diff --git a/backend/package.json b/backend/package.json
index 4f2c7a6..a320402 100644
--- a/backend/package.json
+++ b/backend/package.json
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@
     "express-fileupload": "^1.2.1",
     "find-remove": "^2.0.3",
     "fs": "^0.0.1-security",
+    "sharp": "^0.34.4",
     "shortid": "^2.2.16",
     "sqlite3": "^5.1.7"
   },
diff --git a/backend/src/services/ImagePreviewService.js b/backend/src/services/ImagePreviewService.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7b00230
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backend/src/services/ImagePreviewService.js
@@ -0,0 +1,206 @@
+const sharp = require('sharp');
+const path = require('path');
+const fs = require('fs').promises;
+
+// Preview configuration
+const PREVIEW_CONFIG = {
+    maxWidth: 800,
+    quality: 85,
+    format: 'jpeg'
+};
+
+// Preview directory relative to backend/src
+const PREVIEW_FS_DIR = 'data/previews';
+
+class ImagePreviewService {
+    /**
+     * Generates a preview/thumbnail image from the original
+     * @param {string} originalPath - Absolute path to the original image
+     * @param {string} previewPath - Absolute path where preview should be saved
+     * @returns {Promise<{success: boolean, previewPath?: string, error?: string}>}
+     */
+    async generatePreview(originalPath, previewPath) {
+        try {
+            // Ensure preview directory exists
+            const previewDir = path.dirname(previewPath);
+            await fs.mkdir(previewDir, { recursive: true });
+
+            // Check if original file exists
+            await fs.access(originalPath);
+
+            // Generate preview using sharp
+            await sharp(originalPath)
+                .resize(PREVIEW_CONFIG.maxWidth, null, {
+                    fit: 'inside',
+                    withoutEnlargement: true
+                })
+                .jpeg({ quality: PREVIEW_CONFIG.quality })
+                .toFile(previewPath);
+
+            // Get file sizes for logging
+            const [originalStats, previewStats] = await Promise.all([
+                fs.stat(originalPath),
+                fs.stat(previewPath)
+            ]);
+
+            const reductionPercent = ((1 - previewStats.size / originalStats.size) * 100).toFixed(1);
+
+            console.log(`Preview generated: ${path.basename(previewPath)}`);
+            console.log(`  Original: ${(originalStats.size / 1024).toFixed(1)} KB`);
+            console.log(`  Preview: ${(previewStats.size / 1024).toFixed(1)} KB`);
+            console.log(`  Reduction: ${reductionPercent}%`);
+
+            return {
+                success: true,
+                previewPath,
+                originalSize: originalStats.size,
+                previewSize: previewStats.size,
+                reduction: parseFloat(reductionPercent)
+            };
+        } catch (error) {
+            console.error(`Error generating preview for ${originalPath}:`, error.message);
+            return {
+                success: false,
+                error: error.message
+            };
+        }
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Generates previews for all images in a group
+     * @param {Array<{file_path: string, file_name: string}>} images - Array of image objects
+     * @param {string} baseDir - Base directory for original images (absolute path)
+     * @param {string} previewBaseDir - Base directory for preview images (absolute path)
+     * @returns {Promise<Array<{fileName: string, previewPath: string, success: boolean}>>}
+     */
+    async generatePreviewsForGroup(images, baseDir, previewBaseDir) {
+        const results = [];
+
+        for (const image of images) {
+            const originalPath = path.join(baseDir, image.file_name);
+            const previewFileName = this._getPreviewFileName(image.file_name);
+            const previewPath = path.join(previewBaseDir, previewFileName);
+
+            const result = await this.generatePreview(originalPath, previewPath);
+
+            results.push({
+                fileName: image.file_name,
+                originalPath: image.file_path,
+                previewFileName,
+                previewPath: previewFileName, // Relative path for DB storage
+                success: result.success,
+                error: result.error
+            });
+        }
+
+        return results;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Gets the preview file path for a given original filename
+     * @param {string} originalFileName - Original image filename
+     * @returns {string} Preview filename (always .jpg extension)
+     */
+    _getPreviewFileName(originalFileName) {
+        const baseName = path.parse(originalFileName).name;
+        return `${baseName}.jpg`;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Gets the absolute preview path for a given preview filename
+     * @param {string} previewFileName - Preview filename
+     * @returns {string} Absolute path to preview file
+     */
+    getPreviewPath(previewFileName) {
+        return path.join(__dirname, '..', PREVIEW_FS_DIR, previewFileName);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Gets the absolute original image path for a given filename
+     * @param {string} fileName - Original image filename
+     * @returns {string} Absolute path to original file
+     */
+    getOriginalPath(fileName) {
+        const UPLOAD_FS_DIR = require('../constants').UPLOAD_FS_DIR;
+        return path.join(__dirname, '..', UPLOAD_FS_DIR, fileName);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Cleans up orphaned preview files that don't have corresponding originals
+     * @returns {Promise<{removed: number, errors: number}>}
+     */
+    async cleanupOrphanedPreviews() {
+        try {
+            const previewDir = path.join(__dirname, '..', PREVIEW_FS_DIR);
+            const UPLOAD_FS_DIR = require('../constants').UPLOAD_FS_DIR;
+            const originalDir = path.join(__dirname, '..', UPLOAD_FS_DIR);
+
+            // Check if preview directory exists
+            try {
+                await fs.access(previewDir);
+            } catch {
+                console.log('Preview directory does not exist yet, skipping cleanup');
+                return { removed: 0, errors: 0 };
+            }
+
+            const previewFiles = await fs.readdir(previewDir);
+            let removed = 0;
+            let errors = 0;
+
+            for (const previewFile of previewFiles) {
+                try {
+                    // Construct corresponding original filename (might have different extension)
+                    const baseName = path.parse(previewFile).name;
+                    
+                    // Check all possible extensions
+                    const possibleExtensions = ['.jpg', '.jpeg', '.png', '.gif', '.webp', '.bmp'];
+                    let originalExists = false;
+
+                    for (const ext of possibleExtensions) {
+                        const originalPath = path.join(originalDir, baseName + ext);
+                        try {
+                            await fs.access(originalPath);
+                            originalExists = true;
+                            break;
+                        } catch {
+                            // Continue checking
+                        }
+                    }
+
+                    if (!originalExists) {
+                        const previewPath = path.join(previewDir, previewFile);
+                        await fs.unlink(previewPath);
+                        console.log(`Removed orphaned preview: ${previewFile}`);
+                        removed++;
+                    }
+                } catch (error) {
+                    console.error(`Error processing ${previewFile}:`, error.message);
+                    errors++;
+                }
+            }
+
+            return { removed, errors };
+        } catch (error) {
+            console.error('Error during preview cleanup:', error.message);
+            return { removed: 0, errors: 1 };
+        }
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Checks if a preview exists for a given original filename
+     * @param {string} originalFileName - Original image filename
+     * @returns {Promise<boolean>}
+     */
+    async previewExists(originalFileName) {
+        try {
+            const previewFileName = this._getPreviewFileName(originalFileName);
+            const previewPath = this.getPreviewPath(previewFileName);
+            await fs.access(previewPath);
+            return true;
+        } catch {
+            return false;
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+module.exports = new ImagePreviewService();