Options vs Varients: upload challenge

I sell photos and dont have the best internet connection. It takes forever to upload one of my 300 dpi files. I now need to make 250 photo products with files.

Each of my photos is a product and is sold as:
a jpeg file
prints in 4 different sizes

The ideal way to do this would be to create a product with the file and each of the print sizes as varients. That gives exactly the functionality I need, people can buy any one of the varients, or many of the varients, i.e the file, plus 2 prints, or just a print.

Problem is to upload the jpeg file to the varient is not possible due to my poor internet connection. Files are around 6 mb.

What I can do is ftp the files over and create products using the import function. FTP is slow, but it does not time out and I can sleep while it happens (its been running for 3 orus now). Then the products are created in a flash using the Import function - its so cool.

Problem is you cannot add a product as a varient.

Products can be added to a main product using options. But, if I do that my main product has to have a price, otherwise it has the status of a free product. When I set it up like this I do not want people to buy the main product, I want them to buy one or more of the options only.

My plan now is to attach the file to the main product (which I will autocreate). This means that my customers are forced to buy the file. They cannot just buy a print.

How can I resolve this issue?

Solution that could work using variations:
Set a product as one of the varients (as you do in options). I have noticed that internally varients are products so it should be possible somehow.
Upload the file from the server, not my pc (upload function only refers to the client pc)

Using options:
Only allow purchasing of the options, not of the main products.

I think I can resolve this problem by:
- autogenerating a product for the prints from an image using varients for the different sizes
- autogenerating a product for the files with no varients or options
- linking the products for each image as 'related products'

I would still love to hear about a more elegant solution (attaching a product as a varient would be really nice) but I think this can work and will be reasonablu user friendly.

Outstanding !!

Will give those a try. Thank you.