diff --git a/freelancer-edit/index.html b/freelancer-edit/index.html
index 2f1ca69..4455981 100644
--- a/freelancer-edit/index.html
+++ b/freelancer-edit/index.html
@@ -149,7 +149,7 @@
     <!-- The 15-point rule, in ONE copy for both forms (this one and the application form). -->
     <script src="/static/focus-rule.js?v=22ac72a8f0"></script>
     <script src="/static/photo-upload.js?v=c17638457b"></script>
-    <script src="/static/expert-image.js?v=e496d4a4e3"></script>
+    <script src="/static/expert-image.js?v=bad5d8c733"></script>
 
     <!-- 1) Read the credential, then take it OUT of the address bar.
        The hash arrives as ?has=... or ?hash=... (both spellings accepted, 'has' first — the
@@ -585,21 +585,24 @@
           var photoMono = el("span", "mono", initials(who));
           photoRow.appendChild(photoMono);
           if (rec && rec.id !== undefined && rec.id !== null && rec.id !== "") {
-            var photoImg = el("img");
-            photoImg.id = "edImagePreview";
-            photoImg.alt = "";
-            photoImg.decoding = "async";
-            photoImg.hidden = true;            // the monogram stands in until the photo is there
-            photoImg.addEventListener("load", function () {
-              if (photoMono.parentNode) photoMono.parentNode.removeChild(photoMono);
-              photoImg.hidden = false;
-            }, { once: true });
-            photoImg.addEventListener("error", function () {
-              // A failing photo is the monogram: no broken-image icon, no empty box.
-              if (photoImg.parentNode) photoImg.parentNode.removeChild(photoImg);
-            }, { once: true });
-            photoImg.src = O4PExpertImage.url(String(rec.id), rec);
-            photoRow.appendChild(photoImg);
+            // Same fetch the directory card makes: the route answers JSON, not image bytes,
+            // so the value is read from `Image` and only then put on an <img>. Any failure
+            // (or a value that fails isImageSrc) leaves the monogram standing.
+            O4PExpertImage.load(String(rec.id)).then(function (src) {
+              if (!src) return;
+              var photoImg = el("img");
+              photoImg.id = "edImagePreview";
+              photoImg.alt = "";
+              photoImg.decoding = "async";
+              photoImg.addEventListener("load", function () {
+                if (photoMono.parentNode) photoMono.parentNode.replaceChild(photoImg, photoMono);
+              }, { once: true });
+              photoImg.addEventListener("error", function () {
+                // A failing photo is the monogram: no broken-image icon, no empty box.
+                if (photoImg.parentNode) photoImg.parentNode.removeChild(photoImg);
+              }, { once: true });
+              photoImg.src = src;
+            });
           }
           photoWrap.appendChild(photoRow);
           photoWrap.appendChild(el("p", "hint",
diff --git a/odoo-community-developers/index.html b/odoo-community-developers/index.html
index ec30459..f720e82 100644
--- a/odoo-community-developers/index.html
+++ b/odoo-community-developers/index.html
@@ -2052,7 +2052,7 @@
     <script defer src="/static/lang.js?v=3ec49a7e62"></script>
     <script src="/static/focus-rule.js?v=22ac72a8f0"></script>
     <script src="/static/photo-upload.js?v=c17638457b"></script>
-    <script src="/static/expert-image.js?v=e496d4a4e3"></script>
+    <script src="/static/expert-image.js?v=bad5d8c733"></script>
     <script>
       /* ============================================================================
          Odoo freelancer directory — page script.
@@ -2094,12 +2094,6 @@
       var ODOO_EXPERTS_EDIT_WEBHOOK = "https://n8n.odoo4projects.com/webhook/ODOO4projects/odoo_experts_edit";
       var EDIT_EMAIL_KEY = "email"; // body sent to ODOO_EXPERTS_EDIT_WEBHOOK: { email: "..." }
 
