Google Photos is a fantastic fashion to meet your photos and the powerful search makes it easy to notice pictures of certain people, places or times. Earlier one June 2021, Google did offering unlimited gratis storage for photos. Now, things accept changed.

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

At that place's iv tiers of storage currently on Google 1. These are:

  • 15 GB - Costless
  • 100 GB - £1.59 per calendar month/£fifteen.99 per year
  • 200 GB - £2.49 per calendar month/£24.99 per yr
  • 2 TB - £7.99 per calendar month/£79.99 per twelvemonth

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

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

If, like me, you have a photograph library full of pictures you took prior to owning a smartphone, chances are they're sat on a difficult bulldoze somewhere. Google hasn't made it like shooting fish in a barrel to upload them, merely here'southward are ii ways to upload every single photo, 1 of which is automatic.

Upload to Google Photos via a web browser

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

How to upload to Google Photos from Windows

Unfortunately, the piece of cake way won't work for most people considering the Upload choice in Google Photos will only upload the contents of a single folder.

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

You could laboriously use the Upload button for each binder you have but, again, that's impractical if you have a hundred or more.

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

Once uploaded, you should be able to enter the date it was taken, such every bit '22 May 2000' and all photos from that date should be shown. If non, search for the exact filename of the photo y'all merely uploaded, and Google Photos should show it. Click the i symbol at the top and you'll come across the info for that photo.

How to upload to Google Photos

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

Once you've hitting the limit of what y'all can upload, Google will inform you. If you need more space, you tin can get a premium Google One business relationship.

Upload to Google Photos via Backup & Sync

And then we come up to the best option for uploading your whole photograph library to Google Photos. It involves downloading Google'southward Backup & Sync utility, choosing a binder or folders to sync, then leaving information technology 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 may notice you cannot select the root binder in Fill-in & Sync. The workaround is to create a folder within that (call information technology upload or whatever you lot similar), then move all your folders of photos into that.

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

Note: this only works for Windows computers and you'd need 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 desire to upload photos stored on their Windows laptop or PC.

1. Offset, head 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 – unremarkably Downloads. Double-click on the file (called installbackupandsync.exe) and click the Go STARTED button.

How to upload to Google Photos

3. Y'all'll need to sign into your Google account, the one you lot apply for Google Photos.

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

How to upload to Google Photos

five. Next, yous need to tell Backup & Sync which folders your photos are in. This could be as simple every bit clicking the box adjacent to Pictures, but if your photos are stored elsewhere, such as another binder on your difficult drive, on an external drive or on a NAS bulldoze, click Cull 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.

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

7. Click START and Backup & Sync volition brainstorm uploading photos and videos in the binder(southward) you've chosen to Google Photos.

viii. If you desire to check on progress, click the ^ symbol on the Windows Taskbar and click the lilliputian white deject symbol. Y'all'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 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.

Leave 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 30,000 photos and videos from hundreds of folders on a NAS bulldoze.

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

Related articles for farther reading

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