What is Google Photo Stories?
Basically it's a service to help you progress, administrate and share your pictures.
It's a very easy way to create stories (something like photo albums) out of your pictures and videos from journeys, trips or events.
Google will also add some landmarks or even travel points and map snippets.
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| Stories can be accessed in the Google Photos app. |
How does it work?
In order to process the pictures they need to be uploaded to Google Photos of course, which can be easy done by enabling auto upload pictures on your smartphone or you can upload them manually. In my case I enabled auto-upload but with the restriction to WiFi so my smartphone only syncs the pictures when it connects to a WiFi network (in order to not stress my mobile data volume).
This way, all pictures and videos I take with my smartphone (any app) or even with my Sony QX100 will be uploaded to my Google Photo space.
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| Additional map shows the location where the pictures where taken. |
Once the pictures are available, Google's algorithms will analyse informations about location and time mainly and try to get the pictures in order by location and time. Also relevant points like objects of interest are recognized and fitting location marks are added to the story.
What next?
Once the story is created Google will notify the owner so you can check the story created, edit it by adjusting Google's selection of pictures, add captions to individual pictures and the whole story itself.
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| Editing a story, selecting / deselecting pictures and videos for it. |
So only very little effort is needed to create a nice story that now can be shared by social networks like Google+, email or what ever you like.
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| Sharing stories. |
How to view a story?
The stories can be visited by the Photo app at your smartphone or by a web-browser as well. Shared with a social network it will be linked with a preview.
Also the elements within a story, pictures and videos, can be opened individually to watch them in detail.
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| Stories can contain pictures and videos. |
Everyone visiting a story, can add a comment to the story itself or the pictures and videos contained within.
Conclusion
Google Photo Stories is a very easy way to create a "photo album" of a trip or event to keep, show or even share. It only takes very little effort as most work is done automatically but it also allows you to edit the stories a bit as well.
It's a great way to share some impressions and adventures.
