July 6, 2026
Photos Too Big to Email? How to Shrink the Attachment
Attached a few photos and got ‘attachment size exceeded’? Shrinking the files before you send fixes it in one shot.
Phone photos today run 3–8MB each, so even three or four blow past limits like Gmail’s 25MB or a work mailbox’s 10MB. The fix is simple: shrink the photos before you send. You can cut the size to a fraction while the eye barely notices a difference.
1. Compress the photos first
Drop them all into the image compressor at once. It handles several files together, and nothing is uploaded to a server — so even sensitive documents stay private.
- Drag in every photo you want to attach, or click to select
- Optionally set a ‘max file size’ (say 1MB each)
- Download the results and attach them to your email
2. Still too big? Cut the pixels
If compression alone isn’t enough, reduce the width. For photos viewed in email, about 1600px wide is plenty sharp. Set the width in the image resizer, then compress again. The order and the why are in the guide on reducing file size.
Lots of photos? Bundle them into one PDF
Instead of attaching ten separate images, combine them into a single PDF — easier for the recipient and for size limits. See how with the Image to PDF tool in the guide on turning photos into a PDF.
If an iPhone photo (HEIC) won’t attach
Default iPhone photos are HEIC and may not open on the recipient’s PC. Convert them first with the HEIC to JPG converter, then attach — they’ll open anywhere.
Frequently asked questions
- Does compressing hurt quality much? For viewing on screen or in email, you’ll barely notice. Keep the original for printing.
- My work limit is lower (5MB). Set a smaller target per photo, or cut the pixels as well.
- Is it safe? Everything runs in your browser; files are never sent to a server.