Shrink an iPad photo before sending it via emailSandra writes: I sent a photo from my iPad to my Virgin email. The photo came out very large even though it was a JPEG. Could you please advise what I can do [to make it smaller]? The iPad is an iPad 3.

Hi Sandra! I must admit, I was a little puzzled when I first read your question.

After all, doesn’t the iPad automatically ask you whether you’d like to shrink a large, about-to-be-emailed photo, just like the iPhone does?

I gave it a try with my own iPad 3, and lo and behold: no pop-up asking if I really want to send a massive, multi-megabyte photo as an email attachment.

Instead, my iPad just pasted the full-size snapshot (1.3 megabytes, to be exact) into my email message and sent it, no questions asked.

Image Size settings for email on iPad

Yes, you can shrink a photo before sending it via email on the iPad, provided you know where to tap.

So, what gives?

Well, it turns out you can reduce the size of a photo attachment before hitting the “Send” button, provided you know where to tap.

Here’s how…

  • First, let’s dive into the iPad’s Camera Roll in the Photos app, and find a great snapshot to send as an email attachment. Got one? Tap the Share button (it’s the one in the top-right corner of the screen, with a curved arrow), then tap the Mail icon.
  • Your iPad will automatically paste your photo (or photos, if you selected more than one) into a blank email message. Go ahead and fill in the “To:” and “Subject” lines, and add a message in the body of the email if you wish.
  • Now, here’s the trick: see the “CC/BCC” line, just below the “To” line? Look over to the right, and you’ll see a little text that reads “Images: 1.3 MB” (the size will vary depending on the image). Tap the “CC/BCC” line to expand it—and suddenly, you’ll see a series of four “Image Size” options: Small, Medium, Large, and Actual Size. Tap one of the buttons to shrink the photo down to size.
  • All set? Go ahead and tap the “Send” button.

Hope that helps, Sandra. Still have more questions? Just let me know.

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