How the Astros Built a Major League Media Machine

The Houstons Astros team behind the lens

The Houston Astros are a Major League Baseball team based in Houston, Texas, competing in the American League West Division. With a fast-paced media environment and a large organization to support, the Astros’ photo team manages content for social, marketing, community events, internal departments, and external stakeholders.

To keep up with growing demands, they needed a centralized system to streamline asset access, eliminate manual requests, and support the entire organization efficiently.

The challenge: Stuck in the DAM minor league

Evan Triplett, Manager of Photography, and Rankin White, Team Photographer, handle content capture, organization, and distribution for the Astros. Their daily workflow involved fast turnaround times, frequent photo requests, and coordination with multiple departments. But their old systems made this tough. They were using both Widen and OneDrive at the same time, which caused confusion and slowed things down.

• Disorganized archives slowed processes. Widen lacked structure. Without galleries or folders, it didn’t work as a robust archive for their team. This forced the team to juggle Widen and OneDrive to keep things moving. 
• Search was painful and inefficient. The Astros’ previous system offered only basic search functionality. Without folders or structured navigation, users had to sift through a disorganized asset library just to find what they needed. It was time-consuming, frustrating, and often resulted in repeated requests for files that the team had already stored. 
• Too many manual photo requests. Sending links and fulfilling photo requests manually was a significant time drain. “It was a struggle before and a pain,” Triplett added. The system wasn’t scalable, especially for a fast-moving team like theirs.

“Before, our system was only searchable. Now we actually have a folder structure, and every season is broken down into our own content menu. There’s an events folder, community, etc. So people don’t have to search if they know what they’re looking for. They can just go and navigate through very simply.”

Evan Triplett, Manager of Photography, Houston Astros

The solution: All-Star lineup that delivers

Before PhotoShelter, the team was reactive; constantly fielding requests and working around clunky tools. Now, the process is proactive and autonomous. Internal stakeholders can access what they need, when they need it. Here’s how PhotoShelter helped transform their workflow:

• Self-service access replaced manual distribution. Anyone in the organization can find assets without needing to make a request. “People have become autonomous… they can go in and grab it,” said Triplett. That shift freed up the photo team to focus on content rather than logistics. 
• Smart Galleries automatically organize and serve targeted content. With keywords and custom tagging, galleries are now pre-built for specific teams, like player images for marketing or event signage. “They don’t even have to search for it… There’s already a gallery built in.” 
• Sensitive content protected. From City Connect uniforms to internal-only campaigns, the team controls exactly who sees what. “We can customize it so only the people who can see those assets are the people in marketing who need them.” 
• FileFlow supports a seamless mobile workflow. Players, editors, and social teams rely on FileFlow to access images instantly, on or off the field. “There are no more text requests after games,” said Triplett. “Everyone just knows to check FileFlow.” 
• Content delivered straight to players. Players get photos and videos directly from the team; no Dropbox, no email chains. “It’s very straightforward, which is awesome,” said White. “That’s their primary source of getting content from us.”

“It’s been really cool to take some of the information that I already had [working with Austin FC] – how the software is structured and what it’s capable of – and then build on that here at the Astros, to come up with new ideas for how we can share our photos more effectively with the organization and how it can be a really beneficial piece of software for us… It’s been great to see the transition from using it like a more advanced Dropbox to the full power of what PhotoShelter really is.”

Rankin White, Team Photographer, Houston Astros

From clunky tools to a championship-caliber workflow

With PhotoShelter, the Houston Astros finally have a content engine that works for the whole organization. What was once a disorganized, manual process is now automated, efficient, and easy to navigate.

“We’ve gotten to the point where we’re so organized on PhotoShelter that people have become autonomous…  Whatever it is, they can go in and retrieve it, because everything is so well-organized. And they really weren’t able to do that before.”

Evan Triplett, Manager of Photography, Houston Astros