Process and time for uploading photos from MacBook Pro to iCloud

Hi all,

I just increased my iCloud account’s storage and enabled iCloud Photos automatic upload feature on my laptop (Mid-2012 non-retina MacBook Pro, OS 10.15.7). I have 11,500 photos and 150 videos. I keep going to iCloud.com and the Photos tab says “No Photos or Videos”. The “Upload” button is available to select but I don’t know how to navigate to my photos and I can’t select “Photos Library” to upload.

All of my documents immediately uploaded, so I’m wondering if it’s just a matter of time or if there’s something I need to do. I’ve seen references to a “status bar” but I’m not seeing one anywhere.

Thanks I’m advance for any guidance!