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Email & Photos

Steps checked against official help pages. Last checked: Oct 15, 2026

How to Email a Photo

What this helps with: Sending a picture from your phone to someone by email.

On an iPhone (Mail app)

  1. Open the Mail app.
    • What you’ll tap: A blue icon with a white envelope.
  2. Tap the new message button at the bottom right.
    • What you’ll tap: A small square with a pencil.
  3. In To:, type the person’s email address. Add a Subject, like “Photos from the garden.”
  4. Tap in the big area below the subject where you write your message.
  5. Above the keyboard, tap the photo button.
    • What you’ll tap: A small picture icon. If you don’t see it, tap the < arrow or the Aa row above the keyboard to show more buttons.
  6. Tap Photo Library, then tap the photo you want. It appears in your message.
  7. Tap the send button.
    • What you’ll tap: A blue circle with an up arrow, at the top right.

Another way: Open the Photos app, open the picture, tap the Share button (a square with an arrow pointing up), then tap Mail.

On an Android phone (Gmail app)

  1. Open the Gmail app.
    • What you’ll tap: A white icon with a red and multicolor “M”.
  2. Tap Compose at the bottom right.
    • What you’ll tap: A button with a pencil.
  3. Type the person’s email address in To, and add a Subject.
  4. At the top right, tap Attach.
    • What you’ll tap: A paper clip.
  5. Tap Photos (or Attach file), then tap the photo you want.
  6. Tap Send.
    • What you’ll tap: A paper airplane at the top right.

Tip: You can pick up to five photos at a time in Gmail.

If something goes wrong

  • The photo is too big to send. Gmail can send up to 25 MB at a time. If it’s too large, Gmail turns it into a Google Drive link automatically. On iPhone, Mail may offer Mail Drop for big files. Just follow the message on screen. Sending fewer photos at once also helps.
  • I can’t find the photo button on iPhone. Tap once in the message area first. The buttons above the keyboard only appear when you’re typing.
  • The person says they didn’t get it. Check the email address for typos. Ask them to look in their spam or junk folder.
  • It’s taking a long time. Photos send faster on Wi-Fi. You can leave the app open until it says the message was sent.

Official sources

Last checked: Oct 15, 2026

This is general help, not personalized tech support. Buttons can look slightly different depending on your phone and email app.

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