Sharing mobile photos is pretty much an integral part of taking photos with a smartphone camera. If you’re attentive, you may have noticed that when you share photos via messaging apps such as WhatsApp, the photos get compressed and lose their picture quality.
This can be frustrating, especially if you wish to retain the picture quality to have your mobile photos printed. Luckily, there are ways in which you can send your mobile photos between devices or to friends and family without sacrificing the picture quality.
Google Photos
Using Google Photos is probably the easiest and quickest way to share your mobile photos without sacrificing picture quality. If you’re using an Android device, then Google Photos is probably already installed on your phone. Otherwise, you can download it for free from the Play Store or App Store for iOS.
What’s great about Google Photos is that it allows you to sync your photos to your Google account and backs them up to the cloud. This means that even if you switch between devices if you sign in to your Google account, you will have access to all your mobile photos in their original quality.
To send your mobile photos to someone from the Google Photos app is very easy. Simply open the app and navigate your way to the photo(s) you wish to share. From there, tap the share icon (triangular line with three small circles at each point) and select the recipient from your list of contacts. You can add a message if you want, and then tap send. And that’s it.
A desktop version of Google Photos is also available for Windows and Mac.
Cloud sharing
Cloud sharing is another great way to send photos without compromising their quality because of the number of options from which you can to choose. This method is often linked to a cloud storage account that is either free or paid for.
Examples of cloud sharing/storage services include the likes of Google Drive, Dropbox, Microsoft OneDrive, iCloud, and many others. Each service has its own unique offerings, so it’s up to you to decide which one is best for you.
To send photos using cloud sharing, you first need to upload the photos to a cloud sharing service of your choice. This can be done from either a phone app or via a web browser. Once you have selected the photo or photos you want to send, you’ll be given a link which you can give to whoever you want to send the files to.
You don’t have to worry about the recipient having access to the other files in your cloud storage. The link you’re provided will only give them access to the files you selected to share. And depending on the cloud sharing service you use, you can make the files you send only viewable or downloadable by specific people you choose.
The process of cloud sharing differs from service to service. So, make sure you familiarise yourself with the service you use and get the security settings right if need be.
Wi-Fi Direct
Wi-Fi Direct is a wireless connection that allows devices to communicate with each other. And although this may sound very similar to Bluetooth, it is different and, quite frankly, much better.
Wi-Fi Direct connects devices to each other via Wi-Fi without the need for a wireless router or internet connection. One device acts as the access point to which other devices can connect. I say devices because, with Wi-Fi Direct, multiple devices can link to each other and share files. It is also considerably faster than Bluetooth.
Wi-Fi Direct on Android
Different phones have different ways of enabling Wi-Fi Direct but it’s generally quite easy to activate and send files and photos using it. On Android devices that support it natively, you can usually find the option in the Wi-Fi or connectivity settings.
For you to be able to send files between devices using Wi-Fi Direct, you first need to establish a connection between the devices, just like you would with a Bluetooth connection. Enable Wi-Fi Direct on both devices and send a connection request from the sender to the recipient. Once a connection is established, the status will change from ‘Available’ to ‘Connected’.
To send your photos, simply navigate to their location and tap the share icon. From the options that appear, you should see one for Wi-Fi Direct. Select that option and choose a recipient. And that’s it, you’re done. The files should automatically transfer to the receiving device but some smartphones may require you to confirm the transfer.
Wi-Fi Direct on iOS (Airdrop)
On iPhones, the Wi-Fi Direct technology is known by a different name– Airdrop. However, unlike Wi-Di Direct on Android devices, Airdrop additionally requires a Bluetooth connection for it to work effectively. That’s because it uses Bluetooth to find an AirDrop enabled phone, and Wi-Fi to send the files.
With AirDrop, you can choose to be discoverable by everyone or only by people in your contacts. If you choose to share with your contacts only, then you and the recipient need to be signed in to iCloud.
If your smartphone does not natively have Wi-Fi Direct or you wish to transfer your mobile photos between an iPhone and an Android device, you can still use this method to send files and photos between devices via file sharing apps. More on this later.
Bluetooth
Similar in concept to Wi-Fi Direct but limited in comparison, Bluetooth is a well-known and popular way to send photos without losing their quality. In order to send your mobile photos via Bluetooth, both the sending and receiving devices need to have Bluetooth enabled and should be paired.
To pair devices, you need to go into the Bluetooth settings and tap on the device with which you wish to connect. You might be given a password or be asked to generate one yourself. The same password on the sender’s device should be entered on the receiving device to establish a connection.
Once the devices are connected, navigate to and select the images you wish to send and tap on the option to send or share the files. Select to share via Bluetooth, and the files should start sending. You might have to confirm or accept the files on the receiving device.
Compared to Wi-Fi Direct, Bluetooth is much slower and limits your connection to one device at a time. Also, both devices need to be within a range of 10m from each other otherwise the connection will break.
Good old-fashion email is a good way to share your mobile photos without losing image quality. All you need is the email address of the recipient and you’re good to go. You don’t even need to load the photos onto a computer first. You can email your photos right from your smartphone.
To send someone photos from your phone via email is pretty easy. All you have to do is locate the photo you wish to share on your phone. Click on the ‘share’ icon and select the email option. After entering the email address of the recipient, the image will be sent to them via email.
Emailing photos does have its drawbacks, though. There is a limit to how big the files can be and how many you can send at a time. So, if you have quite a lot of photos to share and they take up quite a lot of space, email might not be the best option for you.
File sharing apps
File sharing apps make it easy for anyone to send uncompressed photos between devices. They work on the same principle as W-Fi Direct where one device becomes the hotspot and the other device connects to it.
There are plenty of such file sharing apps available such as the very popular SHAREit, Send Anywhere, ES File Explorer, Google Files Go, and many more.
For you to be able to use this method to share your mobile photos, both devices need to have the same file-sharing app installed. File sharing apps are especially useful on devices that don’t have native support for Wi-Fi Direct.
Messaging apps
At the beginning of this article, I mentioned how sharing photos on instant messaging apps such as WhatsApp compresses them, which can lead to lower quality mobile photos. However, there is a way to work around this and send uncompressed photos using a messaging app.
On WhatsApp, for example, instead of selecting the option to share a photo, choose to share a file instead. From there, navigate to where the photo you want to share is stored and select it to send. The photo will be sent as an uncompressed file.
Of course, every messaging app is different. But if the app you use allows you to send photos as files, then chances are it will allow you to send an uncompressed photo as a file.
Conclusion
As you can see, there are quite a number of ways in which you can send mobile photos from your phone to someone else without losing picture quality. Which one works best depends on personal preference and your particular needs at the time e.g., how many photos do you need to share and how big are they?
In my personal experience, I have found that the best way to send many mobile photos in one go is by using Wi-Fi Direct. It’s very fast and even phones that don’t have the feature natively can still use it through a third-party app.
This article originally appeared on my other blog thesmartphonephotographer.com. Check it out!
