diff --git a/components/PhotoImage.tsx b/components/PhotoImage.tsx
index 9eeadff..21c5c01 100644
--- a/components/PhotoImage.tsx
+++ b/components/PhotoImage.tsx
@@ -5,8 +5,9 @@ import Image from "next/image"
 export default function PhotoImage({ src, alt }: { src: string; alt: string }) {
   // Handle external URLs and local paths
   const isExternal = src.startsWith("http://") || src.startsWith("https://")
+  const isLocalUpload = src.startsWith("/uploads/")
   
-  if (isExternal) {
+  if (isExternal || isLocalUpload) {
     return (
       /* eslint-disable-next-line @next/next/no-img-element */
       <img
@@ -31,7 +32,6 @@ export default function PhotoImage({ src, alt }: { src: string; alt: string }) {
       className="object-contain"
       sizes="(max-width: 768px) 100vw, (max-width: 1200px) 50vw, 600px"
       loading="lazy"
-      unoptimized={src.startsWith("/uploads/")}
     />
   )
 }
diff --git a/components/PhotoThumbnail.tsx b/components/PhotoThumbnail.tsx
index 1f13220..885a1a1 100644
--- a/components/PhotoThumbnail.tsx
+++ b/components/PhotoThumbnail.tsx
@@ -5,10 +5,11 @@ import Image from "next/image"
 export default function PhotoThumbnail({ src, alt }: { src: string; alt: string }) {
   // Handle external URLs and local paths
   const isExternal = src.startsWith("http://") || src.startsWith("https://")
+  const isLocalUpload = src.startsWith("/uploads/")
   
   return (
     <div className="w-full h-full relative">
-      {isExternal ? (
+      {isExternal || isLocalUpload ? (
         /* eslint-disable-next-line @next/next/no-img-element */
         <img
           src={src}
@@ -28,7 +29,6 @@ export default function PhotoThumbnail({ src, alt }: { src: string; alt: string
           className="object-cover"
           sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, (max-width: 1024px) 50vw, 25vw"
           loading="lazy"
-          unoptimized={src.startsWith("/uploads/")}
         />
       )}
     </div>
diff --git a/proxy.ts b/proxy.ts
index ac23581..fbb39e6 100644
--- a/proxy.ts
+++ b/proxy.ts
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ export async function proxy(request: NextRequest) {
   const pathname = request.nextUrl.pathname
 
   // Public routes - allow access
-  if (pathname === "/login" || pathname.startsWith("/api/auth")) {
+  if (pathname === "/login" || pathname.startsWith("/api/auth") || pathname.startsWith("/uploads")) {
     return NextResponse.next()
   }
 
@@ -68,8 +68,9 @@ export const config = {
      * - _next/rsc (RSC payload requests)
      * - _next/webpack (webpack chunks)
      * - favicon.ico (favicon file)
-     * - public folder
+     * - uploads/ (uploaded files)
+     * - public folder files (images, etc.)
      */
-    "/((?!_next/static|_next/image|_next/rsc|_next/webpack|favicon.ico|.*\\.(?:svg|png|jpg|jpeg|gif|webp)$).*)",
+    "/((?!_next/static|_next/image|_next/rsc|_next/webpack|favicon.ico|uploads|.*\\.(?:svg|png|jpg|jpeg|gif|webp)$).*)",
   ],
 }