Photo Import Options
I normally use a card reader when importing pictures but decided to use the USB cable that came with the camera for this example. When I connected the camera cable into the computer Windows 7 automatically installed the driver for my Canon PowerShot G5. Then the Auto Play window popped up giving me several import options. The same option window will appear if you use a card reader or if you plug in the memory chip into a slot on your computer if it supports camera memory chips.

Windows 7 Auto Play Photo Import Options

 I prefer using Windows Explorer to organize and manage my photo files as opposed to Photoshop Elements, Windows Photo Gallery, or other photo organizing software as they tend to take over one’s computer and complicate the process.  The easiest import option is the first one in the list, “Import pictures and videos using Windows”.  The disadvantage of this option is that it forces you to import all of the photos in your camera to a single folder. Since most people are like me and have photos from multiple events in the camera by time they get around to downloading them I generally use the “Open device to view files using Windows Explorer” option. Here is a brief description using both methods.

Import pictures and videos using Windows
Selecting the Import pictures option will pop up the following window.

Windows 7 Import photos with AutoPlay-Enter Folder Name in Tag Field

The first time you use the import function you should click on Import settings and select the settings according to your preferences.  The “Tag” will become the destination folder for the imported photos.

Upload Photo Preference Window

I would suggest setting the Other options as shown. When you click the Import button Windows 7 will automatically create the new folder and transfer the photos to it.  When the transfer is complete Windows Explorer will open and by right clicking on a photo you can select the next action you wish to take. If you just want to look at the photos click on Preview. If you want to edit the photos click on Open with and select the photo editor. 

Right Click on thumbnail to select action

Open device to view files using Windows Explorer.
The the import method I generally use is the “Open device to view files using Windows Explorer as it provides the flexibility to put the photos into multiple folders. When you click on this option the following window will appear.

View camera photo files in Explorer-Select view Large Icons

Actually, when the window pops up it will probably show the “Tiles” view of the photos which are really too small for me. Windows 7 gives you a few more optional views. On the right side of the menu bar click on the little arrow and select Large or Extra Large Icons to increase the size of the thumbnail and it will be easier to select the photos you want to import into a particular folder.

Now left click on the first photo of the group and then hold the Ctrl key down and click on the remaining photos in the group (or, hold the Shift key down and click on the last photo in the group if they are in sequence). Then right click and select Copy.

Select photos to be copied to My Pictures folder

Open the My Pictures folder on your Desktop and select the destination folder for the photos. If you haven’t created a New Folder for the photos you can do so by clicking on New Folder in the Menu bar.

Select destination folder for photos

Then right click on the folder and select Paste and the photos will be transferred to the folder.

Copy photos to selected (Christmas 2009) folder

When the transfer is complete you can open the folder and select the next action or simply close it and go have a cup of coffee or whatever.

Well, Bob, I hope this helps answer the question, “How do I get my photos from my camera to my Windows 7 computer?”  Here are links to some other posts that might be helpful as you explore the wonderful world of digital photography and Windows 7.

A Simple Way to Organize Your Photos

http://www.correctmyphotos.com/2009/12/07/a-simple-way-to-organize-your-photos/

Storing and Archiving Digital Photos-A Simple Way.
http://www.correctmyphotos.com/2009/07/13/storing-and-archiving-digital-photos-a-simple-way/

Previewing Photos in Windows Vista (Win 7) and XP
http://www.correctmyphotos.com/2009/06/29/previewing-photos-in-windows/

Get the Red Out–What to do about Red Eye?

http://www.correctmyphotos.com/2009/06/10/get-rid-of-red-eye-in-photos/

Downloading Photos to Your Computer. Use Windows Explorer.
http://www.correctmyphotos.com/2009/05/21/downloading-photos-to-your-computer-use-windows-explorer/

Crop Photos for a Purpose.
http://www.correctmyphotos.com/2009/02/15/crop-photos-for-a-purpos/

Wayne www.correctphoto.com

eBay Photo Example. eBay photo on left. Color Corrected with CorrectPhoto on right

 The photo on the left is a photo of a listing on eBay. I color corrected the photo with CorrectPhoto’s OneClick (I clicked on the gray concrete background and adjusted the brightness and saturation.) The colors are certainly better and the dullness has been reduced making it a better photo.  Even with better color the photo still is not very good.  The cracks in the background is distracting and one could argue that the perspective of the shot could be better.

How do you take better eBay photos?
That is a question I spent a little time on this weekend and I think I have come up with a simple approach that should work for almost everyone that wants to sell an item or product online. And, it won’t break the bank. I will layout the approach in upcoming posts, but here is an example photo of the same Stangl bird that is in my collection.

Wayne's Bird Photo

Okay, so this post is a teaser. The next post will tell you how you can take better photos for selling online.

Wayne  www.correctphoto.com

One is that we are not as careful “framing” a shot with our digital camera as we were when we were shooting film. Remember when you looked through a view finder to frame the shot? And, since the roll of film only had 24 or 36 exposures AND you had to pay for developing the film AND pay for prints you took your time to make sure the shot was a good one. (I use to drive my family nuts with the time I took to take a picture.) Now, we look at that little screen on the back of the camera while holding the camera a foot in front of our face and expect to get a great picture. Good Luck!

