Here is some news you might already know: smartphone images are big - like two to five megabytes big. For most purposes, that's great because you get high-quality photos.

But if you want to send more than one or two at a time, surprise! It can be slow and challenging. If you've ever tried to send several photos through Apple's iMessage (which sends them in full resolution), you know how time-consuming it can be. So, what can you do?

Compress the images yourself. Social media websites already do that, but if you're messaging the images and want some control over their size, you can reduce their size. Read on for tips on how to do that.

Reduce a File Size

We recommend using a reasonable number of pixels for your needs. Using anything more than that is unnecessary. You might be surprised to know that you can often reduce a file by 75 percent and still retain sufficient quality for your needs. This is the easiest way to reduce the size without reducing image quality too drastically. 

• Go it on Image Size on either iOS or Android.

• On a computer, Apple Photos and Windows Photos also allow you to reduce a file. 

• Photoshop or Lightroom are higher-end options.

How to Compress a File

There are two types of file compression. With one, you won't lose any detectable details; with the other kind, you lose a certain amount of detail to compress the file. Note that the loss of detail can mean sharp lines become blurred, or certain colors will blend together. Also, note that cropping an image also can cause loss of detail. Sometimes you'll need to play around with a file to find the balance between retaining detail while reducing the size or compressing it. 

Apps for Compressing

There are numerous apps available to help you compress your images. Here are a few:

1. ImageOptim (Mac): A free, open-source app, ImageOptim's specialty is compressing images without losing quality, but you can enable loss and control its parameters.

2. FileOptimizer (Windows): FileOptimizer is a free, open-source app that can compress more 400 different file types. By default, it compresses without loss of detail, but you can select the other kind of compression. (also known as "lossy" by some!)

3. Resizeimage (web): Resizeimage offers less control than other platforms but does a good job otherwise. Its online version is pretty basic but does offer some options.