COMPUTER/DIGITAL CAMERA CLUB

INSTRUCTIONAL INFORMATION

DIGITAL PHOTO RESIZING AND EMAILING

Photo editing software is generally in the digital camera package. While some vary in names, the contents are somewhat similar. Therefore, I will attempt to be as generic as I can in how to use editing software.

DOWNLOAD PICTURES FROM CAMERA

 Although some software transfers pictures automatically, for the purposes of this exercise we will employ a manual transfer of pictures.

• Insert media into computer card reader or attach camera to your computer with supplied USB cable. Observe that the computer acknowledges the camera or media.

• If a screen does not open up automatically delineating the photo media directory, Left Click (LC) or Double Click (DC) on "My Computer" and observe that, a new drive appears in the "My Computer" directory line-up. The label of the new drive will most always be referred to as "Removable Disk X" followed by the name of the memory media, i.e., "COMPCTFLSHCRD" or "LEXARMEDIA" or some other supplier name.

• DC on the designated media and observe that another directory appears which generally consists of at least a folder named "DCIM," that will generally contain the images directly or in another subfolder depending on particular software. Once you locate the correct folder, "Select/Highlight" all of the photos in the folder, then LC on the "Copy the selected items" icon on left side of screen.

• LC to your way into the "My Pictures" folder directory and folder within the "My Pictures" folder in which you wish to copy the pictures. You may make a new folder at this point by LC on the "Make new folder" tab and while the New Folder is still highlighted, type in a new folder name, then Depress "Enter" and LC "Copy."

• Go back to the "My Computer" directory and DCIM folder and LC on the "Copy files to CD" icon on left side of screen. Once you have verified that the pictures on in fact on your CD, you may delete the pictures from your media.

EDITING RESIZING PHOTOS FOR EMAILING

        Open your photo software program then LC on "File," then LC on "Open." Locate the directory from which you wish to select photos from, and select either several or one and LC "Open."

        Locate the "re-sizing" option by referring to your individual software. Establish whether you wish to email a picture for viewing only or for printing a high-resolution picture on the recipients end.

        Next, determine if the picture needs to be "cropped". In addition, determine whether the final version will be in "Landscape or Portrait" format.

        For viewing, select a resolution of 72 and a pixel size of 640 X 480. This will provide a good size for emailing probably around 60 - 80 KB in size depending on color and contrast content of the picture.

        Once you have established a size other than the original, LC on "File," then "Save as"” and enter "em" denoting an email size picture right after the file name. A typical picture

        For high-resolution printing, send the full, unedited, size picture that will take a few minutes to upload.

        A typical name would look like xxxxxem.jpg. This preserves the original file size for later transfer to a CD.

TYPICAL DIGITAL CAMERA POINT AND SHOOT SETTINGS

• Set camera on best resolution. You can always decrease the resolution at picture editing but you cannot increase resolution after you take the picture.

• Unless your camera is capable of manual aperture, shutter speed and backlight adjustments, you need to "snap and try" to get the feel how the camera's automatic settings affect the picture quality under various conditions.

• When taking pictures outdoors, with plenty of bright sky around, set camera flash to "Always on" otherwise the bright sky will close the auto aperture and cause the subject's face to be underexposed. However, if you are too close to the subject the flash may overexpose the subject's face. You should do a little experimenting with moving back from the subject in combination with the zoom to bring the subject closer and the effect of the flash further away.

• When taking pictures indoors, set flash to "Auto". However, if it is during the day, and you are taking a picture with a bright outside window behind the subject, the bright window light will close down the auto aperture and the subject will be underexposed. Some of the Mystery Lunch pictures taken with large windows in the background were mostly underexposed.

• At night indoors, you need to assess the main subject and other surrounding subjects you wish to include in the picture. For example, if the main subject is sitting at a table with a white tablecloth, the bright white tablecloth will cause the surrounding subjects to be underexposed so in that case you need to set flash to "Always on" which will give the greatest flash effect but could cause the main subject to be overexposed.

• When taking pictures, always depress the shutter release button halfway until you see the green light in the viewfinder, this provides the necessary auto-focus action to take place. If press the shutter release to quickly, the camera will use the focus setting from the previous picture.

• While on the subject of the viewfinder, try to utilize the built-in optical viewfinder instead of lighting up the LCD screen. Continued LCD use will deplete the battery power more quickly.