How to Send Lots of Photos by Email: Your Go-To Guide

How to Send Multiple Photos in an Email – main image showcasing various email platforms and photo icons

In today’s digital age, sharing photos is a common practice. While messaging apps are convenient for quick file sharing, they often struggle with large attachments. As smartphone cameras improve, photo file sizes increase, making email a reliable method for sending high-quality images without compression or loss of data. If you’ve ever wondered How Do You Send Lots Of Photos By Email, you’re not alone. Many users seek efficient ways to share numerous pictures via email. This guide will walk you through the best methods to ensure your photo sharing experience is seamless and effective.

Different Ways to Send Multiple Photos via Email

There are primarily two approaches to sending multiple photos in an email. You can either attach each image individually, or you can embed them directly into the email body. However, for sending a large number of photos, attaching them is generally more practical and easier for recipients to manage. This guide will focus on sending photos as attachments, as it is the most user-friendly method for sharing a lot of pictures at once. Let’s explore the step-by-step processes for various email platforms.

Sending Multiple Photos in Outlook

Microsoft Outlook is a widely used email client, and sending multiple photos is straightforward. Here’s how:

1. Start a New Email: Open Outlook and click on “New Email” to compose a fresh message.
2. Access the Insert Tab: In the new message window, locate and click the “Insert” tab in the ribbon at the top.
3. Attach Pictures: Within the “Insert” tab, find the “Pictures” option. Clicking on “Pictures” will typically open your file explorer. Navigate to the folder containing the photos you wish to send.
4. Select Multiple Photos: To select multiple photos, hold down the “Ctrl” key (or “Command” key on Mac) while clicking on each photo you want to attach. Alternatively, you can click on the first photo, hold down “Shift,” and click on the last photo in a sequence to select all photos in between.
5. Insert Photos: Once you’ve selected all your desired photos, click the “Insert” button. Outlook will attach these photos to your email.

Outlook has an attachment size limit, typically around 20MB to 25MB depending on your account settings. If your photos exceed this limit, Outlook will prompt you to use OneDrive, Microsoft’s cloud storage service. Here’s how to share via OneDrive:

1. Upload to OneDrive: Go to your OneDrive account via a web browser or the OneDrive desktop app and upload the photos you want to share.
2. Get a Shareable Link: Once uploaded, select the photos or the folder containing them and choose the “Share” option. You can create a shareable link that allows recipients to view or download the photos.
3. Insert OneDrive Link in Email: Return to your Outlook email, and instead of attaching files directly, insert the OneDrive shareable link into the body of your email. You can do this by pasting the link or using the “Insert” > “Link” option in Outlook.

Keep in mind that while individual attachments in Outlook have a size limit, sharing via OneDrive allows you to send much larger files, up to 2GB per file.

Emailing Multiple Photos in Gmail

Gmail, another popular email service, also makes sending multiple photos simple. Follow these steps:

1. Compose a New Email: In Gmail, click the “Compose” button to start writing a new email.
2. Use the Attach Icon: Look for the paperclip icon at the bottom of the compose window. This is the “Attach files” icon. Click on it.
3. Select Your Photos: A file dialog box will appear. Navigate to the location of your photos.
4. Select Multiple Photos: Similar to Outlook, you can select multiple photos by holding “Ctrl” (or “Command” on Mac) and clicking each photo, or by using “Shift” to select a range.
5. Open and Attach: After selecting your photos, click “Open.” Gmail will begin uploading and attaching the photos to your email.

Gmail has a 25MB attachment limit per email. For sending large numbers of photos or high-resolution images exceeding this limit, Gmail integrates seamlessly with Google Drive. Here’s how to use Google Drive to share photos:

1. Upload to Google Drive: Go to Google Drive (drive.google.com) and upload your photos or create a folder and upload them there.
2. Share from Google Drive: In your Gmail compose window, instead of the paperclip icon, look for the Google Drive icon (it resembles a triangle). Click on it.
3. Insert Drive Files: A “Insert files using Google Drive” window will pop up. You can select the photos or folder you uploaded to Drive. Choose whether to insert as a “Drive link” or “Attachment.” For multiple photos, a “Drive link” is usually preferable.
4. Insert and Send: Select “Insert.” Gmail will add a link to your Google Drive files in the email.

Google Drive allows you to share files up to 15GB for free and even larger files with a Google One subscription, making it ideal for sending lots of photos.