-      // How many cards load their photo EAGERLY: the first visible ROW. The grid is 3
-      // columns at the widest layout (measured), so the first three cards. Every card below
-      // the fold loads lazily — a lazy image in the first row would delay LCP, and a photo
-      // off-screen is not worth its request.
-      var EAGER_CARDS = 3;
-
       // ---- The shared constants (the same lists live in build-directory.py) --------
       // The five self-assessed focus axes — each a SEPARATE numeric field (0-5) on the
       // wire, no CSV, no encoding. They must total exactly FOCUS_TOTAL.
@@ -2463,8 +2457,76 @@
         return liveValues(rec, field).map(fold).join("|");
       }
 
+      /* ---- The card photo: fetched, cached, lazy, and monogram-on-failure ----------
+
+         The endpoint returns JSON, not image bytes (see static/expert-image.js), so a plain
+         <img src="…?id=N"> would receive JSON, fail to decode it and fire `onerror` — the
+         monogram. The card therefore FETCHES the route, reads `Image` and puts the data URI
+         on an <img> only when it passes the isImageSrc allowlist.
+
+         (1) LAZY, by viewport. There is no image URL for the browser to defer with
+             `loading="lazy"`, so the loading is ours: an IntersectionObserver watches each
+             card's head, and only cards near the viewport ask for their photo. The first
+             row is in view on load, so it loads at once; the rest load as they approach.
+             Without this a 14-card page fires 14 × ~100 KB ≈ 1.4 MB on load.
+         (2) CACHED by id (window.O4PExpertImage.load), so a re-render — or a card shown
+             again after paging — never re-fetches a photo already in memory.
+         (3) The MONOGRAM reserves the box and is the only thing an eye ever sees until a
+             real photo is ready: on any failure (non-2xx, {}, a blank value, a value that
+             fails isImageSrc) the fetch resolves null and the monogram simply stays. There
+             is never a broken-image icon and the box never changes size. */
+      var PHOTO_ROOT_MARGIN = "200px"; // one row ahead, roughly — not the whole page
+      var photoIO = null;
+
+      function getPhotoObserver() {
+        if (photoIO) return photoIO;
+        if (!("IntersectionObserver" in window)) return null;
+        photoIO = new IntersectionObserver(function (entries) {
+          entries.forEach(function (entry) {
+            if (!entry.isIntersecting) return;
+            photoIO.unobserve(entry.target);
+            mountCardPhoto(entry.target, entry.target.__photoMono, entry.target.__photoId);
+          });
+        }, { rootMargin: PHOTO_ROOT_MARGIN });
+        return photoIO;
+      }
+
+      // Fetch once, then swap the monogram for the decoded <img>. The two nodes are the SAME
+      // 72x72 box (width/height + .dev-photo / .dev-avatar), so the swap moves nothing.
+      function mountCardPhoto(slot, mono, rid) {
+        O4PExpertImage.load(rid).then(function (src) {
+          if (!src) return;                    // any failure: the monogram stays
+          var photo = liveEl("img", "dev-photo");
+          photo.alt = "";
+          photo.width = 72;
+          photo.height = 72;
+          photo.decoding = "async";
+          // Swap only once the image has decoded — a detached <img> fires `load` for a data
+          // URI, so the monogram is on screen every frame until a real photo exists. A value
+          // that passed the prefix allowlist but still fails to decode falls back to it too.
+          photo.addEventListener("load", function () {
+            if (mono.parentNode) mono.parentNode.replaceChild(photo, mono);
+          }, { once: true });
+          photo.addEventListener("error", function () {
+            if (photo.parentNode) photo.parentNode.replaceChild(mono, photo);
+          }, { once: true });
+          photo.src = src;
+        });
+      }
+
+      // Watch this card's head: it loads its photo when it comes near the viewport. With no
+      // IntersectionObserver (vanishingly rare) the photo is fetched at once rather than
+      // never shown.
+      function registerCardPhoto(head, mono, rid) {
+        head.__photoMono = mono;
+        head.__photoId = rid;
+        var io = getPhotoObserver();
+        if (!io) { mountCardPhoto(head, mono, rid); return; }
+        io.observe(head);
+      }
+
       /* The monogram — the initials treatment a card shows when there is no photo. It is
-         also the FALLBACK when the photo fails to load, so a missing photo looks exactly
+         also the FALLBACK when the photo cannot be fetched, so a missing photo looks exactly
          like a card that never had one. */
       function liveMonogram(name) {
         var parts = name.split(/\s+/).filter(Boolean);
@@ -2477,11 +2539,8 @@
       }
 
