diff --git a/backend/app/routers/photos.py b/backend/app/routers/photos.py
index 2ebbf89..46f074a 100644
--- a/backend/app/routers/photos.py
+++ b/backend/app/routers/photos.py
@@ -228,24 +228,162 @@ async def get_original(
     photo_id: str,
     db: AsyncSession = Depends(get_db)
 ):
-    """Serve original file for download"""
+    """Serve original file (download for RAW, inline for web-safe formats)"""
     result = await db.execute(
         select(Photo).where(Photo.id == photo_id)
     )
     photo = result.scalar_one_or_none()
-    
+
     if not photo:
         raise HTTPException(status_code=404, detail="Photo not found")
-    
+
     if not os.path.exists(photo.filepath):
         raise HTTPException(status_code=404, detail="File not found")
-    
+
+    # Pick a media type the browser can render inline for web-safe formats
+    # so the loupe view and <video> tags work without forcing a download.
+    ext = Path(photo.filepath).suffix.lower()
+    inline_types = {
+        '.jpg': 'image/jpeg', '.jpeg': 'image/jpeg',
+        '.png': 'image/png', '.webp': 'image/webp', '.gif': 'image/gif',
+        '.mp4': 'video/mp4', '.mov': 'video/quicktime',
+        '.webm': 'video/webm', '.mkv': 'video/x-matroska',
+    }
+    media_type = inline_types.get(ext, 'application/octet-stream')
+
     return FileResponse(
         photo.filepath,
-        filename=photo.filename,
-        media_type='application/octet-stream'
+        filename=photo.filename if media_type == 'application/octet-stream' else None,
+        media_type=media_type,
     )
 
+
+# Extensions that the browser can decode natively. Anything else (RAW, HEIC,
+# TIFF) needs the /proxy endpoint to convert to WebP for display.
+_WEB_SAFE_DISPLAY_EXTS = {'.jpg', '.jpeg', '.png', '.webp', '.gif'}
+
+
+def _generate_proxy_webp(src_path: str, dst_path: str) -> None:
+    """Decode src_path with the appropriate backend and write a full-res WebP
+    to dst_path. Used by GET /photos/{id}/proxy for RAW/HEIC/TIFF display.
+
+    Conservative: catches per-format failures and falls back to extracting an
+    embedded preview where possible (RAW), so a single broken file never
+    crashes the request.
+    """
+    from PIL import Image
+    ext = Path(src_path).suffix.lower()
+
+    img = None
+
+    # RAW formats — decode via rawpy at full size
+    raw_exts = {'.cr2', '.cr3', '.nef', '.nrw', '.arw', '.srf',
+                '.raf', '.rw2', '.orf', '.srw', '.pef', '.rwl', '.dng'}
+    if ext in raw_exts:
+        try:
+            import rawpy
+            with rawpy.imread(src_path) as raw:
+                rgb = raw.postprocess(use_camera_wb=True, no_auto_bright=False)
+            img = Image.fromarray(rgb, 'RGB')
+        except Exception as e:
+            logger.warning(f"rawpy decode failed for {src_path}: {e}; trying embedded preview")
+            try:
+                import rawpy
+                with rawpy.imread(src_path) as raw:
+                    thumb = raw.extract_thumb()
+                    if thumb.format == rawpy.ThumbFormat.JPEG:
+                        from io import BytesIO
+                        img = Image.open(BytesIO(thumb.data))
+            except Exception as e2:
+                logger.error(f"RAW preview extraction also failed for {src_path}: {e2}")
+                raise HTTPException(status_code=415, detail="Unable to decode RAW file")
+
+    # HEIC/HEIF — pillow-heif registers a PIL plugin
+    elif ext in {'.heic', '.heif'}:
+        try:
+            from pillow_heif import register_heif_opener
+            register_heif_opener()
+            img = Image.open(src_path)
+        except Exception as e:
+            logger.error(f"HEIC decode failed for {src_path}: {e}")
+            raise HTTPException(status_code=415, detail="Unable to decode HEIC file")
+
+    # TIFF and any other PIL-supported format
+    else:
+        try:
+            img = Image.open(src_path)
+        except Exception as e:
+            logger.error(f"PIL open failed for {src_path}: {e}")
+            raise HTTPException(status_code=415, detail="Unable to decode image")
+
+    # Auto-rotate via EXIF
+    try:
+        from PIL import ImageOps
+        img = ImageOps.exif_transpose(img)
+    except Exception:
+        pass
+
+    if img.mode not in ('RGB', 'RGBA'):
+        img = img.convert('RGB')
+
+    os.makedirs(os.path.dirname(dst_path), exist_ok=True)
+    img.save(dst_path, 'WEBP', quality=90, method=4)
+
+
+@router.get("/{photo_id}/proxy")
+async def get_proxy(
+    photo_id: str,
+    response: Response,
+    db: AsyncSession = Depends(get_db),
+):
+    """Serve a full-resolution WebP proxy for non-web-safe formats (RAW, HEIC,
+    TIFF) so the loupe view can display them inline. Web-safe formats are
+    redirected to /original to avoid pointless transcoding.
+
+    Cached at /data/proxies/{photo_id}.webp; subsequent requests serve the
+    cached file (with optional X-Accel-Redirect for production).
+    """
+    result = await db.execute(select(Photo).where(Photo.id == photo_id))
+    photo = result.scalar_one_or_none()
+
+    if not photo:
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=404, detail="Photo not found")
+
+    if not os.path.exists(photo.filepath):
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=404, detail="File not found")
+
+    ext = Path(photo.filepath).suffix.lower()
+
+    # Web-safe formats don't need a proxy — serve the original directly so the
+    # browser uses its native decoder. Saves disk and CPU.
+    if ext in _WEB_SAFE_DISPLAY_EXTS:
+        return FileResponse(
+            photo.filepath,
+            media_type={
+                '.jpg': 'image/jpeg', '.jpeg': 'image/jpeg',
+                '.png': 'image/png', '.webp': 'image/webp', '.gif': 'image/gif',
+            }[ext],
+        )
+
+    proxy_dir = "/data/proxies"
+    proxy_path = f"{proxy_dir}/{photo_id}.webp"
+
+    if not os.path.exists(proxy_path):
+        try:
+            _generate_proxy_webp(photo.filepath, proxy_path)
+        except HTTPException:
+            raise
+        except Exception as e:
+            logger.error(f"Proxy generation failed for {photo_id}: {e}")
+            raise HTTPException(status_code=500, detail="Proxy generation failed")
+
+    if os.environ.get('USE_X_ACCEL_REDIRECT'):
+        response.headers['X-Accel-Redirect'] = f'/internal_proxies/{photo_id}.webp'
+        response.headers['Content-Type'] = 'image/webp'
+        return Response()
+
+    return FileResponse(proxy_path, media_type='image/webp')
+
 @router.patch("/{photo_id}", response_model=PhotoResponse)
 async def update_photo(
     photo_id: str,
diff --git a/frontend/src/services/api.ts b/frontend/src/services/api.ts
index bc8bbf6..f67e345 100644
--- a/frontend/src/services/api.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/services/api.ts
@@ -85,6 +85,12 @@ export const photos = {
   getOriginalUrl: (photoId: string) => {
     return `${API_BASE_URL}/photos/${photoId}/original`
   },
+
+  /** Full-resolution display URL. Backend serves the original for web-safe
+   *  formats and a transcoded WebP for RAW/HEIC/TIFF. */
+  getProxyUrl: (photoId: string) => {
+    return `${API_BASE_URL}/photos/${photoId}/proxy`
+  },
 }
 
 // Library API