Sending Multiple Photos in Yahoo Mail

Yahoo Mail provides similar functionality for sending multiple photos. Here’s the process:

1. Create a New Email: Open Yahoo Mail and click “Compose” to start a new email message.
2. Find the Attach Icon: Look for the “Attach files” icon, often represented by a paperclip, near the bottom of the compose window. Click on it.
3. Select “Attach files from my computer”: Choose this option to attach photos directly from your computer.
4. Choose Your Photos: A file explorer window will open. Navigate to the folder containing your photos.
5. Select Multiple Photos: Use “Ctrl” or “Shift” keys to select multiple photos, just as with Outlook and Gmail.
6. Open and Attach: Click “Open” to attach the selected photos to your Yahoo Mail email.

Yahoo Mail also has a 25MB attachment limit. For larger files or numerous photos, Yahoo Mail integrates with Dropbox, a third-party cloud storage service. Here’s how to use Dropbox with Yahoo Mail:

1. Upload to Dropbox: Upload your photos to your Dropbox account via the website or desktop app.
2. Share from Dropbox in Yahoo Mail: In your Yahoo Mail compose window, click the “Attach files” icon.
3. Select “Share from Dropbox”: Choose this option from the dropdown menu.
4. Select Photos from Dropbox: A Dropbox window will appear, showing your Dropbox files and folders. Select the photos or folder you wish to share.
5. Attach and Send: Click “Choose” or “Attach.” Yahoo Mail will insert links to your Dropbox files in the email.

Dropbox, like Google Drive and OneDrive, allows you to share large files, making it a good alternative when emailing many photos through Yahoo Mail.

How to Email Lots of Photos on iPhone or iPad

Sending photos via email from an iPhone or iPad is designed to be particularly user-friendly. iOS prioritizes starting directly from your Photos app:

1. Open the Photos App: Launch the “Photos” app on your iPhone or iPad and navigate to the album containing the pictures you wish to send.
2. Select Photos: Tap “Select” in the top-right corner of the screen. Then, tap on each photo you want to include in your email. A blue checkmark will appear on selected photos.
3. Use the Share Icon: Once you’ve selected all your photos, tap the share icon in the bottom-left corner. It looks like a square with an arrow pointing upwards.
4. Choose “Mail”: In the share sheet that appears, scroll through the options and select “Mail.” This will open a new email compose window within the Mail app, with your selected photos already attached.
5. Compose and Send: Enter the recipient’s email address, add a subject and message if desired, and then tap “Send.”

Apple Mail also has a 25MB attachment limit. For sending larger sets of photos, especially full-resolution images, iCloud is the recommended solution. Here’s how to use iCloud Mail Drop:

1. Follow Steps 1-4 above: Select your photos and choose “Mail” from the share sheet.
2. Mail Drop Automatically Activated (if needed): If your photos exceed the size limit, Mail Drop will automatically be offered. A message may appear indicating that Mail Drop will be used.
3. Compose and Send: Continue composing your email and tap “Send.” The photos will be uploaded to iCloud and a download link will be sent to the recipient.

iCloud Mail Drop allows you to send large attachments, significantly exceeding the standard email limits. However, recipients will receive a link to download the photos from iCloud, and they may need to be familiar with iCloud to access them easily.

Sending Many Pictures as Compressed ZIP Files

Another effective method for sending a large number of photos by email is to compress them into a ZIP file. This method bundles multiple files into a single, smaller archive, making them easier to send and manage as one attachment.

1. Select Photos and Compress: On Windows, select all the photos you want to send, right-click on one of them, go to “Send to,” and choose “Compressed (zipped) folder.” On macOS, select the photos, right-click, and choose “Compress.” This will create a new ZIP file containing your photos.
2. Attach the ZIP File to Email: In your email client (Outlook, Gmail, Yahoo Mail, etc.), start a new email and use the “Attach files” option. Select the ZIP file you just created and attach it to your email.
3. Send the Email: Compose your message and send the email. The recipient will receive a single ZIP file which they can download and extract to access all the photos.

Using ZIP files is a universal method that works across all email platforms and operating systems. It’s particularly useful for sending large numbers of photos as it reduces the overall file size and simplifies the attachment process for both sender and receiver.

Conclusion

Knowing how do you send lots of photos by email efficiently is essential in today’s digital communication. Whether you choose to attach photos directly, use cloud services like Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox, or iCloud, or compress your images into ZIP files, each method offers a way to share your visual memories and professional work effectively. Consider the size of your photos, the number you need to send, and your recipient’s technical familiarity when choosing the best approach. With these techniques, you can confidently share numerous photos via email without compromising quality or convenience.