Working online with Google Photos

In this article, we’ll explore the online capabilities of Google Photos. If you would like to know more about the Google Photos app for tablets and smartphones, take a look at the online course ‘Manage and edit photos (Android tablet)’ or ‘Manage and edit photos (Android smartphone)’

To use Google Photos you need a Google account. Don’t have that yet? Read in the article ‘Create a Google account’ how to create such a free account.

You can find Google Photos at Photos.google.com If necessary, sign in with your Google account. After that, you will see all the photos stored in Google Photos. If you don’t have any photos yet, the collection is of course empty. Links include folders with photos.

It’s easy to add photos to Google Photos.

• Go to Photos.google.com and sign in with your Google account if needed.
• Click on at the top upload.
• click on Computer.
• A window opens. Navigate to the photo, select it and click To open. Do you want to upload multiple photos? Then hold down the Ctrl key while clicking.
• The photo has been uploaded in the corner of the window. Google wants to know if you want to put the photo in an album right away. Don’t you want that? Then click on the cross. Do you want that? click on Add to album and click on the desired album or click on New album, type the album name and click the check mark on the left.

The photo or photos will appear in the overview and possibly also in an album.

Google also has a so-called desktop uploader. You then download a program that automatically adds photos in selected folders to Google Photos. Read more about this in the article ‘Installing Google Backup and Sync’ (for Windows) or ‘Installing Google Backup and Sync (Mac)’.

How to remove a photo from Google Photos again:

• Hover over a photo you want to delete.
• A check mark appears in the top left corner. Click on this.
• The photo is selected. Select more photos to delete.
• Click on the trash can icon at the top.
• click on Throw away.

You can also edit photos in Google Photos.

• Click on the photo you want to edit.
• Click the ‘Edit’ icon at the top right. That’s an icon with three scroll bars.
• Click the scroll bars again.
• Four options will appear. The sliders behind the options allow you to make photo edits. So move the bars a little to the left or right. There are these options:
  • light
    Makes the photo brighter or darker.
  • Colour
    Adjusts the color saturation.
  • Details
    Makes the photo sharper.
• If you don’t like an edit, click Undo edits.
• Click on the ‘Filter’ icon and you get fourteen filters that you can apply to the photo.
• Click the ‘Crop’ icon .
• click on 0 degrees and hold down the mouse button. Move the mouse pointer up or down. The photo rotates. That way you straighten a horizon. Release the mouse button when the photo is straight.
• Crop the photo by grabbing the photo by one of the edges and then dragging it inwards.
• Rotate the photo via the ‘Rotate’ icon. That’s the icon of a square with an arrow.
• If you like the photo, click Finished.
• Click again if necessary Finished.
• The edited photo opens large. Move the mouse pointer over the photo and click the left arrow in the top left to return to the overview with all photos.

Do you want to share your photos with other people via email? That’s how it works:

• Hover over the photo you want to share.
• A check mark appears in the top left corner. Click on this.
• The photo is selected. Optionally, select more photos to share by clicking them.
• Click the ‘Share’ icon in the blue bar at the top .
• click on Create link.
• Click again Create link.
• Copy the link using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+C (Windows) or Cmd+C (Mac).
• Click on the cross.
• Open your e-mail program and paste the link into a message using the key combination Ctrl+V (Windows) or Cmd+V (Mac).
• Send the email as usual.

A photo album can be fun. For example, bundle all photos from the holiday in one album.

• Click on the left Albums.
• click on Create Album.
• click on Album.
• Enter a name for the album in ‘Add a title’.
• click on Add pictures.
• Click the checkmark next to all the photos you want to put in the album.
• The photos are selected. Click on the top right Finished.
• Click on the arrow at the top left.

You will see an overview of your albums.

Do you want to put photos in an existing photo album? It goes like this:

• If necessary, open the photo overview first. Click on photos.
• Hover over a photo you want to add to an album.
• A check mark will appear in the top left corner. Click on this.
• The photo is selected. Optionally, select more photos to add to the album by clicking on them.
• Click on the plus sign at the top.
• click on Album.
• Click on the album in question.

This is how you delete photos from an album. The photos will remain in Google Photos:

• Click in the left menu Albums.
• Click on an album.
• Hover over the photo you want to remove from the album.
• A check mark will appear in the top left corner. Click on this.
• The photo is selected. Optionally, select more photos to delete.
• Click on the three dots at the top.
• click on Remove from album.
• click on remove.

The photo will be removed from the album, but will remain in the overview with all photos.

How to share an entire photo album:

• Click in the left menu Albums.
• Click on an album.
• Click the Share icon at the top.
• click on Create link.
• Click again Create link.
• Copy the link using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+C (Windows) or Cmd+C (Mac).
• Click on the cross.
• Open your e-mail program and paste the link into a message using the key combination Ctrl+V (Windows) or Cmd+V (Mac).
• Send the email as usual.