Icloud and photos - I am confused

I am unsure about what is happening with my photos. I ran out of my free 5GB space in iCloud- most of the space was taken up with photos. I hooked up my iphone to the Mac and saved all the photos to my photo library and did a back up of everything. I clicked the option to 'remove all synced photos from iphone' once they were all synced but they were all still there. I thought that that would release the space taken up. I don't get it. So then I turned off iCloud - and now the space is restored. There is a message saying Your icloud library has been disabled, you have 27 days remaining to make sure you have a complete copy of your photos and videos. I think I have done that - or is there something else it means?
I like having iCloud, I like being able to see my photos on all my devices, so how can I do that and just use the 5GB allocated?

Hello The Countess,
Based on your post it seems you would like more information about iCloud and photo management. Syncing photos your computer and removing them from your iPhone is great way to free up storage space. Photos are still kept in your Photo Stream for some time, which do take up your iCloud storage. I have linked to an article which provides more information:
iCloud: My Photo Stream overview
With My Photo Stream, the photos you take with your iOS devices or import to your computers appear automatically on all of your devices. It’s a great way to get all your latest shots on all your personal devices.
How it works
You can take a photo with your iOS device, or import photos from your digital camera to your iPad or your Mac or Windows computer. iCloud automatically pushes copies of the photos over any available Wi-Fi or Ethernet connection to your other devices.
The photos appear in My Photo Stream on these devices:
On your Mac, in iPhoto or Aperture
On your iOS 7 device, in the Photos app
On your iOS 8 device, in the Photos app (when iCloud Photo Library beta is not turned on)
On your Apple TV, under iCloud Photos
On your Windows computer, in the Pictures Library
On your iOS 8.1 device (when iCloud Photo Library beta is turned on), your most recent photos are uploaded to iCloud and appear in All Photos in the Photos app.
Note: When iCloud Photo Library beta and My Photo Stream are enabled on your iOS 8.1 device, your recent photos will upload to My Photo Stream but new photos from devices without iCloud Photo Library beta will not be imported.
To conserve storage space, My Photo Stream keeps only your latest 1000 photos on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. On your Mac and Windows computers, every picture from your photo stream can be automatically downloaded and kept permanently.
You can also set up your Mac and Windows computers so your new photos appear in a My Photo Stream album. Your computer has more storage than your iOS device and can automatically import all photos from My Photo Stream to your photo library.
If you take photos with burst mode or image stabilization, only the photos you select as favorites when using burst mode, and the final composite image shot with image stabilization, are added to My Photo Stream. If you want all burst-mode photos uploaded to My Photo Stream and your iPhone has iOS 7.1 or later, go to Settings > iCloud > Photos (or Settings > Photos & Camera), then turn on Upload Burst Photos.
Note: To prevent unintended or excessive use, My Photo Stream limits the number of photos and videos that can be uploaded within a given hour, day, or month. For more information, see the Apple Support article My Photo Stream and iCloud Photo Sharing Limits.
You may also want to review this page for further resources:
iCloud - Photos - Apple Support
Thank you for contributing to Apple Support Communities.
Cheers,
Bobby_D

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How do I transfer photos and videos from my iPhone to my PC using iCloud and Photo Stream?

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You don't move them to iTunes or an iTunes account.
You should be importing them to your computer regularly as you would with any digital camera.
Import personal photos and videos from iOS devices to your ...

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ICloud and Photos

In a recent keynote address, Apple executives demonstrated MacOS X Yosemite, new features for iCloud, and Photos.
My iPhoto library currently holds over 53,000 photos, totaling over 100 gigabytes in size. Apple's execs seem to be saying one could use iCloud to store all of those photos so they could be shared across multiple devices.
I have been steadily accumulating digital photos since Nov. of 2001. Assuming that I spent a month of Sundays to upload a monstrosity like my iPhoto library to iCloud, how much would it cost to maintain an iCloud account in perpetuity? Would it be possible to "make backup" to a local hard drive so that I could take the library to remote locations where no cellular / internet connection would be available?

As in your other post iPhoto '11 -> Photos?? about future photo features, you are asking about an unreleased product and no one here has much reliable information. Apple has stated in https://www.apple.com/ios/ios8/photos/
You get 5GB of iCloud storage free, and other storage plans will start at $0.99 per month.
Current pricing is shown at iCloud: Storage upgrade pricing but that may well change.

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I updated my computer from Snow Leopard to Lion. The problem is none of my pictures go to my IPad or iPhone. When I checked my settings, I go into ICloud and photo Stream, and it tells me that I need to buy a update. Any help would be appreciated.

Then maybe you need to buy an update.

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Greetings Tima56,
It seems you are experiencing an issue with photo syncing and iCloud. The following article provides troubleshooting guidance which may help you find a solution:
Get help using My Photo Stream - Apple Support
This resource may help as well:
Get help using iCloud Photo Sharing and shared albums - Apple Support
Thank you for contributing to Apple Support Communities.
Best,
Bobby_D

HT201317 i lost my iphone and had it backed up to icloud and photo stream but i never plugged it into a computer since i had set up photo stream. is there a way to login to any mac device to view my photos or anything?

i lost my iphone and had it backed up to icloud and photo stream but i never plugged it into a computer since i had set up photo stream. is there a way to login to any mac device to view my photos or anything?

Welcome to the Apple Community.
Yes you should be able to log into iCloud on a Mac from system preferences > iCloud and set up photostream to download any photos that are there. You should also be able to use your iCloud back up to restore any replacement phone to reflect the phone you lost.

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Could someone please explain this to me like I'm a first grader. Not understanding at all.
Thanks,
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Guy would this be of any help:
To start up your computer in Apple Hardware Test:
Press the power button to turn on your computer.
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It takes a minute or so for Apple Hardware Test to start up and inspect your hardware configuration. While this is taking place, an icon appears on the screen:
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Welcome to the Apple Community
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http://support.apple.com/kb/PH2606
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iCloud: Set up Photo Stream
http://support.apple.com/kb/ph2605
Cheers,
Jason H.

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Icloud and photos - I am confused

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