Google Photos is a fantastic way to see your photos and the powerful search makes it easy to find pictures of certain people, places or times. Before 1 June 2021, Google did offering unlimited gratis storage for photos. Now, things take changed.

You simply get 15GB of Google storage in total, which counts files on your Google Drive and Gmail, equally well equally Google Photos. Therefore, if you want to upload more photos and videos that will accept your limit past 15GB, you'll demand to purchase more storage with Google 1.

There's 4 tiers of storage currently on Google 1. These are:

  • xv GB - Free
  • 100 GB - £ane.59 per month/£xv.99 per year
  • 200 GB - £ii.49 per month/£24.99 per yr
  • 2 TB - £seven.99 per month/£79.99 per year

Sadly, no unlimited storage pick is currently available. You'll accept to look at other Cloud storage options if you lot want that. You lot can likewise make more room for photos and video past clearing out large files on your Google Drive.

There's no demand 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'southward a common misconception.

If, like me, you lot take a photo library full of pictures you took prior to owning a smartphone, chances are they're saturday on a hard bulldoze somewhere. Google hasn't made it like shooting fish in a barrel to upload them, but here's are two ways to upload every single photograph, one of which is automated.

Upload to Google Photos via a web browser

Before I go to the best manner, hither'southward the obvious way: head to photos.google.com and click on Upload.

How to upload to Google Photos from Windows

Unfortunately, the easy fashion won't piece of work for about people because the Upload pick in Google Photos will only upload the contents of a single folder.

Most people go on their photos in multiple folders so they have 'albums' for different occasions. Unless you're willing to go through dozens or fifty-fifty hundreds of folders and copy – or move – those photos into a single folder, you won't be able to employ this choice.

You could laboriously employ the Upload button for each folder yous have just, once more, that'south impractical if you have a hundred or more.

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

Once uploaded, you should exist able to enter the engagement it was taken, such every bit '22 May 2000' and all photos from that date should be shown. If not, search for the exact filename of the photograph y'all just uploaded, and Google Photos should evidence it. Click the i symbol at the meridian and y'all'll come across the info for that photo.

How to upload to Google Photos

If at that place is a problem and the 'appointment taken' isn't identified correctly, y'all'll demand to use a tool to edit this metadata.

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

Upload to Google Photos via Fill-in & Sync

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

If those folders happen to exist on a NAS drive as mine were, y'all may notice you cannot select the root folder in Backup & Sync. The workaround is to create a folder inside that (call it upload or whatever you like), so movement all your folders of photos into that.

Here, pace by step, is how to go about installing Backup & Sync and uploading all those snaps to Google Photos.

Notation: this only works for Windows computers and you'd demand to install the Google Photos app on Android or iPhone if you want to upload the 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. First, head to the Google Photos website https://photos.google.com/apps and click the Download push button.

How to upload to Google Photos

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

How to upload to Google Photos

three. You'll need to sign into your Google account, the i you use for Google Photos.

4. On the 'set-upward' screen, cull Back up photos and videos.

How to upload to Google Photos

5. Next, you need to tell Backup & Sync which folders your photos are in. This could be as simple equally clicking the box next to Pictures, merely if your photos are stored elsewhere, such every bit another folder on your hard drive, on an external drive or on a NAS drive, click CHOOSE Binder and navigate to it.

How to upload to Google Photos

You tin sync multiple folders, but you tin't select multiple folders at the same time.

6. Select the quality you want for your photo/video - Storage Saver takes upwards less room, just compresses the file. Meanwhile Original Quality will not shrink the files, just volition have up more storage in your quota.

7. Click Starting time and Fill-in & Sync volition begin uploading photos and videos in the folder(south) you've chosen to Google Photos.

8. If yous desire to check on progress, click the ^ symbol on the Windows Taskbar and click the little white cloud symbol. You'll meet a scrolling list of the files existence uploaded.

How to upload to Google Photos

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

Get out your laptop or computer on while information technology's 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 corporeality of storage you have in your Google One business relationship.

Related articles for further reading

  • Best alternatives to Google Photos
  • What to practise when Google Photos free storage ends
  • How to download all your photos from Google Photos in i get