Photo hosting
Where to store, sync, and publish large photo collections: mainstream cloud lockers, pro-oriented sharing sites, backup-first vendors, and self-hosted stacks you control.
Apple Photos
Section titled “Apple Photos”Apple Photos is Apple’s library app for macOS and iOS: organisation, light edits, shared albums, and iCloud sync. Bundled with the OS; extra storage is a paid iCloud tier.
Backblaze
Section titled “Backblaze”Backblaze is a cloud backup provider (personal computer backup and B2 object storage). Common pattern: archive originals off-site, not a full social gallery replacement.
SmugMug
Section titled “SmugMug”SmugMug — paid portfolio / client delivery hosting with unlimited uploads on personal plans (terms change — check current plans). Geared toward photographers who want branded sites and selling tools.
Flickr
Section titled “Flickr”Flickr — long-running photo community hosting; free tier limits and Pro subscriptions for power users.
Other consumer clouds
Section titled “Other consumer clouds”Google Photos
Section titled “Google Photos”Google Photos — Google’s cross-platform library with sync, sharing, and ML search; storage counts against Google account quota unless legacy free tiers apply.
Amazon Photos
Section titled “Amazon Photos”Amazon Photos — storage tied to Prime / paid plans; useful if you already live in the Amazon ecosystem.
Microsoft OneDrive
Section titled “Microsoft OneDrive”Microsoft OneDrive — general file sync; works as a dumb bucket for exported masters or sidecar RAW+JPEG folders, not a dedicated photo site.
Self-hosted
Section titled “Self-hosted”Run your own gallery / sync stack:
- Nextcloud — files, sync clients, optional gallery apps
- PhotoPrism — AI-browseable library UI for self-hosted collections
- Piwigo — classic open-source web gallery
To push phone originals to your NAS or VPS, mobile apps such as PhotoSync are a common bridge.