Google Photos is a fantastic fashion to see your photos and the powerful search makes it easy to notice pictures of sure people, places or times. Before 1 June 2021, Google did offer unlimited free storage for photos. Now, things have changed.

Yous just 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 want to upload more photos and videos that volition have your limit past 15GB, you'll need to purchase more storage with Google One.

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

  • fifteen GB - Complimentary
  • 100 GB - £ane.59 per month/£15.99 per year
  • 200 GB - £2.49 per calendar month/£24.99 per yr
  • 2 TB - £seven.99 per month/£79.99 per year

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

There'south 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 yous don't pay - that'due south a common misconception.

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

Upload to Google Photos via a web browser

Earlier I become to the all-time style, here'south the obvious style: 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 virtually people because the Upload option in Google Photos will only upload the contents of a single folder.

Most people keep their photos in multiple folders and then they accept 'albums' for different occasions. Unless yous're willing to become through dozens or even hundreds of folders and copy – or motility – those photos into a single folder, you won't be able to use this option.

Y'all could laboriously use the Upload button for each folder you have but, over again, that's impractical if yous accept a hundred or more.

TIP: Before you upload all your photos, upload one or 2 and check that Google Photos can correctly identify when they were taken. Otherwise, you'll have a tough time finding them once again.

In one case uploaded, you should exist able to enter the appointment it was taken, such equally '22 May 2000' and all photos from that appointment should be shown. If non, search for the exact filename of the photograph you just uploaded, and Google Photos should evidence it. Click the i symbol at the top and you'll see the info for that photograph.

How to upload to Google Photos

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

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

Upload to Google Photos via Backup & Sync

And so we come to the best option for uploading your whole photograph library to Google Photos. Information technology involves downloading Google'due south Backup & Sync utility, choosing a folder or folders to sync, then leaving information technology to upload the photos, too as any videos in those folders.

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

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

Note: this but works for Windows computers and you'd need to install the Google Photos app on Android or iPhone if you want to upload the camera roll 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.

1. Commencement, 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 web browser, or navigate to the folder where downloaded files are stored – usually Downloads. Double-click on the file (called installbackupandsync.exe) and click the GET STARTED button.

How to upload to Google Photos

3. You'll need to sign into your Google account, the one yous use for Google Photos.

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

How to upload to Google Photos

5. Next, y'all need to tell Fill-in & Sync which folders your photos are in. This could be as simple as clicking the box next to Pictures, just if your photos are stored elsewhere, such as another folder on your difficult bulldoze, on an external drive or on a NAS drive, click Cull Binder and navigate to it.

How to upload to Google Photos

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

6. Select the quality y'all want for your photo/video - Storage Saver takes upwards less room, only compresses the file. Meanwhile Original Quality volition not compress the files, but will take upwardly more than storage in your quota.

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

8. If y'all want to check on progress, click the ^ symbol on the Windows Taskbar and click the little white cloud symbol. Yous'll come across a scrolling list of the files beingness uploaded.

How to upload to Google Photos

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

Exit your laptop or computer on while information technology's uploading the files. In my case, with a 16Mbps upload speed, information technology took effectually 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 yous have in your Google One business relationship.

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 go