I'm not sure if this is the right subreddit to post this on, I also already posted on and r/DataHoarder , but since this is a subreddit for storage, I thought I would try my luck here;

I'm looking for help finding the perfect service to share my photos (as an experienced amateur photographer) with friends, family, and clients. For the past few weeks, I've been researching cloud storage/sharing software.

I've been using Amazon Photos (unlimited with Prime, 3 euros for me!) up until now and it has a few caveats I can no longer escape:

-Limited video storage (I know I can pay for more, but I'd rather pay for software that can store most file types for a photographer like .dng .nef .jpg .mov, etc).

-Crappy UI: It's easy to organize files but going through them can be a pain on Amazon

-Most importantly, Sharing Capabilities: It's buggy and laggy, tough to access when opening by phone, and users can't really make selections without it f*cking up completely.

I don't need it necessarily for storage; I have hard drives (and Amazon Photos) for that.

I need it to share thousands of RAW photos with friends or family after a vacation so that they can go through them and select photos they might want to have. I would then be able to see which files they selected and send them an edited JPG at the end.

I also shoot events on a voluntary basis (I've been paid a little here and there, but for now, I do it mainly to gain experience): After editing a few thousand photos, I want to be able to share them with the 'clients', who can then download the photos they prefer hassle-free and easily.

This means that the service would need to have RAW file previewing compatibility (thumbnails) and either allow users to favorite the images they like or select them for downloading.

Therefore, I've been looking at a multitude of services, and today I find myself with a few options (still open to others):

-WeTransfer: The free version is great for sharing files, though with the paid version, I have enough storage for multiple groups to access files for a longer period of time (lord knows friends and family like to come back to old albums from previous trips, etc), and there's this feature they have called portals? It seems like it somehow fits into what I was talking about above, where individuals can make their selections. If anyone has experience with that and even how to simplify the process with transfer, I'd be all ears.

-IceDrive: This particular cloud storage service caught my attention (rather than pCloud, iDrive, or others) because of the 1. friendly UI, making it easier for someone less tech-adept to look through photos, 2. many sharing capabilities that seem like they could work, 3. lifetime storage possibility- so that if I feel it is a service id be willing to use for years, I can just buy storage as I go and not have to worry about it, and 4. I can see thumbnails for RAW files!! (this really is important as I don't want to convert 3000 or so photos into jpg just so my friends can pick the photos they like before I go back to the RAW version to edit them and then re-send edited jpegs -> it would make more sense to just select the RAW files they want to be edited and then I send them the edited jpegs.)

-Drive/Google Photos: I used to use this when they had the unlimited photo storage option, but I have since been shooting RAW, and their services feel somehow not worth the premium. Nonetheless, they are leading in the industry, so I would never rule them out, especially since the other options I've been looking at aren't as renowned.

-Lightroom/Creative Cloud 1TB storage: I pay for this regardless, so I could use it, but I don't have much experience with how sharing files works here, especially when it comes to sharing files that haven't been edited yet.

Flickr: There is no RAW compatibility; otherwise, it could be a great deal. This makes me consider converting my raw files to JPGs every time, but at the same time, it really is a lot of time spent on friend trips or non-paying events.

Let me know if you need more info; I seem to have blurted it all out randomly and unorganizedly.