Google Photos is a fantastic mode to encounter your photos and the powerful search makes it piece of cake to notice pictures of certain people, places or times. Before 1 June 2021, Google did offer unlimited free storage for photos. At present, things have changed.

You only get 15GB of Google storage in total, which counts files on your Google Drive and Gmail, equally well every bit Google Photos. Therefore, if you want to upload more photos and videos that will take your limit past 15GB, y'all'll demand to purchase more than storage with Google Ane.

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

  • 15 GB - Gratuitous
  • 100 GB - £one.59 per month/£fifteen.99 per year
  • 200 GB - £two.49 per month/£24.99 per year
  • 2 TB - £7.99 per month/£79.99 per yr

Sadly, no unlimited storage choice is currently available. Yous'll take to look at other Cloud storage options if you want that. You can too brand more than room for photos and video by clearing out large files on your Google Drive.

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

If, like me, you accept a photo library full of pictures you took prior to owning a smartphone, chances are they're sat on a hard drive somewhere. Google hasn't made it easy to upload them, but here's are two means to upload every single photo, one of which is automated.

Upload to Google Photos via a web browser

Before I get to the all-time way, here'due south the obvious manner: head to photos.google.com and click on Upload.

How to upload to Google Photos from Windows

Unfortunately, the easy way won't work for nearly people considering the Upload pick in Google Photos will but upload the contents of a unmarried folder.

Most people keep their photos in multiple folders and so they have 'albums' for different occasions. Unless y'all're willing to go through dozens or even hundreds of folders and copy – or move – those photos into a single folder, yous won't exist able to utilize this pick.

Y'all could laboriously employ the Upload push for each folder you lot have just, once more, that's impractical if you accept a hundred or more.

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

Once uploaded, you should exist able to enter the date it was taken, such as '22 May 2000' and all photos from that date should exist shown. If not, search for the verbal filename of the photo y'all just uploaded, and Google Photos should show it. Click the i symbol at the top and you'll come across the info for that photograph.

How to upload to Google Photos

If at that place is a problem and the 'date taken' isn't identified correctly, you lot'll need to apply a tool to edit this metadata.

Once you've hit the limit of what yous can upload, Google will inform you. If yous demand more than space, yous 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 photo library to Google Photos. It involves downloading Google'due south Backup & Sync utility, choosing a folder or folders to sync, and then leaving it to upload the photos, as well as whatsoever videos in those folders.

If those folders happen to be on a NAS drive as mine were, you may find you cannot select the root folder in Fill-in & Sync. The workaround is to create a folder inside that (phone call information technology upload or whatever you like), then motility all your folders of photos into that.

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

Annotation: 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 phone. This guide is primarily aimed at those who've already washed that and at present want to upload photos stored on their Windows laptop or PC.

ane. Start, 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 binder 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 ane you use for Google Photos.

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

How to upload to Google Photos

v. Next, you lot demand to tell Backup & Sync which folders your photos are in. This could be as elementary as clicking the box side by side to Pictures, only if your photos are stored elsewhere, such as another folder on your hard bulldoze, on an external bulldoze or on a NAS bulldoze, click CHOOSE FOLDER and navigate to it.

How to upload to Google Photos

You tin sync multiple folders, simply you can't select multiple folders at the same time.

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

vii. Click Starting time and Backup & Sync will begin uploading photos and videos in the binder(s) you've called to Google Photos.

viii. If yous desire to check on progress, click the ^ symbol on the Windows Taskbar and click the niggling white cloud symbol. You'll see a scrolling list 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 exist 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 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 yous'll be able to upload volition depend on the amount of storage you have in your Google One account.

Related articles for further reading

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