Relays only carry text. Your photos live on media servers, and your note just links to them. So what happens when a server deletes your photo? Usually, it's gone.
Unless it's also on a phone you own.
Put a spare phone on a charger, turn on Kiosk mode, and it becomes your home vault. When someone opens your note and the photo's server is gone, Nostr Vault asks for your media over the mesh.
Photos are named by their fingerprint, so the browser checks it and only the real photo shows. Your home IP stays hidden, and strangers only get the photos from your public posts.