Guide · 5 min read
How to send photos without losing quality
What shrinks your photos on the way, the setting to check on each app, and the reliable way to send a lot of high-resolution photos at once.
By the SendShoot team · Updated
Why photos lose quality when you send them
Apps shrink photos to send them faster and store them cheaply. That’s fine for a quick snap, and a problem for anything you want to print, edit or keep. The file you receive looks the same on a small screen, but it has fewer pixels and more compression, which shows up in prints, crops and big screens.
Every method, and whether it keeps quality
| Method | Keeps full quality? | How to keep it |
|---|---|---|
| Text message (MMS) | No | Carriers compress picture messages. Send a link instead. |
| iMessage | Usually | Check Low Quality Image Mode is off (Settings, then Messages). |
| Only as a document | Attach the photo as a Document, not from the photo picker. | |
| Yes, for a few | Attach at actual size. Most providers cap attachments at about 20–25 MB. | |
| AirDrop | Yes | Apple devices, close together. |
| Google Drive, Dropbox, iCloud link | Yes | Share a link to the files, not a preview. |
| WeTransfer and similar | Yes | The link expires, so the recipient must download in time. |
| Online gallery link | Yes | Best for many photos, or for anyone who should see them before downloading. |
| Social media | No | Treat it as a preview only. |
How to send high-resolution photos by email
Email works for a handful of photos. When your phone asks what size to send, choose Actual Size. Gmail’s limit is 25 MB per email, and larger attachments turn into a Google Drive link. For more than a few photos, send one link instead of splitting them across emails.
How to send a large number of photos
For a whole shoot, event or holiday, use a link. A cloud folder is enough between friends. If the photos are for a client, a private gallery is better: they see the photos rather than a list of files, can pick favourites, and download everything in full quality in one go. Our guide to the best way to share photos with clients compares the options.
For photographers: keep quality from export to download
- Export full-quality JPEGs in sRGB, so colours hold on phones and at print labs.
- Upload the exports, not screenshots or files saved from social media.
- Share one private link. SendShoot keeps your original files and lets clients download them at full size, or a 2048-pixel web version for sharing.
- If a client insists on WhatsApp, send the link there. Our WhatsApp guide explains why.