       /* One card, field for field the same as render_card() in build-directory.py.
-         Everything a freelancer wrote goes in as textContent, never as HTML.
-
-         `eager` is true only for the first visible row: those photos load eagerly because
-         a lazy image in the first row delays LCP. Everything below the fold loads lazily. */
-      function liveCard(rec, active, eager) {
+         Everything a freelancer wrote goes in as textContent, never as HTML. */
+      function liveCard(rec, active) {
         var name = String(rec.Name || "").trim();
         var card = liveEl("article", "dev-card");
         card.setAttribute("data-name", name);
@@ -2495,32 +2554,11 @@
 
         // The photo is NOT in the profile payload — the webhook no longer sends `Image`
         // (it used to ride as inline base64). It comes from its own endpoint, addressed by
-        // the record id: ONE <img>, ONE request (window.O4PExpertImage holds the route and
-        // its query-parameter name in one constant).
-        //
-        // The box is RESERVED (width/height + the .dev-photo CSS), so the card does not
-        // reflow when the photo arrives. A failure — no id, no workflow, a reply that is
-        // not an image — falls back to the SAME monogram a card with no photo already
-        // shows: no broken-image icon, no empty box, no alt text spilling into the layout.
+        // the record id and fetched lazily (mountCardPhoto). The monogram RESERVES the box
+        // and stands until a real photo is decoded; on any failure it simply stays. No
+        // broken-image icon, no empty box, no alt text spilling into the layout, no reflow.
         var mono = liveMonogram(name);
-        var avatar = mono;
         var rid = (rec.id === undefined || rec.id === null || rec.id === "") ? "" : String(rec.id);
-        if (rid) {
-          var photo = liveEl("img", "dev-photo");
-          photo.alt = "";
-          photo.width = 72;
-          photo.height = 72;
-          photo.decoding = "async";
-          photo.loading = eager ? "eager" : "lazy";
-          // On failure the <img> is REPLACED by the monogram — a node of the same 72x72
-          // size, so the card does not move. `mono` is captured by name, never the variable
-          // that is reassigned below.
-          photo.addEventListener("error", function () {
-            if (photo.parentNode) photo.parentNode.replaceChild(mono, photo);
-          }, { once: true });
-          photo.src = O4PExpertImage.url(rid, rec);
-          avatar = photo;
-        }
         var head = liveEl("header", "dev-head");
         var who = liveEl("div", "dev-id");
         who.appendChild(liveEl("h3", "dev-name", name));
@@ -2533,9 +2571,11 @@
           badge.rel = "noopener nofollow";
           who.appendChild(badge);
         }
-        head.appendChild(avatar);
+        head.appendChild(mono);
         head.appendChild(who);
         card.appendChild(head);
+        // The photo is requested only when this card nears the viewport (and never twice).
+        if (rid) registerCardPhoto(head, mono, rid);
 
