How to Send Photos via Email in 5 Versions of Windows

Send photos in the default Windows email client

Co-authored by wikiHow Staff

Last Updated: March 31, 2023 Tested

Windows 11 & 10

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Windows 8

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Windows 7

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Windows Vista

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Windows XP

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Video

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Q&A

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Tips

Is there a picture on your computer that you want to email someone? Fortunately, you can use built-in email clients on many Windows computers to email photos. This wikiHow teaches you how to use Windows' built-in email application to send photos in Windows 11, 10, 8, 7, Vista, and XP.

Things You Should Know

In most versions of Windows, you can use the built-in Mail app to send pictures.
Add pictures by clicking "Insert > Pictures" and selecting the pictures you want to send.
Send the email by clicking the airplane icon.

Method 1

Method 1 of 5:

Windows 11 & 10

1
Open the Mail app in Windows. If you don't see "Mail" in your Start menu, you can press the Win key on your keyboard and enter "Mail" to see the app result. Click on that to open the program.
- You'll be prompted to add an email account if you haven't set one up yet, but they are super easy to make, so don't worry about that! After you've created an email, you can click the corresponding client in the Mail pop-up and follow the on-screen instructions to set up your email client with Mail!
2
Click + New mail in the upper-left corner. By clicking this plus sign icon, the window on the right will change to reflect a new email.

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3
Enter the recipient's email address. Type it in the "To" field.
4
Add a subject in the "Subject" field. This is usually a brief summary of your email.
- Keep in mind if you're writing a formal or informal email as the wording and formatting should be different.
5
Type the body of the email message. The body of your email should be written in the large text box below the subject line and should typically include a salutation, message, and closing.
- The nature of email is fast, so you should generally keep the length of your message fairly short.
- Since you're using Windows' default mail client, Mail, each email will end with "Sent from Mail for Windows," but you can change that in Settings > Signature.
6
Click the Insert/Attach tab at the top of the screen. The tab will underline to indicate that it is selected and the menu items will change.
- Whether you see "Insert" or "Attach" will vary based on the version of Windows you're running.
- Click File > Attach instead if you rather attach the picture to the email instead of including it in the email text.
7
Click Pictures. If you cannot add a picture to the area you're typing in, the button will be greyed out. For example, you cannot add a picture to the "To" field and the button will be greyed out and unclickable. Make sure your cursor is where you want to insert the photo.
8
Choose the picture(s) you want to send. By default, Windows will open your "Pictures" folder, where most of your images will most likely be saved.
- If you have photos in other areas, like in your Downloads folder, navigate to that folder instead to find the picture you want to email.
- Most Internet service providers (ISPs) restrict the size of attachments, so if you're sending multiple pictures, it may be a good idea to send several emails with a few attachments.
- You can click a picture to select it or press and hold Shift while you click to add multiple photos to the selection.
9
Click Insert. You'll see that the images you selected will be added to your email.
10
Click Send in the upper-right. Your pictures will be sent to the person to whom the email is addressed. ^{[1]
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Method 2

Method 2 of 5:

Windows 8

1
Click the Windows menu.
2
Open the Mail App. It's in the Start menu.
3
Click ⊕ to start a new message. It's in the upper-right.
4
Enter the recipient's email address. Type it in the "To" field.
5
Add a subject in the "Subject" field.
6
Type the body of the email message.
7
Click the paper clip icon at the top of the screen. This opens the "File Picker" window.
8
Click Files.
9
Click the Pictures folder.
- Most of the pictures on your computer will likely be stored here.
10
Choose the photo(s) you want to send.
11
Click Attach.
12
Click the "Send" button at the top of the screen. It's an envelope icon with lines behind it. Your pictures will be sent to the person to whom the email is addressed.

Method 3

Method 3 of 5:

Windows 7

1
Click the Start menu. It's the Windows logo in the lower-left corner.
2
Click Pictures.
3
Choose your picture(s).
- Press and hold Ctrl while clicking to select multiple pictures.
4
Click E-mail in the toolbar.
5
Select a picture size from the drop-down.
6
Click Attach. Doing so launches your email application and attaches the pictures you selected.
7
Enter the recipient's email address. Type it in the "To" field.
8
Add a subject in the "Subject" field.
9
Type the body of the email message.
10
Click Send in the upper-left of the window. Your pictures will be sent to the person to whom the email is addressed.

Method 4

Method 4 of 5:

Windows Vista

1
Click the Start menu. It's the Windows logo in the lower-left corner.
2
Click All Programs.
3
Click Windows Photo Gallery.
4
Choose your picture(s).
- Press and hold Ctrl while clicking to select multiple pictures.
5
Click E-mail in the toolbar.
6
Select a picture size from the drop-down.
7
Click Attach. Doing so launches your email application and attaches the pictures you selected.
8
Enter the recipient's email address. Type it in the "To" field.
9
Add a subject in the "Subject" field.
10
Type the body of the email message.
11
Click Send in the upper-left of the window. Your pictures will be sent to the person to whom the email is addressed.

Method 5

Method 5 of 5:

Windows XP

1
Click the Start menu. It's the Windows logo in the lower-left corner.
2
Click My Pictures and choose a folder.
- This method works for photos with file sizes that are greater than 64 KB. You can check the file size of the photo by right-clicking the file and selecting "Properties."
3
Choose your picture(s).
- Press and hold Ctrl while clicking to select multiple pictures.
4
Click E-mail this file. It's on the left, under "File and Folder Tasks."
5
Choose a file size for your photos. If you'd like to send smaller photo files, click the "Make all my pictures smaller" radio button.
6
Click OK.
7
Enter the recipient's email address. Type it in the "To" field.
8
Add a subject in the "Subject" field.
9
Type the body of the email message.
10
Click Send in the upper-left of the window. Your pictures will be sent to the person to whom the email is addressed.

Community Q&A

Question

How can I send the pictures from my phone through an email?

Community Answer

Click on the paper clip (attachments), choose your picture (file), click on it and press send when it appears on your email.
Question

How do I know if my email with photos has been sent and received?

Community Answer

To see if an email has been sent, you should be able to check your "sent" folder. To find out whether it's been received, you'll pretty much just have to wait for the recipient to let you know.
Question

I find no option of email in task bar when I want to send a photo.

Community Answer

At the bottom of the email, it might display a picture of a paper clip. That is an option to send an attachment. You should be able to hit the attachment button and it should let you pick a file or folder to send as an attachment to the email.