How to Send a Photo by Email

To send a photo by email, start a new message, click the paper clip (Attach) button, choose the photo, add the person’s address, and click Send. On a phone, it’s often quicker to open the photo, tap Share, and pick your email app.

This guide covers Gmail and Outlook on a computer, Apple Mail on a Mac, and iPhone, iPad and Android phones. The steps follow Google’s Gmail attachment help, Microsoft’s Outlook attachment guide and Apple’s Photos sharing steps.

Before You Start: Check the Size

Every email service limits how big a message can be, and the limit includes the photos plus the text. A typical phone photo is a few megabytes, so five to ten photos usually fit in one email.

Service	Limit per message	What happens when you go over
Gmail (personal account)	25 MB	Gmail swaps the attachment for a Google Drive link
Outlook with internet accounts such as Outlook.com or Gmail	20 MB	Outlook can share the file as a OneDrive link instead
Outlook with a work Exchange account	10 MB by default	Your administrator may set a different limit
Apple Mail	Your provider’s limit	Mail offers Mail Drop for files up to 5 GB

Gmail limits come from Google’s attachment help, Outlook limits from Microsoft’s guide to sending large files with Outlook, and Mail Drop details from Apple’s Mail Drop limits page.

How to Email a Photo From a Computer

Gmail

1. Go to Gmail in your browser and click Compose. A new message window opens.
2. At the bottom of the message, click Attach (the paper clip icon). A file browser opens.

3. Find the photo and click Open. To pick several, hold Ctrl (Windows) or Command (Mac) while you click each photo. The photos appear as attachments at the bottom of the message, with a progress bar while they upload.
4. Type the person’s email address in the To box and add a subject.
5. When the upload bars finish, click Send.

You can also drag a photo from a folder straight into the compose window. Can’t find the photo? Here’s how to find all the photos on your computer.

Clicked Send before you attached the photo? You can recall the email in Gmail with Undo for up to 30 seconds and add it.

Outlook

These steps are for the new Outlook for Windows and Outlook on the web.

1. Select New mail, or open a message and select Reply or Forward.
2. On the Message tab, in the Insert group, select Attach File.
3. Choose a photo from the suggested files, select OneDrive, or select Browse This Computer to find a photo on your PC.

4. Select the photo and select Open. Outlook attaches a copy of the file.
5. Add the address and subject, then select Send.

For a photo saved in OneDrive, Outlook can send a link instead of a copy. Microsoft says a link keeps the message small, which helps with large photos. If you forget to attach the photo, Outlook can warn you before sending, and you can turn the attachment reminder on or off.

Apple Mail on a Mac

1. Open Mail and click the New Message button.
2. Click the paper clip (Attach) button in the toolbar.

3. Select the photo and click Choose File. You can also drag a photo from Finder or the Photos app into the message.
4. Add the address and subject, then click Send.

Show the Photo Inside the Email Instead

An attachment arrives as a file the person opens or downloads. A photo placed inside the message (often called inline) shows up as part of the email text. In Outlook, the steps are:

1. Click where you want the picture in the message body.
2. Select Insert > Pictures.

3. Choose the photo and select Open.
4. Drag a corner handle to resize it.

Inline photos are good for a quick look. Attachments are better when the person needs to save or print the original.

The same paperclip steps work for documents too; here is how to email a Word document as an attachment, a PDF or a sharing link.

How to Email a Photo From a Phone

From the Photos App (iPhone or Android)

1. Open the Photos app (or Gallery on some Android phones).
2. Open the photo you want to send. To send several, tap Select and tap each photo.
3. Tap the Share button. The share sheet opens.
4. Choose Mail, Gmail, or another email app. A new email opens with the photo attached.
5. Add the email address and a subject, then tap Send.

The same Share button also offers AirDrop and Messages if the person is nearby or you’d rather text the photo. If a photo you text arrives blurry, here’s why your iPhone sends blurry pictures.

On iPhone, when the photos are large, Mail may ask what size to send. Choose Actual Size to keep full quality, or a smaller size to fit more photos into one message.

From the Gmail App

1. Open the Gmail app and tap Compose.
2. Tap the Attach icon at the top of the screen.
3. Choose where the photo is: Photos, Camera, Files, or Drive. On iPhone you also see Google Photos.

4. Select the photo and tap Send after adding the address.

Gmail has two quirks. On Android, you can select up to five photos at a time, so repeat the step for more. On iPhone, a single photo goes into the message body; tap it and choose Send as attachment if you want it as a separate file.

Mail on iPad

1. Open Mail and start a new message.
2. Add the recipient and subject, then tap in the body where the photo should go.
3. Tap the Insert Attachment Actions button above the keyboard and choose Photo Library.

4. Select the photo and tap Done.
5. Check the image and address, then tap Send.

Apple’s iPad Mail attachment guide shows the same controls.

What If the Photo Is Too Big?

• Let Gmail make a Drive link. Over 25 MB, Gmail removes the attachment and adds a Google Drive link. Make sure the link’s sharing setting lets the person open it.
• Use Mail Drop on iPhone, iPad or Mac. When a message is over your provider’s limit, Mail offers to send the photos through iCloud. Mail Drop handles up to 5 GB, the files stay available for 30 days, and they don’t count against your iCloud storage.
• Share a cloud link. Upload the photos to OneDrive, iCloud Drive or Google Drive and paste the link in your email. Here’s how to create a shareable link for photos in Google Drive.
• Send fewer at a time. Split a big batch across several emails.
• Zip a folder of photos. On Windows, a ZIP file keeps many photos together as one attachment, but it won’t make photos much smaller. Here’s how to create a ZIP file in Windows.
• Shrink the photo. You can resize an image in Paint before attaching it.

Google also notes that Gmail attachments count toward your Google storage. If your storage is full, you can’t send or receive attachments.

How to Confirm the Photo Was Sent

• Open your Sent folder and check that the message shows the attachment.
• In Gmail and Outlook, the photo’s name appears in the message before you send. If it’s missing, the upload didn’t finish.
• On iPhone, if the email doesn’t arrive, open Mail > Mailboxes > Outbox. A message stuck there didn’t send, so check the address and your connection, then send it again. Apple’s sending troubleshooting guide has more fixes.

If the person says they can’t find the photo, here’s why you can’t see attachments in Outlook and how to fix it.

Email a Photo to Yourself and Save It on a Computer

To move a photo to your computer this way, send it to your own address using the phone steps above. On the computer, open the message and use the attachment’s Download button, as Google’s attachment download guide explains. Email can shrink large photos, so for full-resolution copies use a cable, iCloud Photos or Google Photos instead. The steps for uploading photos from your iPhone to your computer cover those methods.

Frequently Asked Questions