         // Our own count — rendered ONCE, with weight, never a score.
         var clients = parseInt(rec.odoo4projects_clients, 10);
@@ -2989,8 +3029,8 @@
             // NO sort: the endpoint's order is rendered exactly as received.
             var active = liveFilters(records);
             while (grid.firstChild) grid.removeChild(grid.firstChild);
-            records.forEach(function (rec, i) {
-              grid.appendChild(liveCard(rec, active, i < EAGER_CARDS));
+            records.forEach(function (rec) {
+              grid.appendChild(liveCard(rec, active));
             });
             // The button is added after the cards exist — only while the route is set.
             Array.prototype.forEach.call(grid.querySelectorAll(".dev-card"), enhanceAsk);
diff --git a/static/expert-image.js b/static/expert-image.js
index 0268ed8..9be5a34 100644
--- a/static/expert-image.js
+++ b/static/expert-image.js
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-/* The freelancer PHOTO — one endpoint, one constant.
+/* The freelancer PHOTO — one endpoint, one constant, one fetch.
 
    The photo does NOT live in the profile payload any more. It used to ride there as
    inline base64 under the key `Image`; the webhook no longer sends that key, so the
@@ -7,42 +7,104 @@
    ONE constant holds BOTH halves of the address: the route and the query-parameter
    name. Changing either is a one-line edit here, and both pages pick it up.
 
-   The parameter name is `id`. It was recorded as UNVERIFIED in the brief (every probe
-   answered "workflow is not registered"), and it is now CONFIRMED by measurement
-   against the live route: `?id=<n>` answers 200 with the photo for that record, while
-   `/4`, `?profile_id=`, `?image_id=` and a missing id all fail. See
-   webmaster/out/2026-11-03-photo-endpoint/REPORT.md.
+   The parameter name is `id`, CONFIRMED by measurement against the live route:
+   `?id=<n>` answers 200 with the photo for that record, while `/4`, `?profile_id=`,
+   `?image_id=` and a missing id all fail.
 
-   The endpoint currently answers `application/json` with `{"Image":"data:image/jpeg;
-   base64,…"}` — a JSON envelope, NOT image bytes — so an <img> cannot decode it and
-   every card falls back to its monogram. That is the measured state, not a guess; the
-   page is built for the shape the brief specifies (an <img> pointed at this route) and
-   starts showing photos the moment the route returns image bytes.
+   THE ENDPOINT RETURNS JSON, NOT IMAGE BYTES. Measured on the live route:
 
-   `versionParam`: appended ONLY when the payload carries a version token, so a
-   year-long immutable cache on the endpoint stays correct — the URL changes when the
-   photo does. Without a token the URL is stable and the endpoint's own headers decide
-   caching (see the report: it sends no Cache-Control and a weak ETag today). */
+       GET …/odoo_experts_image?id=10  →  200  application/json
+       body: {"Image":"data:image/jpeg;base64,/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAQ…"}
+
+   So a plain `<img src="…?id=N">` receives JSON, cannot decode it and fires `onerror`
+   — the monogram. That is why the card FETCHES the route, reads `Image` and puts the
+   DATA URI on an `<img>` only when it passes the `isImageSrc` allowlist. n8n sometimes
+   answers an array instead of an object, so both shapes are accepted.
+
+   `load(id)` resolves to a usable image source, or `null` on ANY failure — a non-2xx, an
+   empty `{}`, a missing/blank `Image`, a value that fails `isImageSrc`, or a request that
+   does not answer in `timeoutMs`. A `null` answer means "show the monogram": the caller
+   never sees a broken image. The decoded URI is cached by id (and a failure is remembered
+   too), so a re-render can never re-fetch a photo already in memory.
+
+   THE TIMEOUT. A request that neither succeeds nor errors leaves the fallback unable to
+   fire (measured live: an <img> pointed at this route sat `complete=false · naturalWidth=0`
+   for 20 s). Each fetch is therefore bounded by `timeoutMs` (default 8000): an
+   `AbortController` is aborted by a `setTimeout`, the abort rejects the fetch, and the
+   rejection lands in the same catch that returns `null` — the monogram. The timer is
+   cleared on every completion, so a fast answer never pays for the guard. `AbortController`
+   is universal in the browsers this site targets (it already needs `fetch`, `Promise` and
+   `IntersectionObserver`); if it were missing there is nothing to abort with, but the
+   abort is what turns a hang into the fallback, so it is the one capability worth naming.
+
+   The route answers with `Access-Control-Allow-Origin` echoing the caller and
+   `Cache-Control: public, max-age=3600`, so the browser may also serve a repeat from its
+   own HTTP cache. */
 window.O4PExpertImage = {
   endpoint: "https://n8n.odoo4projects.com/webhook/ODOO4projects/odoo_experts_image",
   idParam: "id",
-  versionParam: "v",
-  // Anything that changes when the photo changes. `updatedAt` used to be in the payload.
-  versionFields: ["updatedAt", "updated_at", "ImageVersion", "image_version"],
+  // A photo request that hangs is a card with no photo AND no fallback: bound it.
+  timeoutMs: 8000,
 
