Digital Photos on your Computer

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "Digital Photos on your Computer"

Natalie Ross
5 years ago
Views:

Digital Photos on your Computer This document accompanies the presentation and demonstrations made on 14 th October 2010 showing the basics of transferring photographs taken on digital cameras onto a

1 Digital Photos on your Computer This document accompanies the presentation and demonstrations made on 14 th October 2010 showing the basics of transferring photographs taken on digital cameras onto a Windows PC, improving the photographs and getting hard copy. The aim is to show what is possible and how to make a start. As with all computing there are many ways to exploit the power of the technology so you may have alternative ways to achieve the results we demonstrate. Most of the screen examples are taken from Windows XP with some from Vista where XP lacks a suitable tool. First thanks must go to Harry Ryder for taking many of the photos used as examples. He had to work hard to take such poor pictures! They were needed to demonstrate what can be fixed & what not. Please contact the Photography Group to see how they take really good pictures. If you have questions after trying out these notes please come along to Thursday Help Desk. A short explanation of some of the terms used in the talk Digital Camera types Compact, SLR/DSLR, Phone Resolution the number of pixels captured by the camera and held in the image Picture size number of pixels across & down in the image Picture file types : JPG a jpeg format file (compressed) RAW a file of raw (i.e. each) pixel (uncompressed) Memory cards removable storage: SD, XD, MS, CompactFlash, PRO, Duo, SmartMedia etc. 2. Transfer of Photos to PC There are a number of ways to transfer your photos from the camera (or phone) to your PC. 1. By plugging in a USB cable from camera/phone to the PC 2. Removing the memory card from the camera and plugging it into a card reader which is either built into the PC or connected to it by a USB cable 3. If the camera/phone and your PC have Bluetooth capability then you can use that to wirelessly transfer. Example 1, using a USB cable to a Windows XP computer like the pictures below.

2 a) b) c) d) e) a) Connect camera to PC via a USB cable b) It is automatically recognised and we select Open folder to view files c) Open the DCIM folder on the camera d) Then also open the 100OLYMP folder (the name of this is normally related to the camera e.g. PAN for Panasonic). e) You can then copy and paste the picture/s into a folder on the PC Vista and Windows 7 would be very similar. Example 2 using a USB cable to a Windows XP computer but using the Windows XP tool Scanner & Camera Wizard : a) b)

c) d) You can also use special software e.g.

Windows option and all the photos would be transferred into a folder titled with the date in your

Example 3, transferring the memory card to a Windows XP computer like the pictures below a) b) c) a)

connected multi-memory card reader You then proceed to copy or transfer the files from the card to the PC

The two windows below show an example folder with a mix of files.

3 c) d) You can also use special software e.g. that supplied with your camera In Vista and Windows 7 you would use the Import pictures & videos Using Windows option and all the photos would be transferred into a folder titled with the date in your MyPictures folder. Example 3, transferring the memory card to a Windows XP computer like the pictures below a) b) c) a) Memory card removed from Camera b) Example of multi-memory card reader built into PC c) Example USB cable connected multi-memory card reader You then proceed to copy or transfer the files from the card to the PC as in the first 2 examples. 3. Storing /Organising your photos Pictures are just a type of file. The two windows below show an example folder with a mix of files. Changing the View in Windows Explorer can be useful in selecting the files you want to work with. Details gives the date when the file was modified that can be useful. Whilst to see a small image of the picture use Thumbnails or Large Icon. The lefthand window has the View set as Details, the righthand set as Thumbnails.

Storing all your pictures in just one folder is not a good idea as you soon get hundreds and even thousands to deal

Examples of folders organised by content and by activity: A range of tools for viewing and manipulating pictures are

Gallery Picasa from Google MS Office Picture Manager Windows Live Photo Gallery Picasa from Google MS Office Picture

4 Storing all your pictures in just one folder is not a good idea as you soon get hundreds and even thousands to deal with. It is much better to organise the photos into folders. There are many categories you could use for this e.g. content, activity, date, type etc. Examples of folders organised by content and by activity: A range of tools for viewing and manipulating pictures are available, ranging from those provided with Microsoft windows through free software you can download to professional packages that cost significant amounts. Windows XP Vista Windows 7 Windows Picture & Fax Viewer* Picasa from Google MS Office Picture Manager Windows Photo Gallery Picasa from Google MS Office Picture Manager Windows Live Photo Gallery Picasa from Google MS Office Picture Manager * limited functionality Picasa runs on all these operating systems and is also available for the Apple computers. Examples of it s use are given later.

brightness/contrast/colour Picasa software for some fancier effects The screen copies are from Windows

5 4. Improving the pictures If your picture has faults we can correct some of them on the PC. Examples are given below of: Crop off unwanted parts of picture Remove red eye Improve the brightness/contrast/colour Picasa software for some fancier effects The screen copies are from Windows Photo Gallery running on Vista. MS Office Picture Manager (2003 or 2007) is similar and runs on all three Windows operating systems. 4.1 Cropping

6 4.2 Red Eye Removal 4.3 Adjust Exposure

Windows 7 also Macs from picasa.google.com.

