Hi @leo01
good to hear your provider is on it! If they are running the GD image processor they surely would know a way to do the things you need to.
Regarding the space on your webserver I guess that this could either be old websites still laying around or the last 10 backups if these are done automatically.
Also depending on your webhost Email could also be a thing that’s cluttering your available space.
But I’m just guessing… the hoster should be able to check where the big files are on the server.
If you also want to keep the meta data the very best way would be the one I described above → optimizing your images beforehand. So you can make sure you keep everything you need. (…sorry for the repeat…)
Or ask your host if they could also leave the metadata in your images.
Touching deep on copyright philosophies on the web:
If someone really wants to use/steal your pictures it’s as easy as opening an editor and stripping/changing all the meta data. So imho. these embedded copyright infos don’t do much except bloating the image size. It’s the same with watermarks: A simple rectangle selection in PS and content aware fill will make these disappear in a few clicks.
If you upload your images to Instagram for example they mostly strip all embedded info (also because privacy) and everyone is able to download/screenshot images from these platforms…
Also it’s the same as with Facebook: With uploading you partially consent to them using your images. (otherwise they wouldn’t be able to show them on your profile 😉)
So my advice is to strip anything that doesn’t spoil the experience, make the filesize as small as possible while keeping the resolution as good/high as possible.
If you come across someone using your images you will always be able to take legal steps as long as you’re able to prove you own the originals/raws/films and are the creator.