Google Photos is a fantastic way to encounter your photos and the powerful search makes it like shooting fish in a barrel to find pictures of sure people, places or times. Before 1 June 2021, Google did offer unlimited free storage for photos. Now, things have changed.

Yous only become 15GB of Google storage in total, which counts files on your Google Drive and Gmail, as well as Google Photos. Therefore, if you want to upload more than photos and videos that will have your limit past 15GB, you'll need to buy more than storage with Google One.

There'south 4 tiers of storage currently on Google One. These are:

  • 15 GB - Free
  • 100 GB - £1.59 per month/£15.99 per twelvemonth
  • 200 GB - £ii.49 per month/£24.99 per yr
  • 2 TB - £seven.99 per month/£79.99 per year

Sadly, no unlimited storage selection is currently available. You'll have to await at other Cloud storage options if you want that. Yous tin also make more room for photos and video past immigration out large files on your Google Drive.

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

If, like me, you lot take a photo library total 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, just hither's are two ways to upload every single photograph, one of which is automated.

Upload to Google Photos via a spider web browser

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

How to upload to Google Photos from Windows

Unfortunately, the like shooting fish in a barrel way won't work for nearly people because the Upload option in Google Photos will only upload the contents of a single folder.

Nearly people keep their photos in multiple folders so they have 'albums' for dissimilar occasions. Unless you're willing to get through dozens or fifty-fifty hundreds of folders and copy – or movement – those photos into a single binder, you won't be able to apply this selection.

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

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, yous'll have a tough fourth dimension finding them again.

Once uploaded, you should be able to enter the date it was taken, such as '22 May 2000' and all photos from that engagement should be shown. If not, search for the verbal filename of the photograph you merely uploaded, and Google Photos should show it. Click the i symbol at the pinnacle and you lot'll encounter the info for that photo.

How to upload to Google Photos

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

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

Upload to Google Photos via Backup & Sync

And then nosotros come to the all-time option for uploading your whole photograph library to Google Photos. It involves downloading Google'southward Backup & Sync utility, choosing a folder 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, yous may discover yous cannot select the root folder in Backup & Sync. The workaround is to create a folder inside that (call it upload or any you like), then move all your folders of photos into that.

Hither, step by footstep, is how to go about 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 y'all want to upload the camera scroll from your telephone. 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.

ane. Showtime, head to the Google Photos website https://photos.google.com/apps and click the Download push.

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 Go STARTED button.

How to upload to Google Photos

3. You'll need to sign into your Google business relationship, the ane you lot use for Google Photos.

four. On the 'set-upwardly' screen, choose Dorsum up photos and videos.

How to upload to Google Photos

5. Adjacent, you demand 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 every bit another binder on your hard drive, on an external bulldoze or on a NAS drive, click CHOOSE Folder and navigate to it.

How to upload to Google Photos

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

vi. Select the quality you want for your photo/video - Storage Saver takes up less room, but compresses the file. Meanwhile Original Quality volition non shrink the files, but will accept up more storage in your quota.

7. Click Start and Backup & Sync will begin 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 deject symbol. You'll see a scrolling list of the files existence uploaded.

How to upload to Google Photos

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

Exit your laptop or computer on while it's uploading the files. In my instance, 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 y'all'll be able to upload will depend on the corporeality of storage yous have in your Google Ane account.

Related manufactures for further reading

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