How to Send a Picture in Gmail

By

Updated December 18, 2019

In Gmail, you can send pictures in two ways: as attachments and inline — that is, in the body of the email. Here's how to accomplish the latter.

The process of sending a picture in Gmail differs slightly between the desktop browser and mobile app versions.

To add an image or photo inline to an email you are composing in Gmail on the web with a desktop browser:

Make sure the message you are composing is open and visible.

Hold down the shift key while clicking full screen in the composition pane to open it in a separate browser window.
Drag and drop the picture from its folder on your computer to the desired position in the message.

You also can paste the image at the desired location in the email from the clipboard using control+V (Windows, Linux) or command+V (Mac).

How to Send a Picture From the Web or Google Photos in Gmail

To use an image you found on the web or to upload one from your computer if you'd rather not drag and drop:

Position the text cursor where you want the image to appear.
Click the insert photo icon in the message's formatting toolbar.
Select Inline next to Insert images to have the pictures appear inside the email.

Choose As attachment here if you'd rather send your photo as an attachment.
To upload an image from your computer, click Upload > Choose photos to upload and open the desired graphic.

Images you have uploaded from your computer remain available in the Insert image dialog while you compose the message (but not for other emails).
To insert a picture already uploaded to Google Photos, go to Photos tab and select the image(s) you'd like to include.

Under the Albums tab, you'll find photos organized as they are in your Google Photos albums.
To use an image found on the web, go to the Web Address (URL) tab. Enter the image's URL next to Paste an image URL here.

Images from the web will always appear inline with the message; they will never be sent as attachments. Any recipient who has remote images blocked won't see the image.
Click Insert.

After insertion, you can resize and move images easily.

To send a photo on Gmail using the iOS or Android app:

While composing a message or reply, tap the attachment paperclip icon (📎) and select Attach file from the menu that appears. Select the photo(s) you want to send.

Tap the camera icon to take a new picture for sending with the email

In iOS, Gmail needs access to Photos. Make sure Photos is enabled at Gmail > ALLOW GMAIL TO ACCESS in Settings.
By default, the picture will be sent inline. To send as an attachment instead, tap the image to bring up its context menu and select Send as attachment from that menu; to specify inline, tap the attached picture and select Send inline from the menu.