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

Yous only get 15GB of Google storage in total, which counts files on your Google Drive and Gmail, as well as Google Photos. Therefore, if you lot desire to upload more photos and videos that will take your limit by 15GB, you'll demand to purchase more than storage with Google One.

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

  • 15 GB - Gratis
  • 100 GB - £1.59 per month/£fifteen.99 per year
  • 200 GB - £ii.49 per month/£24.99 per year
  • 2 TB - £vii.99 per month/£79.99 per year

Sadly, no unlimited storage pick is currently available. Y'all'll take to wait at other Cloud storage options if you lot want that. You can also make more room for photos and video by clearing out large files on your Google Drive.

In that location'southward no need to worry about existing files from earlier ane June, as these photos volition remain on Google's servers and won't be deleted or blocked if you don't pay - that's a common misconception.

If, similar me, yous have a photograph library full of pictures you took prior to owning a smartphone, chances are they're sat on a difficult drive somewhere. Google hasn't made it easy to upload them, but here's are ii ways to upload every single photograph, one of which is automatic.

Upload to Google Photos via a spider web browser

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

How to upload to Google Photos from Windows

Unfortunately, the easy style won't piece of work for most people because the Upload option in Google Photos volition only upload the contents of a single folder.

Most people keep their photos in multiple folders so they have 'albums' for unlike occasions. Unless you lot're willing to go through dozens or even hundreds of folders and re-create – or movement – those photos into a single binder, you won't be able to apply this option.

Yous could laboriously use the Upload button for each folder you have just, again, that'south impractical if yous have a hundred or more.

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

One time uploaded, y'all should be able to enter the date it was taken, such every bit '22 May 2000' and all photos from that engagement should be shown. If not, search for the exact filename of the photo you just uploaded, and Google Photos should show information technology. Click the i symbol at the top and yous'll see the info for that photo.

How to upload to Google Photos

If at that place is a problem and the 'engagement taken' isn't identified correctly, you'll demand to utilise a tool to edit this metadata.

Once you lot've hit the limit of what you tin can upload, Google will inform you. If you lot need more than space, you can go a premium Google One account.

Upload to Google Photos via Backup & Sync

And so we come to the best option for uploading your whole photo library to Google Photos. It involves downloading Google'due south Backup & Sync utility, choosing a folder or folders to sync, and so leaving it to upload the photos, likewise equally any videos in those folders.

If those folders happen to be on a NAS drive equally mine were, you lot may find you lot cannot select the root folder in Backup & Sync. The workaround is to create a folder within that (call it upload or whatever you like), so motility all your folders of photos into that.

Hither, step by step, is how to become most installing Backup & Sync and uploading all those snaps to Google Photos.

Note: this merely works for Windows computers and yous'd need to install the Google Photos app on Android or iPhone if you want to upload the camera gyre 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. Beginning, caput to the Google Photos website https://photos.google.com/apps and click the Download button.

How to upload to Google Photos

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

How to upload to Google Photos

3. Y'all'll demand to sign into your Google account, the one you use for Google Photos.

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

How to upload to Google Photos

5. Side by side, you need to tell Backup & Sync which folders your photos are in. This could exist as simple as clicking the box next to Pictures, but if your photos are stored elsewhere, such as some other folder on your hard drive, on an external drive or on a NAS drive, click Cull FOLDER and navigate to it.

How to upload to Google Photos

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

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

7. Click START and Backup & Sync will brainstorm uploading photos and videos in the folder(s) yous've chosen to Google Photos.

8. If you want to bank check on progress, click the ^ symbol on the Windows Taskbar and click the little white cloud symbol. You'll see a scrolling listing 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.

Get out your laptop or computer on while it'south uploading the files. In my case, with a 16Mbps upload speed, it took around 24 hours to upload thirty,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 accept in your Google Ane business relationship.

Related manufactures for further reading

  • All-time alternatives to Google Photos
  • What to do when Google Photos free storage ends
  • How to download all your photos from Google Photos in one go