diff --git a/backend/.env.example b/backend/.env.development.example
similarity index 88%
rename from backend/.env.example
rename to backend/.env.development.example
index 2c31151..6a1de0b 100644
--- a/backend/.env.example
+++ b/backend/.env.development.example
@@ -12,8 +12,8 @@ DATABASE_URL=postgresql://spotlightcam:spotlightcam123@db:5432/spotlightcam
 JWT_SECRET=dev-secret-key-12345-change-in-production
 JWT_EXPIRES_IN=24h
 
-# AWS SES (Phase 1.5)
-AWS_REGION=us-east-1
+# AWS SES (REPLACE WITH YOUR CREDENTIALS)
+AWS_REGION=eu-central-1
 AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID=your-aws-access-key-id
 AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=your-aws-secret-access-key
 SES_FROM_EMAIL=noreply@spotlight.cam
diff --git a/backend/.gitignore b/backend/.gitignore
index 36d75b5..b65408a 100644
--- a/backend/.gitignore
+++ b/backend/.gitignore
@@ -2,7 +2,8 @@
 node_modules/
 
 # Environment variables
-.env
+.env.development
+.env.production
 
 # Logs
 logs/
diff --git a/docker-compose.yml b/docker-compose.yml
index c77d50f..a88f34d 100644
--- a/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.yml
@@ -94,6 +94,8 @@ services:
       context: ./backend
       dockerfile: Dockerfile
     container_name: spotlightcam-backend
+    env_file:
+      - ./backend/.env.development
     expose:
       - "3000"
     volumes: