Send RAW files at full size

What SendTheStuff will do with a RAW shoot

SendTheStuff will send RAW files as files, so nothing along the way decides they'd be better as JPEGs.

• Untouched files. SendTheStuff will send each CR3, NEF, ARW, RAF or DNG byte for byte, with its metadata.
• A whole shoot per link. SendTheStuff will take up to 1,000 files and 5 GB per transfer, free. That's around a hundred RAWs from a high-resolution camera, going by the table.
• Folders intact. On a computer, SendTheStuff will take whole folders, with their structure kept, so a client's selects stay sorted.
• No storage left full. SendTheStuff will keep the link working for 14 days, then delete the files.

Why RAW files are so big

A RAW file is the sensor's own reading of the scene, before the camera turns it into a picture. A JPEG is that picture, finished and compressed. RAW keeps everything the JPEG throws away.

• Every pixel's full reading. RAW stores far more shades of light per pixel than a JPEG can hold. That extra depth is what lets you rescue shadows and highlights later.
• No baked-in choices. White balance, sharpening and colour are left open, so they can be set later. A JPEG has already decided them.
• Little or no compression. Many cameras store RAW uncompressed or with lossless compression, which saves little space.
• More megapixels, more data. The table shows it: a high-resolution body's RAWs run to nearly twice the size of a mid-range camera's.

Apple's ProRAW works the same way on an iPhone. Apple says a ProRAW photo is about 75 MB at 48 MP and 25 MB at 12 MP.

Where each usual route stops

Most routes either refuse RAW files outright or turn them into something else.

Apple's guide says All Photos Data works with AirDrop only. So ProRAW sent any other way from Photos can arrive as something smaller. For more on getting photos off an iPhone intact, see sending photos from iPhone to Android.

Converting to JPEG against sending the RAW

The table's second half shows the shortcuts. A JPEG from the same camera is a fraction of the size, and so are compressed RAW modes. Each one gives something up.

• A full-size JPEG keeps every pixel but fixes the white balance, exposure and colour. Fine for a client who only needs to view and pick.
• A camera's compressed RAW mode, such as Canon's Compact RAW, is still RAW but keeps less. Choose it before you shoot, not after.
• A smaller ProRAW on an iPhone keeps RAW's editing room at a quarter of the pixels.

Send the RAWs themselves when someone will edit them: a retoucher, a second shooter's lead, or you on another computer. Send JPEGs when the person only needs to look.

Send RAW files as a link, step by step

When SendTheStuff launches, sending RAW files will take three steps:

1. Pick the files or a folder, from the computer they're on.
2. Confirm your email address with a code, and the upload will start.
3. Copy the link and send it with a note on what's inside.

Until SendTheStuff launches

Here's how to send RAW files intact today.

From Lightroom Classic: select the photos, choose Export, and under File Settings set the Image Format to Original. Adobe says that exports the image data in the format it was captured in. Then share the folder by one of the routes below.

With Google Drive:

1. Upload the folder of RAWs to Google Drive.
2. Open its sharing settings. Under General access, choose Anyone with the link.
3. Copy the link and send it. Delete the folder later to free your storage.

From an iPhone, to another Apple device nearby: in Photos, select the ProRAW photos, tap Share, then Options, and turn on All Photos Data. Then AirDrop them.

With WhatsApp: send them as a Document, not as photos, so they arrive as files. Each can be up to 2 GB.

What the person needs to open RAW files

RAW is not one format. Each camera maker has its own: CR3 for Canon, NEF for Nikon, ARW for Sony, RAF for Fujifilm. DNG is the open format, and it's what Apple's ProRAW uses.

• To edit them, they need software that knows your camera, such as Lightroom, Capture One or the maker's own app. A brand-new camera's RAWs may need a software update.
• To just look, a recent Mac or iPhone previews most RAW formats in Photos or Preview. On Windows, the Photos app shows many, sometimes after installing a free extension.
• On a phone, RAW files usually download into Files or Downloads, not the photo gallery.

A SendTheStuff link will open a download page in any browser, with every file's name and size, and the date the link expires.

Sending a shoot to a client or an editor

A RAW hand-off is usually a working delivery, not a gallery. A few habits save a round of messages.

• Send the selects, not the card. Cull first, so the editor doesn't wade through every burst frame.
• Keep sidecar files with their RAWs. Lightroom Classic can save edits in XMP files beside each RAW. Leave them out and the edits don't travel.
• Keep the folder structure. Folders by scene or by day tell the editor how the shoot runs.
• Say what's inside. A line with the camera, the number of files and anything to skip helps.

As for why many photographers don't hand over RAWs at all: a RAW is unfinished. It shows the shot before any of the editing the client is paying for. Most photographers deliver edited JPEGs and send RAWs only to an editor, or when the contract says so.

When RAW files won't send or won't open

Email refuses the photo. Gmail, Outlook.com and Yahoo stop at 25 MB, and every RAW in the table's "As shot" group is past that. Send a link instead of shrinking it.

The person got JPEGs, not RAWs. Something converted them on the way, usually a chat app or Photos picking a format for the destination. Send them as files: a link, a document, or AirDrop with All Photos Data.

Their software can't open the files. Their editor doesn't know your camera yet. An update usually fixes it. Adobe's free DNG Converter can also turn them into DNG.

Edits went missing. The XMP sidecar files were left behind. Send them alongside the RAWs, in the same folder.

The files are much smaller than expected. Check the size of what arrived. A ProRAW at 48 MP should be about 75 MB; something far smaller was converted.