Like documents, video and audio files, images are among the content that circulates the most on the Net, especially among friends or within the family circle. There are therefore millions of image files that are exchanged daily for different reasons, professional, personal, etc. To make this task easier, the web is full of intuitive tips and techniques. These are simple and quick. It also happens that sharing images, especially photos, is more difficult because of the size of the image or the definition of the photo.
So what are the popular tips and techniques for sharing an image file? In this article, you will discover a range of solutions that allow you to share your images.
Why is it not recommended to use e-mails?
At first glance, it is very easy to share your images through your email box. It’s simple, easy and quick. The service is also free, because you leverage a native functionality of your mailbox. All you have to do is select your image file and include it as an attachment in your message: voila!
Although this trick is beneficial to the users, but there are still disadvantages. It is important to mention that some email solution providers limit the size of their messages and attachments to very low levels. The majority of couriers therefore limit files to 25 MB. This will not be enough to send certain photos or to send a set of images. By choosing e-mail as a solution, you will have to resize the size of your files and, in turn, lower the quality of your images and photos, in particular by adjusting the level of compression of the JPEG format.
In addition, if you use your e-mail box to share your image files, this can cause your e-mail to be saturated. Indeed, the mailbox has a size limit which depends on the providers and your subscription and this storage capacity takes into account the messages received, but also the messages sent. In my opinion, it will therefore be necessary to use this means occasionally and on an ad hoc basis.
A.WeTransfer
It’s hard not to talk about WeTransfer, a website that offers you a service for sharing your files, including your photos, in a very simple way. Although it is not always in accordance with the wishes of the IT department, it is a very popular service and widely used by employees in companies. The principle of this service is easy to understand. To send a file up to 2 GB in size (the maximum for the free service), simply enter the recipient’s email address and yours, then add the file in question. It is also possible to select several files at the same time. You wait for the loading of your files on the site and you click on “Send”. The recipient receives, at the end of the operation, a link which refers to your files which are stored on the website in order to allow him to download the files shared via WeTransfer.
B.Google Photos
If you have a Google account, you can point to Google Photos (or possibly Google Drive). It is a solution that is available to you on Mac, Windows or smartphone, iOS and Android. The principle ? On Google Photos you have, first of all, the possibility of storing your image files within the limit of 15 GB, because to benefit from additional storage, you have to pay. This application even allows you to automatically store your photos taken (automatic synchronization). To share your files, you can simply generate a link that refers to your photos and send it to your relatives or other people. This very convenient and easy to use solution involves hosting your photos on Google’s servers. Small downside, the storage space which seems insufficient to contain all of your photos and albums: 15 GB is not enough.
C.Apple Photos
Like Google and Microsoft, Apple also offers its solution for storing and sharing photos in iCloud. Nevertheless, this app is aimed at users of Apple-branded products, but it’s important to talk about it. Operating on the same principle as its competing services, Apple Photos only offers a capacity of 5 GB in its free version. Which is quite low, but has the advantage of being well integrated into the system, especially on iPhones and iPads. The sharing functions are quite basic, but sufficient to share an image with someone. To benefit from a larger storage capacity, you must have the paid service.
D. Microsoft OneDrive
The other cloud-based solution is OneDrive. Similar to Google’s solution, OneDrive also offers you a range of options, including the possibility of integrating your content into the Office suite. So if you have a Microsoft account (Hotmail, Live and Outlook), or a Microsoft 365 subscription, this service is activated automatically and your photo files can be saved on the Cloud, including your computer data. However, the free service is limited to a capacity of 5 GB and like its competitors, Microsoft offers paid plans for greater storage, in particular several terabytes. To share your image files on this service, all you need to do is provide an email address. It is even possible to grant permissions to edit your album.
E. Dare image hosts
In addition to the services offered by Google, Apple, Microsoft, or even Dropbox that I have not yet presented… it is possible to opt for file hosts to store your files and images in order to share them with your customers. , partners or any other recipient. The principle of these hosts is simple. All you have to do is upload your image files to your account created on the platform (even without an account in some cases) and share it as you wish by generating a link that sends you to your files. Generally, the free offer of these services imposes a limit on the size of the images: only a few MB. This type of solution is interesting for sharing a screenshot or an image of no real importance, but as soon as it comes photos, it is better to use another service in my opinion. Among the hosts that provide a service dedicated to images, we can mention, among others, Imgur, Goopics, ImgBB, Zupimages, SmugMug, etc.
F. Use your own solution: a NAS, for example
NAS are increasingly popular in business and home, and major players in the industry, including Synology, QNAP, Asustor, etc. All offer applications for photo management, to centralize photos, organize them in albums, but also save them. If the NAS is accessible from the Internet, you can consider sharing your photos with your loved ones using your NAS application. The advantage, and that’s why it’s my favorite solution, is that your photos are stored on a storage space that you control.
In some cases, you will be asked to share an image or photo in PDF format. With this tool, you can easily convert a JPG file to PDF in order to send it in the correct format: which is practical, since the photos generated by smartphones, tablets and cameras are in JPG format, except in some when working on files in RAW format.
What criteria for choosing an image file sharing service?
Choosing your image file sharing service should be based on a rational choice. A choice that will also depend on your needs. If you don’t have a NAS or a private storage service, you can go to the Google solution which is ideal on an Android smartphone, or to OneDrive or Dropbox, and if you are at Apple, you can use the service based on iCloud. On the other hand, if you have a NAS, I encourage you to use it to keep control of your data while having the possibility of sharing your data, in this case photos. For example, at Synology, there is the Synology Photos app. Finally, to share a screenshot or a photo of no real importance with a friend or colleague, an image hosting service can be useful and suitable.