How to Share Photos by Text Message or Email

Sharing a photo from your phone is something you will do all the time — birthday pictures to the grandkids, a shot of a rash for your doctor, a photo of a broken appliance to a repair person. There are three main ways to send a photo: in a text message, as an email attachment, or by creating a shared album everyone in the family can add to and see.

On an iPhone or an Android phone, the sharing system is almost the same. You open the Photos app, tap the picture you want to share, then tap the Share button (a square with an arrow pointing up out of it). A menu of choices slides up: Messages, Mail, WhatsApp, Facebook, and so on. Pick where you want to send it, type the recipient, and tap Send.

Text messages are the fastest way for a single photo. You can attach up to about 10 photos per text, but if you send a giant batch, some phone carriers compress them, meaning the person receiving them sees smaller or fuzzier versions. For a single clear photo, text works great. For a family album, use a shared album instead.

Email is good for sending to someone whose phone number you do not have, or for sending many photos at once. Most email services have a limit of about 25 MB per message, which means around 10 to 20 photos depending on their size. If you try to send more, the email may fail or the service will offer to send a link to the pictures instead.

A shared album (Apple's iCloud Shared Album, or a Google Photos album) is the best option for ongoing family sharing. You set it up once and invite family members. Every time you add a picture, everyone sees it. Your daughter in Florida can also add her kids' photos. Nobody has to remember to forward anything.