Some of the links in this post are affiliate links, which means I earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. Your use of these links is greatly appreciated!
What if I told you there’s an easy way to back up your photos and videos from your phone? And likely it’s through a service where you already have an account?
Last year I took the plunge and moved my digital photo backup to Amazon Photos. The move was a challenge but since my photos were organized in my photo hub, it turned out to be easier than expected.
And now I’m even more thrilled because getting photos and videos off of my phone and into my photo hub is a breeze!
In this post, I’ll lay out the step-by-step process for moving your online photo backup to Amazon Photos.
Step 01. Determine which Amazon Photos plan is right for you
The goal of backing up photos and videos to an online cloud service is to have a failsafe if your external drive or secondary backup fails. With Amazon Photos, every Prime member receives unlimited full-resolution photo storage and 5 GB of video storage.
5 GB isn’t a lot of storage for videos. I chose the 1 TB storage plan (for $59.99), which supports about 140 hours of video. So far, I’ve only filled 19% of my plan, and it’s easy to upgrade if needed.
Step 02. Set up a photo transferring schedule
Transferring photos to a new database is a large project, especially if you have thousands of photos and videos. Since I set up my main photo hub, transferring my photos to a new online database was easier.
For this project, I suggest first uploading photos from your photo hub, beginning with the oldest year. (You could also begin with the photos on your smartphone …if you do skip to step 05.)
I broke down photo transferring by years and later by months. I uploaded several earlier years quickly. But once children arrived on scene the number of files increased a lot.
Since I had over 15 years to transfer(!), I dedicated 1 hour twice a week in the evening to upload to Amazon Photos.
Step 03: Upload the photos
Based on how my photo hub is organized, I began by the earliest year and the first month. I describe my photo filing system in this post —this system made everything easier when I uploaded to Amazon Photos!
If a month contains subfolders for an event, I upload the whole folder. Once the upload completes, Amazon Photos asks if you’d like to add the files to an album. For any events, I create a new photo album in Amazon Photos, using the same file conventions as my photo hub. (Ex. 2021-05 Mother’s Day)
If there were no events for that month, I simply uploaded the files (either by folder or individual file).
Step 04. Check photo dates
A problem that occurred during my transfer was that many photos in my hub didn’t have the correct dates or times or none at all. While photos were filed correctly in my photo hub, they didn’t always end up in the right place on the Amazon Photos timeline.
I learned to scroll to the bottom of the timeline to check for photos with “No Date” after transferring each month. Then I added the date and time to the best of my ability.
This was the most tedious part of the process but it’s worth doing.
Step 05. Upload photos from your smartphone to the Amazon Photos app
This is the best part about using Amazon Photos. Backing up the photos on your smartphone is seamless!
First, download the Amazon Photos app to your smartphone and log into your Amazon account.
Next, allow Amazon Photos access to your Photos. After gaining access, the app will begin backing up all your photos to the cloud. The only issue with this is that the app must stay open to back up. But when the app does it the first time it gives an option to upload in the background.
If you have other smartphones (like your spouse’s) that need to upload to the same timeline, add the Amazon Photos app to that smartphone. Either sign in with the same Amazon account (we only have one account in our house) or add that family member’s account in the app. Photos from all connected accounts will end up in the same place.
Step 06. Download your photos to your photo hub monthly
The best part I discovered about Amazon Photos is that I no longer have to fight with my PC to download my iPhone photos. I included a tutorial about downloading from iPhone to PC in this post, but Amazon Photos eliminates the need!
Once all monthly photos are uploaded to Amazon Photos, log into the app on your PC. Filter the app to the year and month of the photos and videos you want to download, then click “Download.” A zip file will download to your PC so you can export the files to your photo hub.
All the photos and videos from Amazon Photos will automatically be labeled with dates and times, making the organizing process seamless! No more files labeled “IMG 201” …you’ll have the exact notes in the file name conventions.
The Easiest Way to Back Up Your Photos & Videos
Amazon Photos is by far the easiest service to back up photos and videos. I used to dread taking photos off my iPhone because it was such a process. With this app, those days are gone!
If you’re new to photo organizing, I highly recommend starting by creating a photo hub. Get all the steps in the following posts (or sign up for the 4-week photo organizing challenge …it’s free!)
Part 1: Setting Up Your Photo Hub
Part 2: Decluttering and Organizing Digital Photos
Part 3: How To Print Your Digital Photos
Part 4: Backing Up Your Photos
Leave a Reply