correctmyphotos » digital workflow

Downloading Photos to Your Computer. Use Windows Explorer.

admin — Thu, 21 May 2009 20:56:11 +0000

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

When downloading photos to my computer I use a card reader instead of the camera/USB connection and when I insert the reader the above Vista window pops up with options. Chose the Open Folder to View Files option (XP has a similar window). Or, you can simply go to My Computer and click on the camera or card reader and select the photos to download (Copy). Then open the Pictures (My Pictures) folder and create or select the the destination folder and Paste the photos into the selected folder. Note: If you use Vista you could select the Import Pictures option, however, I prefer using the Explorer function, particularly if you need to sort the photos into multiple folders.

Use Windows Explorer to Copy/Paste Photos from Camera to Computer

Using Windows Explorer to organize and manage your pictures is really quite simple and is my preference. Applications, such as Photoshop Elements and the software supplied with your camera have a tendancy to do just that. If you use Elements set the preferences so that it does not automatically open when you insert your camera cable or card reader into you computer. If you loaded the camera manufacturer supplied software I suggest you delete it. You don’t need it to download pictures and the photo editing functions are generally too complicated and ineffective to be useful. Admittedly, this is a personal bias, however, most folks I talk to express the same frustration.

I usually download photos to my computer after an event rather than waiting until my memory card is full. It is easier and quicker to organize a single event than an full chip of multiple events. And, the risk of losing the photos (lost camera) or accidently erasing photos is reduced.

Wayne http://www.correctphoto.com

Digital Workflow-I am Changing My Workflow

admin — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 20:25:32 +0000

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:

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.
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.
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.

Another Lesson Learned from Bill and the Pros.
Last Friday I helped my friend, Bill, who recently returned from a European trip (Belgium, France, and Italy), with his photos. Bill is one of those guys for whom the film to digital transition has been a challenge. He finally said he was ready to fight and overcome the “digicam syndrome” and I was eager to help. Bill has made some progress in the transition in that he already downloaded the photos to his computer and had them neatly organized by the dates the photos were taken. He even made an archive CD of the original files. So, after the appropriate “atta boy” I loaded CorrectPhoto (Elements is too complicated for Bill.) onto his computer and began to show him how to edit his photos. When I started to crop a photo he stopped me. Since he didn’t know what he or the people to whom he promised copies of the photos were going to do with the photos he suggested we not crop them. Good idea I thought and we proceeded to go through the photos deleting the bad ones and color correcting the rest. We ended up with folders with a set of color corrected photos that can be cropped to fit for the desired presentation media. Bill made CDs of the corrected photos to give to the other travelers and they can use them in a way that best fits their needs. In fact, that is exactly what most of the wedding photographers I talk to do after they shoot 1000 photos at a wedding. The first thing they do is go through the photos, delete the bad shots, color correct the good ones and upload them to their website so the client can order prints. When a client orders a set of prints they use their favorite editing program, most likely Photoshop to do the final editing.

My New Workflow
Okay, so an old dog can learn new tricks. Here are my digital workflow suggestions.

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.
Using a photo editing program (I would suggest either Photoshop Elements or CorrectPhoto) select the folder with the photo and review each photo and either delete or color correct the photo. We will discuss the color correction alternatives in a future post.
Rename and number the corrected photos.
When you (or your spouse) decide how you want your photos you can crop to the desired format and store them in a separate folder. If you cropped to 4×6 prints you can print them on your computer, make a CD or put the files on a thumb drive to take to your favorite photo lab, or upload to an online printing service.

A word of caution: When editing and saving JPEG files you need to be careful to minimize the number of times you edit and save a JPEG file because you lose a little image quality every time you do. This is less of an issue with the high resolution cameras and if you have the JPEG quality set to HIGH. However, to minimize the effect always start with the color corrected base folder if you are going to crop for different media applications.

Another modification to the above approach is to sort through the archive folder and select the ones worth keeping and transferring them to a new working folder. When you are ready to edit for specific media you can edit (crop and color correct) the original photo and create a new folder. This, of course will result in optimum results. However, if, like Bill, you are going to give a set of you photos to someone else I would recommend color correcting them first. Since you took the picture you are a better judge of the color than someone who did not.

Hopefully, these suggestions will be helpful and, at least, will get you to think through your digital photo workflow and maybe make a few changes. Ultimately, it is up to each of us to figure out what works best for us. I promise that we will get into photo editing soon and you will see my real opinions and prejudices rise to the surface.

Wayne, http://www.correctphoto.com

Download Photos to Your Computer

admin — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 20:42:07 +0000

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

When I first started using a digital camera I used the camera USB cable to transfer picture files, but that got to be a pain. Since my computer didn’t have the card reader for the CompactFlash media compatible with my Canon camera I bought a Card Reader and would suggest you do the same. I would also suggest that you do not install the software that came with your camera or use another photo editor or photo organizer to download or manage your photos, at least not initially. They tend to be complicated and will take over your computer. It drives me nuts when I insert the card reader into my computer and Elements wants to take control. It took me a while, but I finally figured out how to stop that from happening. Just use the Windows utilities to download and organize and you will be much happier.

Now a word about archiving. It is a good idea to make an archive copy of the original photo files because you never know when you might want to retrieve a photo or if you have a computer or disk crash and lose your edited photos. We will talk more about editing and organizing photos in upcoming posts, for the time being here are the basics of archiving.

Create and Archive File of Original Photos

If you are interested in the complete presentation you can view or download the pdf file at http://www.correctphoto.com/publications/Digital_Camera_Basics-1.pdf

Wayne www.correctphoto.com

Digital Camera Basics-Part 1-Continued

admin — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 21:58:50 +0000

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

First, I always set the resolution to the highest setting and the jpeg compression (this controls the size of the picture file and the image quality) to the best quality. These settings will give you the highest quality image and even though the file size is larger you will be able to crop portions of the image and still maintain a nice sharp photo. The cost of memory cards and sticks is so low today that you can afford a high capacity card so file size won’t be an issue.

I always set the camera to Auto Mode and let the camera decide on the settings. I find that this works well for most photos taken by amateurs like me. BUT, check to make sure the Auto setting is selected. I learned this lesson the hard way when I screwed up the photos of an important event. (My friends still give me a hard time).

The same suggestion applies to the red eye setting–set and leave it ON. I rarely have a red problem in the photos I take.

Please, if at all possible, use two hands. You used two hands with your point and shoot film camera so use them both with the digital. You will get a better and straighter picture and it will be sharper because you didn’t move the camera. I would also use the distance to the subject and the optical zoom (I never use the digital zoom) to frame your subject. And, set the focuse (generally by pushing the button half way down and waiting for the indicator to set) before you take the shot. Following these simple steps will result in nice sharp photos of the subject you are trying to capture.

And, take as many shots as your subject will let you get away with. Why? Because with a digital camera you can and they are FREE.

Okay, now that you have take a bunch of pictures what do you do with them. There is more to digital photography than shoving a camera in someone’s face to show them the photos of your grandkids. This morning a friend of mine told me about his aunt who kept buying memory sticks so she could continue to take pictures and show them to people. Don’t laugh-it is a common practice.

You can also go to Sam’s Club or a photo store and stand in line to use a photo kiosk to edit and order prints. But, with the price of gas and the time involved that is not a very attractive solution.

What you should do is transfer (download) you photos to your computer. It is really not that difficult and once you do there are a bunch of things you can do. But, enough for today. I will cover getting the pictures into your computer in another post. In the meantime, if you can’t wait you can view or downoad the presentation at http://www.correctphoto.com/publications/Digital_Camera_Basics-1.pdf

Wayne http://www.correctphoto.com