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 free storage for photos. At present, things have inverse.

Y'all but get 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 storage with Google One.

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

  • 15 GB - Gratuitous
  • 100 GB - £1.59 per month/£15.99 per twelvemonth
  • 200 GB - £2.49 per month/£24.99 per twelvemonth
  • 2 TB - £7.99 per month/£79.99 per year

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

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

If, like me, you lot have a photograph library total of pictures you took prior to owning a smartphone, chances are they're sat on a hard bulldoze somewhere. Google hasn't made information technology easy to upload them, but here's are two means to upload every single photograph, one of which is automatic.

Upload to Google Photos via a spider 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 piece of work for almost people considering the Upload option in Google Photos volition but upload the contents of a unmarried folder.

Nearly people proceed their photos in multiple folders so they have 'albums' for dissimilar occasions. Unless you're willing to become through dozens or fifty-fifty hundreds of folders and copy – or move – those photos into a unmarried folder, you won't be able to use this option.

You lot could laboriously utilise the Upload button for each binder yous have merely, again, that's impractical if yous take a hundred or more.

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

One time 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 not, search for the exact filename of the photo yous but uploaded, and Google Photos should show information technology. Click the i symbol at the peak and you'll see the info for that photo.

How to upload to Google Photos

If there is a trouble and the 'engagement taken' isn't identified correctly, y'all'll demand to use a tool to edit this metadata.

In one case you've hit the limit of what you tin can upload, Google will inform yous. If you need more infinite, you can become a premium Google One account.

Upload to Google Photos via Backup & Sync

And and so nosotros come to the best option for uploading your whole photo library to Google Photos. Information technology involves downloading Google's Fill-in & Sync utility, choosing a binder or folders to sync, so leaving information technology to upload the photos, as well as whatever videos in those folders.

If those folders happen to exist on a NAS bulldoze as mine were, yous may detect y'all cannot select the root folder in Backup & Sync. The workaround is to create a folder within that (call it upload or any you similar), then motion all your folders of photos into that.

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

Note: this only works for Windows computers and you lot'd need to install the Google Photos app on Android or iPhone if you want to upload the camera curl from your phone. This guide is primarily aimed at those who've already done that and at present desire to upload photos stored on their Windows laptop or PC.

1. First, caput 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 information technology in your web browser, or navigate to the binder where downloaded files are stored – normally Downloads. Double-click on the file (called installbackupandsync.exe) and click the GET STARTED button.

How to upload to Google Photos

3. Y'all'll demand to sign into your Google account, the 1 you lot use for Google Photos.

four. On the 'set-up' screen, choose 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 exist equally simple as clicking the box next to Pictures, but if your photos are stored elsewhere, such every bit another folder on your difficult drive, on an external bulldoze or on a NAS drive, click CHOOSE FOLDER and navigate to it.

How to upload to Google Photos

You lot can sync multiple folders, but y'all tin't select multiple folders at the aforementioned time.

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

vii. Click START and Backup & Sync will begin uploading photos and videos in the binder(s) y'all've chosen to Google Photos.

viii. If y'all desire to cheque on progress, click the ^ symbol on the Windows Taskbar and click the little white cloud symbol. You lot'll see a scrolling listing of the files being uploaded.

How to upload to Google Photos

How long it will have 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 connection, which is typically a lot slower than the download speed.

Leave your laptop or computer on while information technology'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 drive.

Again, the corporeality y'all'll be able to upload volition depend on the corporeality of storage you have in your Google One account.

Related articles 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 ane go