So Apple try to rule the Worlds and wind a lot of people up who like to remain in contriol.
Of course keep allowing it to back up to the iCloud and eventually you will run out of space but Apple will charge you for more capacity.
NO!
If you allow Apple to import stuff to iPhoto, clear it out to your external hard drive each time. Its far cheaper to have your own backup drives, preferably something that uses an exFAT file system that is compatible with both Macs and Windows.
(WD External HDDs come installed with this as standard, so you can plug it in to either system at will and it still works 'Hurrah'
Sorry Apple, despite having been with you for around a decade, your dominance of everything, is irritating and annoying. So for Photos and Music I avoid the Apple systems completely, especially as it then doesn't clog up your SSD/HDD if you manage it yourself!
Of course cloud storage is seen by many as a safety net, sure it is, but what if your internet connection is poor and who ultimately owns the pictures you have sequestered on a cloud? (Obviously you do, but you have no real control and you are the mercy of their 'charging' regimes for ever).
Whilst the big guys are not likely to go under, some well known photo sites have gone down and taken tens of thousands of photos with them, especially if you didn't keep originals or some form of copy ). Oops