How To Move Photos From Google Drive To Google Photos

Back in July Google Drive and Google Photos parted ways. This means no longer you will be able to sync photos automatically to Google Drive. Due to this, users started moving away from Google Photos.

If you too are thinking of ditching Google Photos wait. Read this post till the end and learn how to move images from Drive to Photos.

How to move photos from Google Drive to Google Photos

Transfering/copying photos and movies from Drive to Photos is a great way to access photos saved on Google Drive. But how can we do it now?

Use any of the methods listed below or can use the advanced tool.

The tool doesn’t sync duplicate files, this means changes made at one spot won’t affect copy stored at other locations.

Note: If photos are saved using the original full resolution duplicate files will take twice the drive storage.

To move and organize your photos and videos you need to keep the following points in mind:

• The size of the selected photos should be larger than 256 pixels.
• File type must be .jpg, .tiff, .gif,. raw, or .webp,
• If you are using work or school Google Account, you’ll have to download images from Google Drive and again upload it to Google Photos.

 Method 1: Move Photos from Google Drive to Google Photos – Download/Upload Method

Manual way of moving images from drive to photos. If you have a handful of photos this method works great. However, if you have more photos head to the next method.

To use this method, follow the steps below:

1. Open a web browser and head to drive.google.com.
2. Navigate to the folder containing photos you wish to move. If photos are already on the Drive skip this step.
3. Select the photos you want to move. To select multiple photos press Ctrl Key and select the photos.
4. Once all photos are selected > right-click > Download
5. This will create a zip file for all downloaded photos
6. Save the zip folder

Once done you will need to unzip photos and re-upload them to Google Photos. To do so follow the steps below:

1. Head to the location where you saved the zip folder.
2. Extract the zip file. For this, you can use software like WinZip.
3. Right-click zipped folder > Extract All.
4. This will create a folder with the same name at your selected location.
5. Now head to photos.google.com
6. Click Upload.
7. Since we saved photos on the computer, we will select Computer
8. Select the files to upload. Press Ctrl + A to select all files. Alternatively, you can Drag & Drop photos.
9. When uploading from the computer you will be asked to select Upload Size.
   
10. Select Original > Continue.
11. This will start uploading Google Photos.
12. Once done all selected photos will be successfully uploaded to Google Photos.
13. If you want you to create an Album too.

Note: If you are moving photos from Google Drive to Google Photos to free up space you’ll need to head back to drive and delete uploaded photos.

Method 2: Upload method to move photos from Google Drive to Google Photos

Another method is to upload photos directly from Google Drive. This process is also manual but it is more efficient and time-saving.

1. Open browser > photos.google.com
2. Click Upload > Google Drive.
3. Click, MY DRIVE tab.
   
4. Navigate to the folder where photos are saved.
   
5. Open the folder and select photos.
6. Click the first photo and hold the CTRL key to select multiple photos.
7. Once all photos are selected click UPLOAD present at the bottom right corner.
8. This will upload selected photos from Google Drive to Google Photos. Upon successful upload, you will receive a notification to view files. Click View.

Method 3: Move Photos to Google Photos

Head to Google Photos. Here you will be able to see a folder named Google Photos. Select photos that you wish to move from drive to photos. Copy then and paste in Google Photos. This way you can easily move selected photos and even sync them.

Using these simple ways, you can move photos from Google Drive to Google Photos. However, if you are looking for a method to sync photos, we’ve got a workaround. Follow the steps below to sync photos between Google Drive and Google Photos.

Google Backup and Sync App

This backup app works for both Windows and Mac. Using it you can upload and sync photos between Google Drive and Google Photos. Not only this you can even backup photos from SD card, camera, computer to Google Drive, and Photos.

1. Download and install the Backup and Sync app on your Windows and Mac machine.
2. Sign in to your Google account.
   
3. When asked to grant permission to access photos.
4. Backup and Sync app will now install a folder named Google Drive. Drag photos and documents to sync.
5. To sync other folders with Drive open Backup and Sync app > Preferences > select the folders and that’s it.
   
6. Once you have selected the photos click START to begin the process.

This was all using these simple steps you can move photos from Google Drive to Google Photos and can even sync. Remember any changes made to the drive will not reflect on Google Photos and vice versa. All the photos and videos are saved on Google storage space. So, once you re-upload the photos delete them from Google Drive to create space. Hope you find the post informative and helpful, do share it with others looking for the solution.

Also, leave us feedback to know which step worked for you.