Storing images in cloud storage (e.g., S3) instead of as BLOBs in a database offers key advantages:

• Performance - Optimized for serving large files, reduces database load, and integrates with CDNs for faster global delivery.
• Scalability - Effortlessly scalability, while databases struggle with growing binary data.
• Cost - CDN services are extremely cheap, far more cost-effective for storing large files, reducing database size and costs.
• Features - Media hosting services provide image processing, URL signing (temporary links), fine-grained access control, and durability guarantees that databases lack.

Cloud storage is purpose-built for media, making it a better overall choice.