correctmyphotos

Greetings,

I am a little behind in postings. The last couple of weeks have been a bit hectic with other things and it is finally spring in Minnesota and if you lived here you would understand. Last weekend a few of us guys went to Spearfish Canyon in the Black Hills of South Dakota to “open” Bill’s cabin. I will talk about the trip and show some of the photos I took in a future post. But, first I want to touch on the process of downloading (or uploading, if you prefer) picture files from your digital camera or memory chip to your computer. This discussion is prompted by Bill’s question, “I forgot how to download pictures to my computer, can you help me?” Since he hadn’t transfered pictures from his camera to the computer for quite some time (his chip was full) he had photos from a number of events. Before detailing the process I want to point out that Bill is not alone in his lack of understanding of  “digital picture/computer” processes, nor is he a dummy. In fact, he is quite intelligent and is a tax accountant by profession. So, take heart if you have similar questions and frustrations.

Here is the process I recommend and the one we used with Bill’s photos.

Use Windows Explorer.   When we plugged his camera into the computer the software that came with his camera insisted on taking control of the process.  The first suggestion I made was to close the application (and recommended he delete it from his computer) and use the Windows Explorer system to manage the process.

Windows Vista Options for Downloading Photos

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Digital Workflow—I Am Changing My Workflow. Let’s learn from the Pros?

In my last post, “How do you want your Photos?”, I admitted to learning from my friend Rob on the “new” ways to show off photos other than 4×6 prints and the dilemma of whether or not to ask Pat how she wanted the photos.  Well, we did discuss the question; however, no conclusions have been reached because we really haven’t given the alternatives much thought. Actually, I think she was in shock that I was even asking the question.  Or, maybe it was the magnitude of the job of putting 6 years of prints into albums. But, the fact is there are other ways to show photos today other than prints.  And, that fact has a major impact on our digital workflow and how we manage and edit photos.

My Previous Workflow-The 4×6 Print Workflow
While I have not made or ordered prints for Pat’s albums I have edited most of the photos I shot with my Canon cameras.  After transferring the files to My Pictures (SP)/Pictures (Vista) folder I did the following:

1. Created an Archive folder of the original photo files for backup and future reference. I typically create an archive sub-folder within the main folder and then use the main folder as a working folder.
2. Using a photo editing program (we will get into editing programs later) I reviewed each picture and cropped to 4×6 print format and color corrected the ones worth keeping. I deleted the shots that were not worth editing or keeping.  The folder then contained the edited versions of the photos worth keeping ready to be printed to a 4×6 format.
3. The final step before printing was to rename the edited photos, (i.e. Christmas 2007-001…)

This workflow works great if all you will do with the edited photos is to make or order 4×6 prints.

Spearfish Canyon Falls-CorrectPhoto with New HDTV Cropping Format

New HDTV Delivered Yesterday—Now What?
Well, we finally decided to get a new HDTV and it was delivered yesterday.  So, if Pat decides that she wants to be able to relive family events on the TV and wants me to make DVDs instead of prints I will have to go back and re-edit the photos for the optimum HDTV format. Yes, I know I can use the 4×6 format and not have the photos fill the screen, but I will want to crop to the HDTV 16×9 format.  So, maybe I shouldn’t crop the photos until the “How do you want your photos?” question is answered. (continue reading…)

Let’s continue with the Digital Camera Basics presentation with the topic “How do I get photos from my camera to my computer?” This was the first question my friend, Bill, asked when his memory stick filled up and he couldn’t take any more pictures. Or, was it when his wife wanted to email pictures of the grand kids to a friend.  Whatever the reason, this is usually the first obstacle the new digital camera owner encounters. Fortunately, it really isn’t that complicated.

You probably already know a bit about the Windows Explore File Management system and how to create and name a folder for email and Word documents. Maybe you have even downloaded a file from the internet.  Well, downloading (yes, it’s called downloading when you are putting something into your computer and uploading when you are taking something out) from a digital camera is basically the same. Windows XP and Vista even have a special folder for your pictures, My Pictures in XP and Pictures in Vista. The first thing to do is to create a new folder within the My Pictures folder.  For example, “Rotary Chili Cookoff-2008″, where you want to put the photos.

The basic steps are outlined in this slide, however, an excellent step by step guide written by Tony Northrup can be found on Microsoft’s website at, http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/digitalphotography/takeit/transfer.mspx

Transfer Pictures from Camera to Computer

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Minnesota Fall Wonder

Last Friday my wife, Pat, and I took a fall drive to look at the wonderful fall colors, which are spectacular this year. Of course, I took my camera, a relatively old Canon 5G, and took a few shots and couldn’t resist posting this one.  While today’s post is not about editing photos I will say that, like all photos, this one required a little cropping and color correction.  But, more about that another time.

Let’s continue with the presentation on Digital Camera Basics with a discussion about Taking Pictures and What to Do with the Pictures.

Taking Pictures-Basic Stuff

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