A reader recently asked me about alternatives to emailing images to her clients.
Usually image files are quite large, so if you are using email that can mean several emails with attachments to get them all sent. This article shares three ways to share images other than emailing them.
There are three ways to easily send image files. All three work great, so try each one out to see which one works best for you.
- Burn the images to a disk and mail it in a safe mailer/package.
- Copy to an inexpensive (maybe branded) thumb or flash drive and mail it in a cushioned envelope.
- Use a cloud service like Dropbox or Box and simply copy/paste the images into a folder and invite the client or family to the folder.
The first two options are fairly easy to use. One tip I will give though, is to create two folders – one with images to print and one with images to share on the web. That way when they want to share images with friends and family the web versions, possibly with your logo somewhere on them, can be easily uploaded to Facebook or Instagram.
Okay, on to option number three, which is my favorite! Using “the cloud!”
There are several cloud file-sharing sites, but my favorite is Dropbox.
Dropbox is a file sharing site which you can use across all of your devices – PC, Mac, Android, iPhone, iPad, etc. You can set up a free 2 GB account to see if you like it. If you end up loving it, like me, and want to be able to have more files on there, you can pay to upgrade for more space.
Below is a screen print of Dropbox on my PC desktop. The folders I sync on my Mac laptop are different because I use it mainly for webinars.
Once you have installed Dropbox on your computer, create a separate folder for the client/family/friend and invite them to the folder. Yes, it is that easy.
Now, in full disclosure, when you are new to Dropbox it can be confusing at first because you have to know where to look, how to share, etc.. BUT, if you give it a chance, I think you will love it!
A more thorough tutorial on Dropox is planned, and I am actually thinking about writing a little Dropbox e-book soon. I love it that much!
I so appreciate all your help. You are so kind to share your knowledge with those of us who are struggling. I look forward to the “more thorough tutorial on Dropbox” that you have planned. I did install Dropbox, but as usual, I have lots of questions and things that I don’t understand.
This is a timely topic for me – thanks! I just signed up for dropbox a week ago so that I could easily get files copied over to different devices. I’ve created folders for various types of files. One thing I haven’t done yet is share files within a folder for anybody else. A tutorial and/or e-book would be helpful!
I’m eager to learn more about Dropbox, so this post will come in handy to get me started. I have recently heard about scanning household and business documents and saving to either Dropbox or Evernote as a way to move toward a “paperless office” but getting started is the hard part. So glad you’ll be doing a tutorial and e-book.
I’m really frustrated! I’ve never used Dropbox for photos, but have for documents. I’ve used Picasa web albums which have worked very easily and well for me. But now it’s gone to Google+ and I hate it. I don’t want to do social media, just want to email. Besides, it doesn’t give me all the options that Picasa web albums had. You could label, organize, pick a cover shot, play as slideshow, etc. It was easy for my friends and family to access without belonging to it. I just tried to upload to Flickr, but it wouldn’t take my files, and when I tried to go directly from PhotoShop Elements 11 it gave me an error message about a firewall or bad internet connection, neither of which were the case. Aarrgghh! Very frustrated! I’m guessing Flickr won’t take PSD files and I’d have to change everything to JPEGs, which Picasa did automatically. I would appreciate any help in this area.
I have been using Dropbox for just over a year and love it. Great way to share photos and videos with family and friends. My cellphone pictures automatically upload to DB which make them easier to share. I love that I can access my files from any computer with internet!