There are 2 was you can to that.
1. Open the camera, go to camera settings, go to picture size and set it for MMS or VGA mode. I don't recommend this one because all of your photos are poor quality.
2. Open the messaging app. Tap on the sign, that turns that message into a multimedia one, and select take a photo..
Which phone are you using and does that happens when you send the picture only to that friend or to the others also? Because any android phone i have ever used did not have that problem. But if the problem still appears try using Whatsapp or viber, which just sends the picture and doesn't squeeze it (Data plan recommended).