7 4.4 Adjust Exposure Picasa Picasa is a free software tool from Google. It is easily downloaded for Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7 also Macs from picasa.google.com. When you run the program it will search your PC for pictures and index them all in Picasa see screenshot below:

To modify the picture select it in the album view and

similar capabilities to Windows tools seen above.

8 To modify the picture select it in the album view and then go to the Picture drop down menu at the top and select View & Edit. On the left you can see the Basic Fixes tab which has similar capabilities to Windows tools seen above. There are three tabs of edits you can use: The bottom right picture shows the Sepia effect.

5. Getting hard copy There are a range of ways to print your photographs and also a wide range of forms that the hard copy can take (e.g. standard 6x4 inch prints, larger size prints, textured prints on frames for hanging on the wall, as calendars, printed in books and albums, on mugs and many more).

But there is no waiting around. 5.2 At a local store You can find printing kiosks or units in many places, e.g. Supermarkets, Boots, Chemists/Photo shops. How to get the photo file/s there?

Pricing varies depending on how long you wait. 5.3 Over the net Various internet sites offer printing services e.g. 6x4, 7x5 upto books and wall pictures.

9 5. Getting hard copy There are a range of ways to print your photographs and also a wide range of forms that the hard copy can take (e.g. standard 6x4 inch prints, larger size prints, textured prints on frames for hanging on the wall, as calendars, printed in books and albums, on mugs and many more). 5.1 On your printer You need to use photo paper for best results and perhaps special inks in the printer. However it uses a lot of ink so is expensive if you are printing a number. But there is no waiting around. 5.2 At a local store You can find printing kiosks or units in many places, e.g. Supermarkets, Boots, Chemists/Photo shops. How to get the photo file/s there? There are a range of ways such as a USB memory stick (see right), camera cards like SD/XD etc and CDs or DVDs. Just copy the pictures you want to print onto the media & take it along. Pricing varies depending on how long you wait. 5.3 Over the net Various internet sites offer printing services e.g. 6x4, 7x5 upto books and wall pictures. You just upload the picture files, select how, many of each size and pay electronically. They also do printing onto all sorts of things and complete album/books. Examples: Snapfish, Photobox, Kodakgallery, bobbooks, Bootsphoto. Typical price 9p each for 6x4 on Snapfish. Books on Photobox cost from for around 30 pictures. 6. Sharing your photos By You can attach photos to s to friends. Be aware if taken on a modern camera with lots of pixels you get big files and some systems have size limits. So be selective or perhaps reduce the resolution. You can try: XP Use the this file in Windows Explorer Office Picture Manager use the Compress option in the Picture drop down menu

On a CD/DVD/card through the post The ideal way for a lot of photos. You can fit lots on a disc. 600Mb on a CD (~100 pics), 4.5Gb on a DVD (~1,000 pics) or more if double layer. Post on web, e.g. photo sharing website There are many websites for this e.

10 On a CD/DVD/card through the post The ideal way for a lot of photos. You can fit lots on a disc. 600Mb on a CD (~100 pics), 4.5Gb on a DVD (~1,000 pics) or more if double layer. Post on web, e.g. photo sharing website There are many websites for this e.g. Flickr, Photobucket or similar site. Or a social networking site like Facebook. 7. Information sources The Help Desk at U3A Thursday meeting The Photography Group Age Concern courses such as those on the right. Windows Help (This contains instructions very similar to those described above, just enter pictures into the search & follow the Working with digital pictures link) The web Andrew Cross IT@chesteru3a.org.uk October 2010

From Camera to MLS. Class Outline: Transferring Photos to the Computer. Using a Card Reader

From Camera to MLS. Class Outline: Transferring Photos to the Computer. Using a Card Reader From Camera to MLS Class Outline: Transferring Photos to the Computer Using a Card Reader Storing, Viewing, and Organizing Digital Photos on the Computer E-mailing and Printing Adding Photos in MLXchange