How to Download Google Photos Album to Computer?

Google Photos is a great service for backing up and accessing your photos and videos from any device. However, you may want to download your Google Photos albums to your computer for offline access or backup purposes. Downloading Google Photos albums to your computer is easy to do with just a few steps.

In this comprehensive guide, we will cover everything you need to know about downloading your Google Photos albums and libraries to your computer.

Prerequisites for Downloading Google Photos to Computer

Before you can download your Google Photos to your computer, you need:

• A Google account
• The Google Photos app
• The albums/photos you want to download stored in Google Photos
• A computer (Windows or Mac)
• An internet connection (for the initial download)

As long as you meet these requirements, you will be able to download your Google Photos albums to your computer.

Steps to Download a Single Google Photos Album

Here are the steps to download a single Google Photos album to your computer:

1. Open Google Photos

Go to photos.google.com in your web browser or open the Google Photos app on your computer. Sign in to your Google account if prompted.

2. Locate the Album

Browse or search for the album you want to download. Make sure you open the album itself.

3. Click on the Three Dots Menu

At the top right of the album view, click on the three dots menu to open the album options.

4. Select Download

From the menu, choose the "Download" option. This will initialize the download process.

5. Choose Download Size

You will be prompted to select either "Original" or "High quality" for your album download. Choose "Original" if you want the full resolution copies.

6. Choose Album Format

Next, select the file format to save the album in - JPG or ZIP. JPG stores each photo as a separate image file. ZIP compresses the photos into one convenient archive.

7. Select Album Download Location

Choose where you want to save the downloaded album on your computer. Select a downloads folder or desktop location.

8. Let the Download Complete

The album will now start downloading to your selected location. The progress will be displayed in the notification area. Let the download complete before accessing the files.

The single album is now downloaded to your computer as a JPG folder or ZIP archive! You can access the photos directly in that location now.

Steps to Download Your Entire Google Photos Library

If you want to download your entire Google Photos library including all albums, here are the steps:

1. Open Google Takeout

Go to takeout.google.com and log in to your Google account if prompted.

2. Deselect All

By default, Google Takeout selects all data for download. Deselect all so we can selectively choose Photos.

3. Select Google Photos

Under the selection list, check the box for "Google Photos". Make sure it is the only item selected.

4. Choose Export Settings

Configure the following settings for your Google Photos export:

• File type: JPEG or ZIP
• Size: Original
• Frequency: One-time export

5. Select Delivery Method

Choose how you want to receive the export - download directly or via email link. For large libraries, download directly.

6. Export Your Library

Double check the settings and click on "Create Export" to start the Google Photos Takeout process.

7. Download the Archive

Once processing completes, you will get a notification by email. Download the ZIP archive or JPEG folders from the provided link.

8. Extract the Photos

If you get a ZIP archive, extract it to access all your original quality photos from Google Photos on your computer.

And that's it! By following these steps you can download your entire Google Photos library to your computer for backup or offline access.

Quick Tip to ensure your videos never go missing

Videos are precious memories and all of us never want to ever lose them to hard disk crashes or missing drives. PicBackMan is the easiest and simplest way to keep your videos safely backed up in one or more online accounts. 

Simply Download PicBackMan (it's free!), register your account, connect to your online store and tell PicBackMan where your videos are - PicBackMan does the rest, automatically. It bulk uploads all videos and keeps looking for new ones and uploads those too. You don't have to ever touch it.

Tips for Managing Downloaded Google Photos Albums

Here are some useful tips for managing your Google Photos albums after downloading them to your computer:

• Store them in dedicated folders - Keep the downloads organized in a main "Google Photos" folder and sub-folders for each album.
• Add metadata - Use a metadata editing tool to add titles, captions, tags to your photos. This makes them easier to manage.
• Use offline editing tools - You can now edit the photos using desktop image editors like Photoshop, Lightroom, GIMP etc.
• Backup the originals - Keep the downloaded original quality photos backed up on an external hard drive or cloud storage.
• Create local albums - Use your file explorer to create new subfolders and albums to better organize the photos.
• Sync back any changes - If you edit photos, you can manually re-upload them to Google Photos to sync the changes.

Common Issues When Downloading Google Photos

Here are some common issues faced when downloading Google Photos albums and how to resolve them:

Problem: The download gets stuck midway.

Solution: Check your internet connection. A weak connection can disrupt the download. Try downloading again on a faster/more stable network.

Problem: The ZIP archive is corrupted or won't extract.

Solution: Download the album again and check the integrity of the ZIP file. If still corrupt, export as JPEG to avoid compression issues.

Problem: Some photos are missing from the downloaded album.

Solution: Double check if the missing items are still available in Google Photos. They may have been deleted online. Do a full library export via Takeout to get all photos.

Problem: The download size is too large.

Solution: For specific albums, choose "High quality" instead of "Original" which will be smaller in size. Or download a few albums at a time instead of your entire library.

Problem: Photos lose editing information and metadata.

Solution: Export in original quality to retain all Google Photos editing and metadata like titles, captions, tags, etc. High quality strips some of this info.

Conclusion

Downloading your Google Photos albums to your computer gives you offline backup access to all your pictures and allows you to free up cloud storage space. By following the steps outlined in this guide, you can easily export single albums or your entire Google Photos library. Managing the photos carefully after downloading can ensure your local library stays organized for easy access even without an internet connection.

So download those cherished Google Photos memories to your computer today! Let us know if you have any other questions in the comments.