Sending digital photos

Sending original JPG digital photos

Some phones (particularly iPhones) and/or email systems do not preserve the filename when a JPG is sent so it is good practice to send to me ZIP or, preferably, 7-ZIP archive files containing the photos so that the filenames (and EXIF metadata) are sure to be preserved. You need to create the archive file on the phone where the original photos are. In the case of any SDCards, insert them in any convenient device in order to create the archive. Exactly where the option to create a 7-ZIP archive is to be found on a phone depends on the type of device but it is often an option under an app named Files and the option may be called Compress.

If you have an iPhone see here.

If your phone does not have a pre-installed app which can be used to create a 7-ZIP or ZIP archive file you can install and use the RAR app. 

Whichever way you choose to do it, when you email the archive file or files to me make sure that it is clear how many emails you have sent.

Don't rename the JPG photos on your phone - make sure they are preserved as is. If you want to identify or comment on a JPG which you are sending to me (for example to make clear what it is a photo of, or to point out why it is significant) see below under Sending JPG digital photos with your Comments.

Making sure that EXIF data is not lost 

If you have already sent the JPG from you phone to your computer or other device without first compressing it, and the original is no longer on your phone, check that the EXIF data in the JPG on your computer was not been lost during the process of transferring it from your phone. If the JPG you have on your computer does not have EXIF data, look elsewhere to see if you can find, somewhere else, a copy which does have EXIF data.

Note that there are various photo management services which can automatically backup photos from a phone to cloud storage but they may, depending on the options selected, store the JPG data in the cloud in a "lossy" compressed form  (by removing pixels and not preserving file-system nor embedded metadata in the copies in the cloud). If you have such "lossy" compressed backup copies already, do not rely on them but send JPGs direct from the original device. Only send "lossy" compressed copies as a last resort if that is all you have kept.

Sending JPG digital photos with your comments

Many photos speak for themselves but if you want to comment on a photo you send me, for example to make clear what it is a photo of, or to point out why it is significant:

1. Don't rename the original JPG to include a comment - make sure it is preserved as is.

2. Send me an email with your comments identifying each photo by the date and time (including seconds) that it was taken e.g. The photo taken on 15 Sep 2023 at 15.27.36 shows the new fencing. When checking the date/time that a photo was taken:

   1. • Remember that it is the EXIF date/time taken that you need to quote, not the file system date/time modified which might be different if the JPG has been copied from one system to another (see above).

      • When displaying the EXIF date/time taken of a JPG on your phone or other device using the standard pre-installed apps you may find that only the hours and minutes of the time are displayed - not seconds. To display the time, including seconds, 7-ZIP the photos and email them to yourself and then open the email on your Windows computer, download the 7-ZIP file to your computer, extract the files, and then use Acute Photo EXIF Viewer (or use a USB cable to plug the phone into a Windows computer and use Acute Photo EXIF Viewer that way).  

3. If you are sending a number of photos of buildings or land taken in various directions from different positions, it can sometimes be helpful to send, with the photos, an enlarged part of an 1:1,250 scale Ordnance Survey map or aerial photo with numbered arrows showing from where, and in what direction, the JPGs were taken. In this case prefix each JPG filename with the number but:

• 1. • • Don't rename the JPGs on the original device: 7-ZIP the photos and email them to yourself and then open the email on your computer, download the 7-ZIP file to your computer, and then extract the JPGs to a temporary folder and rename the copies in the temporary folder. 

       • When renaming the copies in the temporary folder before emailing them to me do not remove the original filename but just add a prefix to it like this:

Photo 1 - 20240125_15.22.35.jpg

Photo 2- 20240125_15.22.54.jpg

Photo 3- 20240125_15.23.17.jpg

• Then send the JPGs to me in a 7-ZIP file.

See here if you have some old non-digital photos.

Disclaimer

This information page is designed to be used only by clients of John Antell who have entered into an agreement for the provision of legal services. The information in it is necessarily of a general nature and will not be applicable to every case: it is intended to be used only in conjunction with more specific advice to the individual client about the individual case. This information page should not be used by, or relied on, by anyone else.

The information on this page about specific computer techniques is provided for information purposes only. Every reasonable effort has been made to ensure that the information is accurate and up to date at the time it was written but no responsibility for its accuracy, or for any consequences of relying on it, is assumed by me. You should satisfy yourself, before using any of the techniques, software or services described, that the techniques are appropriate for your purposes and that the software or service is reliable.

This page was lasted updated in December 2024. Disclaimer