Ask HN: Closed beta or release the product now?

I'm working on a community generated media (images) website for a particular niche, that's almost ready for release (or beta testing). I've never launched a website which relies so much on the creation of a very active community.

My current thought is that it would make sense to have a closed beta to begin with and actively recruit people who may be interested in participating, and then allow each beta tester to invite a specified number of other people to the website.

There of course will be very little content and community interaction to begin with, and by making it a closed beta I'm thinking that early users won't be put off by that fact, as they understand it hasn't been released to the public and that they can have a role in shaping the community and the website. If I just release the thing now with little content and no community then it could just look like a failed website to anyone visiting.

Also, it seems that users would be more likely to invite others if it's a closed beta because it's a bit more exclusive.

Does this sound logical, or would it make more sense to release the website to the public right away?