Usually you can, in the usual e-mail programs. But you have to do it the right way.
Since you don't tell what e-mail program you use (Windows 7 doesn't have one, so it's totally undefined) it's impossible to tell more. But to save an attachment, you don't need to open it, so if your write "I open the photo [and] click File>Save as" you're doing it the wrong way, that's sure.
Kees
I often get email with photo attachments. I want to save one to Pictures but I nothing i do allows me to do that. I open the photo but when i click File>Save As >enter a name >and click Save, it appears in Pictures as an email andi then have to access the photo by clicking the attachment. Can't i save that photo and just have it appear as a separate entity in the album?

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