-  version: function (rec) {
-    if (!rec) return "";
-    for (var i = 0; i < this.versionFields.length; i++) {
-      var v = rec[this.versionFields[i]];
-      if (v !== undefined && v !== null && v !== "") return String(v);
-    }
-    return "";
+  /* The ONLY allowlist for an image source in this codebase — `https://` or a
+     `data:image/` URI. Both forms are what this endpoint has served across its life. */
+  isImageSrc: function (v) {
+    return typeof v === "string" &&
+      (v.indexOf("https://") === 0 || v.indexOf("data:image/") === 0);
   },
 
-  url: function (id, rec) {
-    var u = this.endpoint + "?" + this.idParam + "=" + encodeURIComponent(id);
-    var v = this.version(rec);
-    if (v) u += "&" + this.versionParam + "=" + encodeURIComponent(v);
-    return u;
+  url: function (id) {
+    return this.endpoint + "?" + this.idParam + "=" + encodeURIComponent(id);
+  },
+
+  // id -> decoded image source (or "" when the record has no usable photo)
+  cache: Object.create(null),
+  // id -> the in-flight Promise, so two observers of one id share ONE request
+  inflight: Object.create(null),
+
+  /* Fetch the photo for `id`. Resolves to an image source, or null when there is none.
+     Never rejects — a caller only has to check for a value. Every request is bounded by
+     `timeoutMs`: on expiry the fetch is ABORTED (not merely abandoned) and the rejection
+     resolves null, so a hung endpoint becomes the monogram instead of an empty box. */
+  load: function (id) {
+    var self = this;
+    var key = String(id);
+    if (key in self.cache) return Promise.resolve(self.cache[key] || null);
+    if (self.inflight[key]) return self.inflight[key];
+
+    var ctrl = (typeof AbortController !== "undefined") ? new AbortController() : null;
+    var timer = ctrl ? setTimeout(function () { ctrl.abort(); }, self.timeoutMs) : 0;
+
+    var req = fetch(self.url(key), {
+      headers: { Accept: "application/json" },
+      signal: ctrl ? ctrl.signal : undefined
+    })
+      .then(function (res) {
+        if (!res.ok) throw new Error("HTTP " + res.status);
+        return res.json();
+      })
+      .then(function (body) {
+        // n8n sometimes wraps the record in an array — accept both shapes.
+        var d = Array.isArray(body) ? body[0] : body;
+        var img = d && d.Image;
+        if (!self.isImageSrc(img)) throw new Error("no image");
+        self.cache[key] = img;
+        return img;
+      })
+      .catch(function () {
+        // Every failure — non-2xx, no image, a decode-hostile value, or the timeout's
+        // abort — is the monogram. Remember it, so a shared id under a re-render does not
+        // ask the network twice.
+        self.cache[key] = "";
+        return null;
+      })
+      .then(function (out) {
+        if (timer) clearTimeout(timer);
+        delete self.inflight[key];
+        return out;
+      });
+
+    self.inflight[key] = req;
+    return req;
   }
 };