Yes, it is possible to share photos through the Sharing features of OS X and iOS. However, this does not achieve the same result as having a unified photo account as the shared photos are in "optimized" resolution and without metadata, and as you need to share each album manually. I use this quite a bit, but with my friends, not my wife with whom I share the whole photo account. It may not be for anyone, and I am sure that for many people having totally separate Apple ID is the better solution, but to the best of my knowledge, for some of us, only using a common Apple ID for the primary iCloud account allows us (so far):
- to have one photo account (all photos automatically shared at full resolution in the stock Apple apps)
- to have the same Safari bookmarks, reading list etc
- to use a common keychain
- common back to my mac
- same iCloud drive for documents etc
There are indeed good solutions for many other aspects: Apple allows secondary iCloud accounts, so it is perfectly possible to have distinct iCloud accounts (and associated Apple IDs) for separate contacts, calendars and reminders (so your work reminders do not pop-up on your spouse's phone for example) while using the common iCloud account for the contacts, calendars, reminder and notes you want to share. As for music and apps, this never was really an issue, it is sufficient to use a dedicated Apple ID for iTunes. It means distinct Apple IDs for iTunes, iCloud, and then FaceTime and iMessage, but it works very well. But secondary iCloud account cannot apply to Safari, Photos, Documents, Keychain, and Back to my Mac. If and when Family sharing is updated to allow efficient sharing of photos, keychains, and iCloud drive (plus maybe iTunes Match, but I do not use this, and it may become obsolete with Apple Music), then I would no longer object to separate our iCloud accounts. But, unless I am mistaken, Family Sharing is not quite ready for that yet even if it is a step in the right direction.
Furthermore, beyond the merits of sharing or not sharing Apple IDs and iCloud accounts, the issue of recent calls from other phones does exist as a problem on its own: I share what I want to share, but I have two iPhones and my wife also has one: I do not want to mix the call records of these phones, not even of my 2 iPhones: they serve separate purposes, and each phone should have it own records. Mixing them is very confusing. So at the minimum, this should be an option. It may be seen as a feature by some, but not all. Hopefully iOS 8.4 will either remove this behavior or give us the choice.
