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Blogger blogs and Google Photos: Adding images to your blog

The new Google Photos offers unlimited free uploads of "High Quality" images of up to 16MP. You can add images from Google Photos to your Blogger blog posts, but they may use some of your Google Account's storage.
Having trouble?
  • You must be signed into Blogger with the same email you use to sign in to Google Photos or Picasa Web Albums 
  • It may also be necessary to enable your browser to accept 3rd party cookies.
  • Extensions may interfere with inserting images, especially those like AdBlock, NoScript or Ghostery
Read on for detailed instructions and information about inserting images in your Blogger blog posts.


Insert an image into a Blogger blog post


When you are creating a new blog post, or editing an old one, you can easily insert an image:

1. Click the Insert Image icon at the top of the blog post editor



2. A box will open that will let you select the source of the image


(Click to enlarge)

There are 6 options:

  • Upload : Upload an image from your computer
  • From this blog: Add an image already uploaded to a previous post
  • From Picasa web albums: Add an image from one of your Google Account's photo albums. This will show albums in Google Photos, Google+ Photos and Picasa Web Albums.
  • From your phone: Images uploaded to Google Photos by auto-backup or uploaded to Google Photos directly
  • From your webcam: Take a photo using your blog's webcam
  • From a URL: Add an image that is already online.


Some of these options will use your existing Google Account storage.


Upload an image: add an image from your computer


To insert an image from your computer select Upload, then click the "Choose files" button to select one or more photos or pictures.

Will the image count towards your storage?

Images smaller than 2048x2048 pixels will not count towards your storage.

If the option to upload images at full size is not selected in you Google+ settings, larger images will be reduced to no larger than 2048 pixels on a side.

Check your Google+ Photos Settings:

1. Sign in to Google+ with the same email you use to sign in to Blogger

2. Click Settings in the left menu or open plus.google.com/settings

3. Scroll down to the Photos section



4. Make sure "Upload my photos at full size" is not selected

Note that this is not the same as your Google Photos settings (photos.google.com/settings)


Add an image "From your phone": Images uploaded through Google Photos and Google+ auto-backup




To add photos uploaded through Google Photos or the old Google+ Photos auto-backup, select the option to insert an image From your phone.

The photos you can select from include:

  • Images uploaded directly to Google Photos at photos.google.com 
  • Images uploaded through auto-backup to Google Photos or Google+ Photos
Photos not included:
  • Images uploaded to your Blogger blog (instead select From this blog or Picasa web albums)
  • Images from Hangouts chats (instead select Picasa web albums)
  • Images from Google+ Photos from posts (instead select Picasa web albums)
Note that photos are grouped by the date the photo was taken or image was created not by the date the image was uploaded. You may have to scroll down to find older photos.


Will the image count towards your storage?

When the image is inserted, it is copied to your Blogger blog's special album at the same pixel dimensions as the original image. 

A 4160×3120 pixel image auto-backed up through Google Photos will be added as a 4160x3120 pixel image to your Blogger blog's special album, even though it will not display that large on your blog

Only images 2048x2048 or smaller are "free" when uploaded via Blogger, so it is likely that larger images will count towards your Google Account storage, even in lightbox view.

What's the alternative? Add your Google Photos image From a URL

Add an image From a URL: Google Photos or other online images



You can add an image to your blog from any online source - including Google Photos - if you can find the URL of the image.

The limitation is that if the original image is deleted, or the URL changes, the image will disappear from your blog.

Find the URL of an image uploaded to Google Photos

The URL you use must be of the image itself, and not a webpage that is displaying the image. That means you cannot use the Google Photos shareable link

To get the image URL:

1. Sign in to Google Photos at photos.google.com

2. Find the photo you want to insert into a blog post and click on it so it's the only photo on the page

3. Open the context menu by ctrl-click or a right-click on the image

4. Select Copy image URL , which should copy the image's URL to your clipboard

Menu opens will vary, but should always include "Copy Image URL"


Insert the image by URL

5. After copying the image URL, open the Blogger blog post editor and click the Insert Image icon

6. Select MoreFrom a URL

7. Paste the image URL



A preview of the image will display. It it looks correct, click the Add Selected button to insert the image in your blog post.

Note that the inserted image will have the pixel dimensions of the viewed image in Google Photos, not the original upload dimensions. 

On my Chromebook, a Google Photos 4160 × 3120 image displays at  867 × 650 pixels.


Will the image count towards your storage?

