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Sending Client Emails


ElizabethM

Well-Known Member
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Hello!
I am a PC user and this question came about the other day when discussing with an Apple user how my email attachments arrives as part of the email and not on the side icons.
When I use my Outlook, I select "attach this file" and that creates a bar above the email (where we type the message) for the attached files. However when I insert the images, it becomes embedded into the email.
The Apple user I spoke to asked me why couldn't I caption each image and explain what was what since they saw no title. Instead Apple users recieves attachments like how a PC user would recieve an inserted/embedded file in an email. Part of the email, with the ablity to write next to it, above it, around it an ect.

That's where I got to thinking.
How do YOU guys send your files to clients?
Do you attach them even if it may appear just like a row of images to Apple users? or do you insert them, add discriptions and leave your clients the chance to name it themselves (because embedded files are given the choice of naming it yourself whilst attachments are already named).

So yeah, that's my random question of the day. Haha
 

sc00t

Well-Known Member
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Wetransfer is good if the size is very large, which also lets you see when they've been downloaded. That doesn't really help you caption anything though I guess.
 

Tom Mann

Guru
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For the reason that you mentioned, ie, not being 100% confident that an image sent by email will remain in close proximity to the text that describes it, I almost never attach more than one image per email message.

If I have more than a half dozen or so images to transmit (and, even when fewer), as a matter of course, I *always* put the relevent info in the IPTC metadata fields, and double check that the intended recipient has a viewer that can see these fields and actually knows how to use that viewer. Including the IPTC data is always a good thing to do, but this technique is most useful when you are dealing with an editor or some other pro. Using the IPTC technique, you can just upload your images to an FTP or other bulk file transfer site and not have to worry. The only email I would send in a situation like this is just a courtesy email alerting them that I just uploaded some files for them.

For people who are less technically knowledgeable, and you need to let them view a large number of properly captioned photos, eg, dealing with the public for wedding or other event photography, I would put the photos on an attractive website designed to display photos along with their captions and other info (eg, price, location, etc.). There are zillions of such services available to working pros, particularly in the wedding, high school seniors, and similar business areas.

HTH,

Tom M

HTH

Tom M
 

ElizabethM

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Thanks for all the feedback you guys!
It really did help. I already went through the process of just inserting an image into my email but found the result to be even more complicated. The recepient has to save AND title the image themself which means whatever order you named your images earlier is in vain.

Does the IPTC method work for graphic images or is this more on a photography level?
 

Tom Mann

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...Does the IPTC method work for graphic images or is this more on a photography level?

Metadata (aka, IPTC metadata) can be added to many different image, and even non-image file types. It can be added in either of two ways - either embedded into the file itself, or as an XMP "sidecar" file that should always be sent along with the main file.

IPTC metadata can be embedded into most of the common image formats, eg, JPEG, TIFF, PNG. PSD, PSB, and some (if not all) of the native Adobe App formats (eg, Illustrator, PDFs, etc.).

However, some other, very common image formats such as GIF, and (probably) BMP don't allow image metadata to be embedded, and so must use the XMP sidecar file method.

To be honest, I don't remember if business related apps such as Microsoft Word and Powerpoint can deal with IPTC or XMP metadata, but given the frosty relationship between Adobe and Microsoft in many matters, I doubt that they can do this -- I know that Word and PP have their own system of embedded metadata, but I never played with them to see if they would even recognize XMP sidecar files.

Software designed to handle images can have various levels of metadata capabilities.

Some simple photographic software (eg, simple file viewers) will only read embedded metadata. Other, more pro level software (eg, Adobe Bridge, Photo Mechanic) will correctly handle both embedded and sidecar metadata, and even perform rote, but critically important tasks such as synchronization of the embedded data with the data in the accompanying sidecar file.

One important group of metadata fields is called "EXIF" metadata. These are specific to photography (eg, camera model and settings, lens mfgr, model and settings, time of exposure, other camera mfgr's data such as flash settings, etc.). Obviously, these fields don't apply to non-photographic images.

Almost all of the remaining, widely recognized IPTC metadata fields are very general (eg, author/artist/photographer and their contact information, copyright info, subject / model information (including whether model releases have been obtained), location and job information, etc. etc.. These fields can be applied to both photographic and non-photographic images.

So, to answer your question, the bottom line is that if you come up with a completely non-photographic graphic design in PS, and save it as a JPG or PSD or TIF file, almost any info you have typed into the "file info" dialog box in PS will be embedded in these output formats.

HTH,

Tom M
 

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