How to Send Raw Photos via Email

You shot a session on a mirrorless or DSLR, and you need to email the RAW files to a client or colleague. The problem: a single RAW file from a modern camera is 25–80MB. A set of selects from a half-day shoot can easily be 2–4GB. Gmail, Outlook, and virtually every other email provider will reject individual files over 20–25MB as attachments.

SendSplit accepts your RAW files or a ZIP of multiple RAWs, splits them into numbered ZIP parts, and delivers each as a standard email attachment — up to 200MB total, no accounts required. The recipient downloads all parts, extracts once, and gets the complete full-resolution originals — every RAW file, no compression, no quality change.

Why RAW Files Are Difficult to Send via Email

Camera RAW files are large by design — they capture unprocessed sensor data at full bit depth:

  • Common RAW sizes: Canon CR3 / Nikon NEF / Sony ARW files from 24–45MP cameras typically run 25–50MB each; medium format files (Fujifilm GFX, Phase One) exceed 80MB
  • No meaningful compression: RAW files don't compress well — they're sensor data, not redundant structured text; zipping a folder of RAWs typically reduces total size by less than 5%
  • Client expectations: photographers delivering to agencies, publishers, or retouchers must send the actual RAW; converting to JPEG for delivery destroys the edit headroom the client paid for

Cloud links (WeTransfer, Google Drive) work but require the recipient to log in or click through to a browser. Many clients prefer attachments they can download directly from their email client to a local folder for archiving.

How to Send Raw Photos via Email with SendSplit

For a single large RAW, upload it directly. For multiple files, zip them first.

Single RAW file:

  1. Go to sendsplit.com/upload-to-send and upload your RAW file (CR3, NEF, ARW, RAF, DNG — up to 200MB)
  2. Choose a split size: 10MB for agency or studio recipients, 20–25MB for personal clients
  3. Enter the recipient's email address and click send

Multiple RAW files or a full shoot:

  1. Zip your RAW files:
    • Windows: select all RAW files → right-click → Send to → Compressed (zipped) folder
    • macOS: select all RAW files → right-click → Compress X Items
    • Linux: zip -r shoot_selects.zip raws/
  2. Upload the ZIP to SendSplit (up to 200MB) and proceed as above

Recipient side:

  1. Receives a series of emails, each with a numbered ZIP part (e.g., Shoot_Selects_RAW.zip.001)
  2. Downloads all parts into the same folder
  3. Opens the first part (.001) with 7-Zip, WinRAR, macOS Archive Utility, or Windows Explorer — all parts are automatically reassembled and extracted
  4. Gets the complete RAW files — original format, full resolution, no re-encoding

Email Filters and RAW Attachments

ZIP files are generally accepted by mail servers, but some security gateways flag them for content scanning. If parts are blocked or quarantined:

  • Ask the recipient to check spam or quarantine
  • Enable password protection — encrypted ZIPs are not content-scanned, which can improve delivery through strict gateways; share the password separately (e.g., by phone or SMS)
  • Use 10MB splits for agency recipients — enterprise servers typically reject messages over 10MB

Tips for Emailing RAW Files

  • Name the ZIP after the shoot — ClientName_Wedding_RAW_Selects_June2025.zip is clear; the recipient sees this on every split part they receive
  • Send selects only, not the full card dump — email is most practical for 50–200MB; for full shoot archives of several gigabytes, use SendSplit for the selects and a separate file transfer for the complete dump
  • Include a JPEG contact sheet in the ZIP — a low-res preview file named _contact_sheet.jpg lets the client verify what they received before opening heavy RAW files in their editor
  • Use DNG for cross-application compatibility — if your client uses a different editing software, convert to Adobe DNG first; DNG is a universal RAW format supported by every major editor
  • Password protect confidential shoots — portraits, commercial work under NDA, or unreleased campaign imagery should always be sent with password protection enabled

Stop forcing clients to log into WeTransfer or click cloud links to get their RAW files. Try SendSplit — upload your RAW files or ZIP, and deliver them as standard email attachments to any inbox, up to 200MB, no accounts required.