Then there are the issues of color, red eye, and exposure that are more prevalent in digital photography than when we shot with film. I won’t go into the reasons in this article, but most digital photos suffer from one or more of these issues.

You can make your digital photos look more professional with a photo editor.

Tiger Woods on the First Tee-Cropped and Color Corrected with CorrectPhoto

The good news is that with digital photos you have a chance to make photos look better. Or, putting it another way, we have a chance to fix our framing mistakes and the camera’s color and exposure problems.  All you need is a photo editor and a computer.  And, you really don’t have to do a lot of editing. All most photos need to make them look more professional is a little cropping and color correction and maybe a bit of sharpening.  In the photo above of Tiger Woods on the first tee at Hazeltine Golf Club in Minnesota a few years I cropped the golfers standing on the tee. Then I color corrected to get rid of the dull morning haze. Because of the tight crop I also sharpened the cropped photo.

Better Vacation Photos

You don’t get many “do overs” when you are on vacation. Normally, you don’t look closely at the photos until you get home and load them on your computer or have prints made. So, you can’t go back and take the photo again. But, in the digital world all is not lost. In the following example I cropped out the food partial food vendor from the photo of the Old Courthouse in St. Louis, MO, framed by the famous Arch-the Gateway to the Midwest.

St. Louis, MO Arch and Old Court House Cropped and Color Corrected

When I took the photo of the paddle boat and the Eads Bridge over the Mississippi River I didn’t think about the focal point of the photo.  Here are two different approaches to cropping format and focal points. On the first example I used the standard 3×4 cropping format with a focus on the boat. In the second I used the 16×7 HDTV format focusing on the Eads Bridge. BTW, the Eads Bridge designed and built by James Eads in 1874 is one of America’s Great Masterpieces and is virtually unkown.

Paddle Boat on Mississippi River at St Louis

Eads Bridge Over the Mississippi River at St. Louis, MO-16x7 HDTV Format

 All photos can be made to look more professional

This sums up the point of this article. Virtually all of the digital photos you take can be made to look better with a little “basic” photo editing. By “basic” I mean cropping and color correcting and maybe sharpening. Unless you are creating something special you don’t need air brushing, cloning, erasing, etc. If you have Photoshop Elements all you need to learn is how to crop and color correct (I would recommend iCorrect OneClick plug-in for color correcting) or an easy program like CorrectPhotowhich has the basic functions you need. Here are links to several CorrectMyPhoto posts that discuss photo editing.

http://www.correctmyphotos.com/2008/11/30/crop-photos-how/

http://www.correctmyphotos.com/2009/07/09/snapshots-to-great-shots-make-your-photos-look-professional/

http://www.correctmyphotos.com/2009/07/28/snapshots-to-great-shots-correctphoto-video/

http://www.correctmyphotos.com/2009/06/23/fixing-color-the-easy-way/

http://www.correctmyphotos.com/2009/02/15/crop-photos-for-a-purpos/

If you enjoy taking pictures and capturing the events of your life you should take a little time to make them better. It really isn’t that difficult and it can be very enjoyable.  And, don’t be embarrassed that your photos don’t look professional the way you shot them. Why do you think the pros take so many shots and have Photoshop on their computer?  Yes, they fix their photos, too.

Happy Cropping!

Wayne http://www.correctphoto.com

 Correct Photo:

 this is our first video on CorrectPhoto. Let me know what you think. If you think it is helpful invite your friends to visit my blog or send them to www.correctphoto.com. Or, you can give them the link to the video at http://blip.tv/file/2411376.

Wayne http://www.correctphoto.com

Click on Open to select an application to priview or edit a photo

Since all I wanted to do was browse the folder I didn’t need the extra step of selecting an application. I should have selected “Preview” which would have taken me directly to the Windows viewer allowing me to quickly cycle through the photos. An honest mistake since Open is the only selection in bold. But,that made me wonder how many people don’t even know about the preview feature in Vista or know the difference between Open and preview. The Open feature is used primarily to select and/or launch a photo editing application. You can set a default application such as CorrectPhoto or Elements to always launch when you click Open by checking the little box below the selection window. However, since I use both of these programs on a regular basis I choose not to automatically launch one of them.

Vista Picture Actions menu-Right click on the image file to activate

Clicking on the Preview option launches the Vista Gallery viewer and you can quickly browse the photos using the arrows at the bottom.

Vista Photo Gallery Preview for quickly browsing an image folder

 Now, if you want to launch a photo editing application you can simply right click on the photo and the application window will pop up and you choose and launch the editor.

Right Click on the photo and the application selection window will pop up

Windows XP Picture Tasks
Previewing and browsing a photo file in Windows XP is a bit more obvious than in Vista. When you open a photo file there is a Picture Tasks menu on the left side of the window. The first selection is View as a Slide Show.

Windows XP Picture Tasks-Select View as Slide Show to brows photos

 The Windows XP Slide Show will open filling the monitor with the image. Use the arrow keys to scroll through the photos in the folder. When you are finished browsin or want to launch a photo editing application click Esc (escape) and you will return the the Picture Tasks Window.  To launch an application right click on an image and the following window will appear.

Windows XP Action Selection Window-Right Click on image file to activate

While this little discussion may seem basic to a lot of people it certainly isn’t that obvious to many of my friends and many people with digital cameras. So, if you know someone this post might help send it to him or her a link.

Wayne http://www.correctphoto.com