization)
• Every view after: Near-instant from cache
• Popular images: Cached at multiple edge locations simultaneously

For press kits and approval galleries where many people view the same images, caching means the load on your account stays flat even as traffic spikes. A hundred journalists hitting your press page at once? The edge handles it.

Delivery that respects your access controls

Fast delivery doesn't mean open access. CDN-served content follows the same permission model as everything else in ReelStorage:

• Approval galleries require a valid access code
• Export links use authenticated, time-limited URLs
• Shared collections respect the permission set you configured
• Embedded images require a valid referrer or token

Cached content isn't publicly browsable. Every request is validated before the image is served.

Use cases for production teams

Press and publicity

When you're distributing approved stills to press after a premiere, screening, or event, speed matters. Journalists work on tight deadlines. A slow-loading gallery or a failed download can mean your stills don't make it into the coverage.

CDN distribution means your press kit loads fast for every outlet, whether they're across town or across the world.

Client and talent review

Approval galleries where talent or clients review hundreds of images need to feel responsive. Scrolling through thumbnails should be instant. Loading a full preview should take a fraction of a second. When the review experience is slow, people rush through it or give up partway.

Digital and web teams

If your digital team embeds production stills on websites, social channels, or electronic press kits, they benefit from responsive image delivery. The right size and format is served automatically based on the viewer's device and connection. No need to manually export "web-optimized" versions in three different sizes.

What this replaces

Before CDN delivery, distributing production photos at scale usually meant one of these approaches:

WeTransfer or Dropbox links: Files download from a single server. Slow for remote recipients, no format optimization, links expire.

Email attachments: Limited by file size. No optimization. Easy to lose in an inbox.

Self-hosted galleries: Requires server management, CDN configuration, and manual image processing. Works if you have a web team; painful if you don't.

FTP servers: Still common in some productions. Slow, no optimization, and the interface scares off anyone who isn't technical.

ReelStorage replaces all of these with a single workflow: upload your originals, set permissions, share the link. The CDN handles the rest.

No configuration needed

You don't need to pick edge locations, set cache policies, or configure image delivery settings. CDN distribution is built into ReelStorage's infrastructure. When you upload an image and share it, it's delivered through the CDN automatically.

Your job is to upload great photos and decide who gets to see them. The delivery infrastructure is ours to worry about.