Sending digital photos

Sending original JPG digital photos

If you are taking new photos to send to me then, when taking them, please choose the JPG option (rather than HEIC). If, however, you are sending me historical photos which happen to have been taken in HEIC format, send them to me as they are in their original HEIC format - don't attempt to convert them to JPG. 

Some phones and/or email systems do not preserve the filename when a JPG or HEIC is sent so it is good practice to send to me ZIP archive files containing the photos so that the filenames (and EXIF metadata) are sure to be preserved. You need to create the ZIP archive file on the phone where the original photos are (rather than send the photos by email or WhatsApp to somewhere else to be Zipped). In the case of any SDCards, insert them in any convenient device in order to be able to create the ZIP archive. Exactly where the option to create a 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.

It is particularly important to create the ZIP archive file on the phone itself if it is an iPhone (see here for how to do this) because when an unzipped photo is sent out from an iPhone all the file system metadata, including even the filename, is stripped off (so the receiving system has to generate a random string of alphanumeric characters as a filename). 

If your phone does not have a pre-installed app which can be used to create a 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 or HEIC digital photos with your Comments.

Making sure that EXIF data is not lost 

If you have already sent the JPG (or HEIC file) from you phone to your computer or other device without first compressing it into a ZIP file, 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, or if it does not have a proper filename (only random letters and numbers) look elsewhere to see if you can find, somewhere else, a copy which does have EXIF data and a proper filename.

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/HEIC 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/HEICs direct from the original device. Only send "lossy" compressed copies as a last resort if that is all you have kept.

Sending JPG or HEIC 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/HEIC to include a comment - make sure the original is preserved as is.

2. Send me an email with your comments identifying each photo by the date and the original filename e.g. Photo IMG_1234 taken on 15 Sep 2023 shows the new fencing. If the photo, instead of having a short filename such as IMG_1234, has a long filename such as 20230915_181623, use the last four characters of the filename to refer to it  e.g. Photo 1623 taken on 15 Sep 2023 shows the new fencing. When checking the date that a photo was taken, remember that it is the EXIF date taken that you need to quote, not the file system date modified which might be different if the JPG has been copied from one system to another (see above).

3. If you decide to take and send to me a number of photos of a building or land taken in various directions from different positions, it can sometimes be helpful to send, with the photos, all taken on the same day, an enlarged part of an 1:1,250 scale Ordnance Survey map or aerial photo with numbered arrows showing from what position, and in what direction, each JPGs was taken. In this case you should make a copy of each JPG in a temporary folder on your computer and prefix the JPG filename of the copy in the temporary folder with the number of the corresponding arrow on your plan but:

• 1. • • Don't rename the JPGs on the original device: ZIP the photos and email them to yourself and then open the email on your computer, download the 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, and don't add comments, but just add a prefix to it like this:

Photo 1 - IMG_1234.jpg

Photo 2 - IMG_1235.jpg

Photo 3 - IMG_1236.jpg

• Write the date that all the photos were taken at the bottom of the map/aerial photo so that they can be matched with the JPGs (the date that each JPG was taken is stored within it as EXIF data) 

• Then send the JPGs to me in a ZIP file together with the marked map/aerial photo.

4. There may be some other circumstances in which it is useful to copy a JPG and add information to a filename of the copy. For example during the process of litigation as documents are exchanged between the parties, each document copy exchanged may have a serial number prefix with a letter indicating which party has disclosed it. But remember:

• 1. • • Don't rename the JPGs on the original device: ZIP the photos and email them to yourself and then open the email on your computer, download the 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:

A22- IMG_1234.jpg

A23- IMG_1235.jpg

A24- IMG_1236.jpg

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 October 2025. Disclaimer