Tutorial

How to send photos and videos in the best quality

  • 23 June 2021
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How to send photos and videos in the best quality
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  • iD Mobile Employee
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Picture the scene: it’s a beautiful day and you decide to head into the city to capture some fantastic photography and footage of the sights, architecture and passers-by. They all look great – bundles of detail, lighting just right. So, you decide to share a few of the best clips and shots with mates over on the group chat. And that’s when it starts to go a little wrong. How?

Simple. Messaging apps like WhatsApp compress the files you send to make quicker to send, quicker to download, and smaller to store. When you send files to friends on WhatsApp, they need to download them to view them. Once you accumulate a few of these files, they start to take up quite a bit of space. Higher res photos and footage take up even more. So, in terms of sending files, chat apps like WhatsApp are better for instant sharing than they are for quality.

But if you’re anything like us, you’ll want to show off your creativity in the exact quality you shot it in. After all, you’ve got a phone with a camera that can do loads of cool stuff.  Plus, when you record a scene in 4K and send it in 720p resolution, it just won’t be the same. So, what are the alternatives?

 

Wireless Transferring:

 

Well, if you’ve got your mates with you and you have iPhones or Samsung smartphones, the solution is easy – either Apple AirDrop or Samsung Direct Share. These services allow you to transfer files from one Apple or Samsung device to another without using any data or Wi-Fi. Instead they use Bluetooth low energy, so you’ll need to be within range of your mate’s phone. Here’s how to send a file via AirDrop:

First, make sure that your Bluetooth and Wi-Fi are switched on, and your friend’s too. Then, check that you both have AirDrop set to either Contacts Only, or Everyone. If your friend is set to Contacts Only, they’ll need to have you saved as a contact with either your Apple ID email or phone number. Once that’s done, go to the photo or video you want to send, tap the share icon, tap AirDrop, then select the recipient you want to send it to. Done!

For Direct Share, it’s a similar deal. You’ll both need to go to Settings, tap Advanced features and then tap Direct Share to toggle it on. Then, find the file you want to send, tap the Share button and choose the recipient. Nice and simple.

 

The Cloud:

Wireless transfer is the no.1 choice if you’re with the person you’re sharing the file with. But what if you’re out and about on your own? The answer is cloud services.

These are perfect for sharing large files without having to store them directly on yours or your mate’s phone. If you’re not familiar with cloud storage services and need a helping hand picking one, our guide to managing your cloud is the ideal one-stop shop.

Your cloud storage service stores your files in the exact quality you upload them in. There’s no compression or downscaling of quality here. All you have to do is upload that picture-perfect shot or cinematic footage to DropBox, Google Drive or iCloud and not only will it keep it secure, but it’ll free up your phone’s onboard storage. From there, you can go into each photo and video you’ve got and decide who you want to share it with by picking from your contacts.

Give it a go! It’s one of the quicker ways to showcase your creativity to friends and family, and they’ll probably thank you for not needing to download an enormous 4K video clip.

 

File Transfer Sites:

 

 

If you like your photos and videos stored right there on your phone, you’re probably not that fussed about setting up a cloud account right away. Not to worry. There’s one more simple way to send big videos and photo files from one person to another, and that’s by using a file transfer site like WeTransfer.

These services allow you to send files that are usually too big to send via email, SMS or WhatsApp, and they’re a seriously useful workaround. WeTransfer allows you to send files up to 2GB in size totally free.

You’re extremely unlikely to create a photo that’s 2GB, but if you’re planning to regularly share Ultra HD videos with others, 2GB may be a little light. Fortunately, WeTransfer Pro costs £12 a month and lets you send 20GB files. That’s about the size of two feature length Full HD movies, so by no means a small limit. Why not give it a try?

 

Those are a few ways to transfer your stunning footage and photos to your family and mates without reducing the quality!

Give it a go and let us know how it works for you. Are there any alternative methods we’ve missed out? Drop a comment below.


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