Table of Contents

Image Hosting Options for Photography Gallery
#

Since GitHub has file size limits and you don’t want to store large photography images in your repository, here are the best options for external image hosting.

Quick Comparison
#

Service	Free Tier	Bandwidth	Processing	Best For	Cost
Cloudflare R2	10GB storage	10GB/month (free)	No	Cost-conscious	$0.015/GB storage after free tier
ImageKit	20GB bandwidth	20GB/month	Yes	Performance	Free tier generous, $49/mo after
Cloudinary	25 credits	~25GB/month	Yes	Full features	Free tier good, $89/mo Pro
imgix	Connect your storage	Varies	Yes	High volume	$49/mo minimum
Bunny CDN	No free tier	Pay as you go	Optional	Full control	$0.01/GB (very cheap)

Recommended Options
#

1. Cloudflare R2 (Best Value)
#

Pros:

Extremely cost-effective ($0.015/GB storage, $0.01/GB bandwidth after free tier)
No egress fees (unlike S3)
Fast global CDN
S3-compatible API
10GB free storage

Cons:

No built-in image processing
Manual image optimization needed
More technical setup

Setup:

Create Cloudflare account
Navigate to R2 Object Storage
Create a bucket (e.g., “skb-photos”)
Enable public access for read
Upload images
Get public URL: https://pub-xxxxx.r2.dev/your-image.jpg

Usage:

2. ImageKit (Best for Ease of Use)
#

Pros:

Automatic image optimization
Real-time transformations (resize, crop, format conversion)
URL-based image manipulation
Generous free tier (20GB bandwidth)
Easy to use dashboard

Cons:

More expensive at scale
20GB storage limit on free tier

Setup:

Sign up at https://imagekit.io/
Go to Media Library
Upload images
Get URL endpoint: https://ik.imagekit.io/yourname/

Usage with Transformations:

Transformations:

w-1200 - width 1200px
q-80 - quality 80%
f-webp - convert to WebP format

3. Cloudinary (Best Full-Featured)
#

Pros:

Powerful image processing
Automatic format selection
AI-powered features
Great free tier
CDN included

Cons:

Credit system can be confusing
Expensive after free tier

Setup:

Sign up at https://cloudinary.com/
Upload images via Media Library
Get cloud name: https://res.cloudinary.com/yourcloudname/

Usage:

Recommendations by Use Case
#

Just Starting Out
#

ImageKit - Easiest to use, good free tier, automatic optimization

Cost-Conscious
#

Cloudflare R2 - Cheapest at scale, but requires manual optimization

High-Quality Photography Portfolio
#

Cloudinary or imgix - Best image processing, professional features

High Traffic Site
#

Bunny CDN or Cloudflare R2 - Most cost-effective bandwidth

Image Optimization Tips
#

Before Upload
#

Resize images:
- Max width: 2000-2400px for high-res displays
- Use 1200-1600px for regular display
Compress images:
- Use tools like:
  - TinyPNG
  - Squoosh
  - ImageOptim (Mac)
Choose format:
- WebP for modern browsers (best compression)
- JPEG for photos
- PNG for graphics with transparency

Using Image Transformations
#

With ImageKit or Cloudinary, you can serve responsive images:

Hugo Image Processing Alternative
#

If you want to store some images in your repo (smaller ones), Hugo has built-in image processing:

Hugo will automatically:

Generate multiple sizes
Create WebP versions
Optimize for performance

But this increases build time and repo size, so use sparingly.

Gallery Structure Recommendation
#

Organize by Collection
#

content/
└── gallery/
    ├── _index.md
    ├── japan-2024/
    │   ├── index.md
    │   └── [metadata]
    ├── street-photography/
    │   ├── index.md
    │   └── [metadata]
    └── nature/
        ├── index.md
        └── [metadata]

Example Gallery Post
#

---
title: "Japan 2024"
date: 2025-10-15
description: "Photography from my trip to Japan"
tags: ["travel", "japan", "photography"]
---

## Tokyo Nights










  
  
  Shibuya Crossing, Tokyo
  












  
  
  Neon streets of Shinjuku
  



## Kyoto Temples










  
  
  Thousands of torii gates at Fushimi Inari

Cost Estimation Examples
#

Small Site (< 1000 visitors/month)
#

Free tier: ImageKit, Cloudinary, Cloudflare R2 (all free)

Medium Site (10,000 visitors/month, ~50GB bandwidth)
#

Cloudflare R2: ~$0.50/month
ImageKit: Free tier might suffice, or $49/month
Cloudinary: ~$89/month

Large Site (100,000 visitors/month, 500GB bandwidth)
#

Cloudflare R2: ~$5/month
Bunny CDN: ~$5/month
ImageKit: $149/month
Cloudinary: Custom pricing

My Recommendation
#

Start with ImageKit for ease of use and automatic optimization. If your site grows and bandwidth costs become significant, migrate to Cloudflare R2 + manual optimization for the best value.