Is it obligatory to tear up all unnecessary pictures to avoid the torment of the photographers on the Day of Resurrection, or is it permissible to keep them in a closed place?

You have done well by stopping the photography. It is better to dispose of unnecessary pictures, especially those of non-mahram individuals. There is a disagreement among scholars regarding photographic images: are they forbidden or permissible because they are merely a reflection ( حبس ظل ) and not an act of creation (تصوير)? And is it permissible to keep them or not? Sheikh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen, may Allah have mercy on him, was of the opinion that keeping them is prohibited.