Google Photos - Maybe the best photo app of all.

What is Google Photos?
     A quick and easy way to backup and share your photos and videos.
     This app allows you to edit your images and add effects similar to what you see in many of the popular photo sharing apps available today.

Why should I use Google Photos?
     Digital asset management is hard! Think about your Google Drive or Shared With Me, are those easy to keep organized? We gather more digital files today than every before making some type of organizational strategy super important.
     Google Photos is a free and unlimited way to back up every single photo and video you have. Free and unlimited, need I say anymore?

First Steps

• Download the app to your iOS or Android device.
• Select how you want your photos to be backed up. 
• The default is to backup over wifi. Be mindful if you pick cellular data as it will use your data plan. Videos tend to be massive files and will quickly eat up your monthly data allotment. (Unless your have an "unlimited" data plan.)

You will also be presented with two different backup options.

• High Quality - Free but the file size is reduced. This may cause issues down the road if you want to print images larger than 12X14. It has little impact if you never print and just share what you upload online.
• Original - The file size is not compromised in anyway.  Your district account has an unlimited storage quota. (I take a billion pictures. I opted to use my personal account and buy additional storage.)

Using Google Photos
You can access Google Photos through the web or the app on your mobile device.

App - Navigation

Top of App

1. Search for locations, items, dates and people.

2. Click the ice cream cone (three little dots) to select images or use the help feature.

3. Scroll down and see this date change. It makes it super easy to locate holiday and vacation images. 

Bottom of App

1. Assistant - Pulls up photos taken on this day, create collages, animations and movies from your images.

2. Photos - a continuous stream of all the images and videos in Google Photos.

3. Albums - created by you and Google.

App - Editing

Click on the image you want to edit.

Click the little pencil that will appear near the bottom.

1. Use these presets for quickly adjusting your image. This is a lot like Instagram, etc filters.

2. Click this icon for additional editing tools. 

Masterpiece! Aidan was super happy about accompanying me to the Alpine Shop in search for the perfect vest.

When you are editing your image you will notice a little letter i. Click that to see the meta data. I love the location information, helpful for remembering where I took certain pictures.