Adding an image by URL should not count towards your storage limit. The inserted image is not copied to your Blogger blog's album. Instead your blog displays the image from Google Photos.

Insert image From Picasa Web Albums : Images in albums in Google Photos, Google+ Photos or Picasa Web Albums



The From Picasa Web Albums option lets you add an image from any album, and - even better - lets you search for images.

The photos you can select from include:
  • Images uploaded to one of your Blogger blogs 
  • Images from Hangouts chats 
  • Images from Google+ Photos from posts 
Photos not included:
    • Images uploaded directly to Google Photos at photos.google.com (instead select From your phone)
    • Images uploaded through auto-backup to Google Photos or Google+ Photos (instead select From your phone)
    Search for images by type

    To search for an image, select From Picasa Web Albums and use the search box at the top of the screen to enter a keyword.  I've found it's a bit hit-or-miss, but it can be very useful.

    Select the image(s) you want to add, then click the Add Selected button.

    Will the image count towards your storage?

    The inserted image is not copied to your Blogger blog's special album so should not be counted against your Google Account storage.

    Learn more about Blogger and photos in your Google Account

    Blogger Help Center:
    Google Photos Help Center:
    Find your Blogger blog's images in Google+ Photos or Picasa Web Albums

    Thanks to fellow Blogger Top Contibutors  +Andy Page and +Adam Auster for discussion and testing!

    Comments

    1. Thanks Peggy for taking the time to investigate and write this all up

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      Replies
      1. I spent a fair amount of time figuring it out, so I'm happy to share! I just hope they don't change things all around again too soon.

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      2. Good stuff +PeggyK! Thanks for your hard work and dedication.

        Delete
      3. Good stuff +PeggyK! Thanks for your hard work and dedication.

        Delete
      4. Good stuff +PeggyK! Thanks for your hard work and dedication.

        Delete
    2. Just found you blog and think you are sharing some great info, thanks. I have a residential design business and moving toward blogger as my website format, so I can start building a community of followers.

      Do you know of any options for inserting a slideshow of images into a post? I'm thinking the best option is a youtube video, but it would be nice to have something in motion while people are reading to description of the project.

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
      1. I agree that a YouTube video would probably be the easiest way to go. There are some widgets that add a slideshow from your Picasa Web Albums or Flickr uploads, but those rely on Flash which isn't viewable in all browsers or on mobile devices.

        You can set the YouTube video to autoplay by editing the embed code "autoplay" setting to 1 (more info: https://developers.google.com/youtube/player_parameters)

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    3. Good blog. I just subscribed to your RSS feeds.

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    4. Hi there! Very useful info!
      How do I get an album that I have on Google Photos to be available on the slideshow widget available on a blog'sidebar?
      Thanks

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
      1. The Blogger slideshow widget lets you pick an Album from "Picasa Web Albums" - that should include all your Google Photos albums that are public as options. The trick is you need to add your "username" to configure the widget.

        To find your username:
        1. go to picasaweb.google.com
        2. Click the "My Photos" tab
        3. Click "Public Gallery"
        4. Look at the URL of the public gallery page, it will be picasaweb.google.com/[username]
        The Public Gallery page also shows all the albums you will be able to pick from for the gadget.

        In most cases the username is a 21 digit number.

        Enter that number as the "username" for the Slideshow widget. The dropdown list next to "Album" should then show all your public albums.

        You can change the visibility of individual albums Created in Google Photos to public in Picasa Web Albums if you need to.

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    5. I tried this after just copy and pasting the images did not work (I can see them in my laptop on my blog but others cannot). So I went and redid them by selecting "copy image address" which I assume is the same as "copy image url" which is not an option in google photos when I do it for some reason. I followed instructions to put the url in the box, I can see the photo in the temporary box with what can be loaded, then I added it. I can see it but on my wifes computer I cannot except for three of the photos but I cannot find out why they show and nothing else does, it makes no sense to me. I am not a programming expert although I did look at the html codes to see if I could see any differences between what I could see on my wifes computer and what I could not. I didnt see anything obviously different. Why is it so difficult to do, one would think that since google owns both it should be seamless, but instead it is a real pitha. I know if I download a photo to my laptop hard drive I can upload it to blogpost but that is cumbersome when I have so many in googlephotos--the whole point of having googlephotos from my point of view is so I dont have to overload my harddrive with images.

      ReplyDelete

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    Spam and personal attacks are not allowed. Any comment may be removed at my own discretion ~ Peggy