Google Photos is a fantastic manner to see your photos and the powerful search makes it easy to find pictures of certain people, places or times. Before one June 2021, Google did offering unlimited gratuitous storage for photos. Now, things have changed.

You lot only get 15GB of Google storage in total, which counts files on your Google Drive and Gmail, likewise as Google Photos. Therefore, if you desire to upload more photos and videos that will take your limit past 15GB, you lot'll need to buy more storage with Google I.

There's four tiers of storage currently on Google One. These are:

  • fifteen GB - Complimentary
  • 100 GB - £ane.59 per month/£fifteen.99 per year
  • 200 GB - £2.49 per calendar month/£24.99 per year
  • 2 TB - £vii.99 per month/£79.99 per year

Sadly, no unlimited storage pick is currently available. Yous'll have to expect at other Deject storage options if you desire that. Y'all can likewise make more room for photos and video by clearing out big files on your Google Drive.

There's no need to worry about existing files from before 1 June, as these photos will remain on Google's servers and won't be deleted or blocked if you don't pay - that's a common misconception.

If, like me, you lot have a photo library full of pictures y'all took prior to owning a smartphone, chances are they're sabbatum on a hard bulldoze somewhere. Google hasn't fabricated information technology piece of cake to upload them, only hither'southward are two means to upload every single photo, 1 of which is automatic.

Upload to Google Photos via a web browser

Earlier I get to the best way, here's the obvious way: head to photos.google.com and click on Upload.

How to upload to Google Photos from Windows

Unfortunately, the easy way won't work for about people because the Upload choice in Google Photos will only upload the contents of a single binder.

Almost people go on their photos in multiple folders and so they have 'albums' for different occasions. Unless you're willing to go through dozens or even hundreds of folders and copy – or move – those photos into a unmarried folder, you lot won't be able to use this option.

You lot could laboriously utilize the Upload button for each folder you have but, once again, that'south impractical if you take a hundred or more than.

TIP: Before y'all upload all your photos, upload one or two and check that Google Photos can correctly identify when they were taken. Otherwise, you'll have a tough time finding them again.

Once uploaded, y'all should be able to enter the engagement it was taken, such as '22 May 2000' and all photos from that engagement should exist shown. If not, search for the exact filename of the photo yous just uploaded, and Google Photos should testify information technology. Click the i symbol at the top and you'll meet the info for that photo.

How to upload to Google Photos

If there is a problem and the 'date taken' isn't identified correctly, y'all'll demand to utilize a tool to edit this metadata.

Once yous've hit the limit of what you can upload, Google will inform you. If you need more space, y'all can get a premium Google 1 account.

Upload to Google Photos via Backup & Sync

And so nosotros come to the best option for uploading your whole photo library to Google Photos. It involves downloading Google'south Backup & Sync utility, choosing a binder or folders to sync, then leaving it to upload the photos, as well as any videos in those folders.

If those folders happen to be on a NAS drive as mine were, you lot may notice you cannot select the root binder in Backup & Sync. The workaround is to create a folder within that (call information technology upload or whatsoever you similar), then move all your folders of photos into that.

Here, stride past step, is how to get about installing Backup & Sync and uploading all those snaps to Google Photos.

Notation: this simply works for Windows computers and you'd demand to install the Google Photos app on Android or iPhone if you want to upload the photographic camera roll from your phone. This guide is primarily aimed at those who've already done that and now want to upload photos stored on their Windows laptop or PC.

1. Outset, caput to the Google Photos website https://photos.google.com/apps and click the Download button.

How to upload to Google Photos

two. When the file is downloaded, click on it in your web browser, or navigate to the binder where downloaded files are stored – commonly Downloads. Double-click on the file (called installbackupandsync.exe) and click the Get STARTED push button.

How to upload to Google Photos

three. Yous'll need to sign into your Google account, the one you utilize for Google Photos.

4. On the 'set-up' screen, choose Support photos and videos.

How to upload to Google Photos

v. Next, you need to tell Backup & Sync which folders your photos are in. This could exist every bit elementary as clicking the box next to Pictures, just if your photos are stored elsewhere, such as another folder on your hard bulldoze, on an external bulldoze or on a NAS drive, click Choose FOLDER and navigate to it.

How to upload to Google Photos

Y'all can sync multiple folders, but you can't select multiple folders at the same time.

six. Select the quality yous want for your photograph/video - Storage Saver takes up less room, only compresses the file. Meanwhile Original Quality will not compress the files, simply will take up more storage in your quota.

7. Click Offset and Backup & Sync will begin uploading photos and videos in the folder(southward) y'all've chosen to Google Photos.

8. If you want to check on progress, click the ^ symbol on the Windows Taskbar and click the little white deject symbol. Y'all'll see a scrolling list of the files being uploaded.

How to upload to Google Photos

How long it will take to upload all your photos and videos volition depend on the total amount of data to be uploaded and the upload speed of your net connection, which is typically a lot slower than the download speed.

Exit your laptop or computer on while information technology'due south uploading the files. In my case, with a 16Mbps upload speed, it took around 24 hours to upload 30,000 photos and videos from hundreds of folders on a NAS drive.

Again, the amount you'll be able to upload will depend on the amount of storage you have in your Google One account.

Related manufactures for further reading

  • Best alternatives to Google Photos
  • What to practise when Google Photos complimentary storage ends
  • How to download all your photos from Google Photos in one go