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I want my gardening photos to have the "WOW" factor like so many I see on Dave's Garden. I'm not a great photographer, and even though I have a fairly good camera (Sony DSC-H1), my photos sometimes need a bit of tweaking. Some of my photos are too dark, or too big, or not centered right. Some aren't crisp enough for me. Picasa can fix all of these things. Let me show you what I've learned in the past few weeks.
You can download Picasa here if you haven't done so already. This article will show you some of the things that Picasa is capable of.
Picasa has been downloaded and tested for a couple of weeks now. I've been working on a major family ancestry project with a multitude of photos and this program has really improved the photos that I have on my computer. I've been using it for just about all of my editing since I downloaded it and I think it's an awesome program! Picasa took my "oh, these are nice photos" and made them into "WOW! These are super nice photos!".
While I haven't found a place to add text to or "draw circles", etc. on my photos, for most basic "fixes" of photographs, Picasa works very well indeed!
Tools to Fix Photographs
I've included bigger photos of the Tuning Tabs so you can actually read them. You may need to refer to these again when viewing some of the photos below. Once you've selected a photo to work on (by double clicking it) there are several sets of tools you can use.
The first tab is for BASIC FIXES, like cropping, straightening, removing red-eye, changing color and contrast. One of my favorites is "I'm Feeling Lucky"! You can also slide the fill light to lighten your photos.
Clicking on the second tab of that set of tools takes you to the TUNING options. The slider bars allow you more fine tuning for FILL LIGHT, HIGHLIGHTS, SHADOWS and COLOR TEMPERATURE.
Those little boxes on the right are AUTOMATIC corrections that the program detects for lighting and (on the bottom) for color correction. I usually click there first. If I'm still not happy with the results, I begin sliding the bars until I am satisfied. Notice also the Neutral Color Picker. When the automatic buttons are pressed, the circle changes colors. I'm not really sure what the purpose of this is.
At any time, you can click on UNDO and it goes back just like it was before you began. If you change your mind and like it afterall? Click REDO. Both Undo and Redo are at the bottom of the options, but are not visible to click on until you actually make changes.
The next tab is for SPECIAL EFFECTS. As you can see, this tab is for modifying your photo using special effects. I haven't tried them all yet. Some are pretty straight forward and some of them are pretty sophisticated in their adjustments. Playing around with it is half the fun! And again, don't worry. If you don't like what happens, you can ALWAYS click on Undo.
One important thing to remember when using Picasa is that when changes are made to the photos, the pictures aren't truly saved until you tell it to SAVE CHANGES. You will need to click on that BACK TO LIBRARY button when you finish editing. Then look at the top of the directory you are working in for the button that tells you to SAVE CHANGES. There will be a number in parenthesis beside that button indicating how many photos in that directory were changed.
Once you click SAVE CHANGES, the photos will be saved securely. Until then, you can always go back to a photo and undo your actions or make additional corrections. I just found out that even after you've saved it, you can go back and UNSAVE it and STILL Undo the steps you took. Sounds pretty fool proof to me.
Lighting
Quite often, I find out after I download my photos from my camera to my computer, the lighting isn't right. Either the photo is too bright or in some cases, not bright enough. Picasa can fine tune these photos for me. These screen shot images show what you will see as you are correcting the photo.
Click on the TUNING TAB.
SLIDE BARS with mouse until satisfied
You can see how I've adjusted the Fill Light and Highlights slider bars until I'm satisfied with the lighting on this photo.
Here are the before and after photos of this Hardy Gloxinia.
More examples of lighting corrections.
Correcting Night Time Lighting
I have the hardest time taking good night time photos. My hands aren't steady enough to get good images without using a flash. The results with the flash are usually too bright and glaring for me.
Using Picasa, I can correct photos that I would have ordinarily deleted. Use those slider bars until the lighting pleases you.
Cropping Photos
Sometimes the photos we think we are taking don't look nearly as good as we intended them to because of all of the excess background "stuff". Cropping usually means that we get a much smaller image than we started with. Picasa allows you to choose the area you want and enlarges it to create a beautiful photo. Click on the CROP button.
Hold your mouse button down, starting in one corner, and dragging the mouse to the opposite corner. When you release the button on the mouse, you will see what the new image will look like. You can adjust the edges of the photo at this point until you are satisfied.
When you click on APPLY, the image will show your beautiful plant without all of that excess stuff in the background.
This is what the new image will look like. Be sure to SAVE CHANGES when you are finished.
More examples of cropping and lightening
This is the first year I've noticed the lovebugs on this particular tree and he blooms were covered in them. I took some photos to share on the photo forum but you couldn't see the lovebugs at all. I didn't want to take macro shots because I wanted to show how many lovebugs there were on the flowers, and not necessarily a close up of the lovebugs themselves. By cropping and lightening the photo, the lovebugs became much more visible.
Cropping Photos to Center the Image
Sometimes a photo needs to be cropped so the image is more centered. Picasa makes this very easy to accomplish.
Just follow the instructions above to center your photo.
Once you have it centered, click on APPLY.
Your image is now centered beautifully.
Special effects
Sharpening the Image
While that image might be centered beautifully, it lacked the crispness I was trying to achieve. Clicking on the SPECIAL EFFECTS area and then the SHARPEN button, the edges of the image are more defined and the image is much crisper.
Converting images to Black and White
I love black and white photos. Picasa makes it easy to convert any image to black and white. That same image from above is easily converted with the click of the Black and White button.
Before and after
I'm Feeling Lucky
The image we cropped earlier looked good. But I know it could look better. The colors seem a bit on the dull side. Clicking on I'm Feeling Lucky allows Picasa to really show you what it's made of.
Notice the vivid colors in this photo now and the way the image just pops right off the screen.
This great button gives the photo that "WOW" factor I wanted when I took this shot.
Rotating Photos
This image should be familiar to anyone with tall plants. I spend a lot of time rotating my photos. Picasa makes this task very easy.
There are 2 little buttons below each image (I forgot to circle those for this article.) that when clicked will rotate the image either clockwise or counter clockwise.
Wasn't that easy?
Straightening your image
Sometimes when I take photos, I download them and see that the camera wasn't parallel with my subject. Picasa makes it easy to straighten up my error.
This is especially helpful with horizon shots, but we'll use this photo of my house as an example.
Clicking on Straighten Image from the Basic Fixes menu brings up a faint grid over the image and a slider bar.
I can use the slider bar to slightly rotate my image until it's straight. In addition to straightening this photo, I lightened it a bit.
Making a Collage from Your Photos
I love making collages. It's a lot of work though, lining up photos to make them pleasing to the eyes, especially with a large group of photos. Picasa does the work for you with just a couple of clicks of the buttons. The Collage button is circled in the image to show you it's location.
Select the photos you want to include. I collect coleus so I chose this folder for my demonstration.
I selected them ALL by holding down the ctrl button and pressing A. The thumbnails will show in the bottom left corner of the images that you've selected.
Next I clicked on the COLLAGE button. I then get to choose whether I want a PICTURE GRID collage or a PICTURE PILE collage. Making a "Contact Sheet" of my photos is also an option. After only a moment, my collage is completed.
Picture Grid Collage
Picture Pile Collage
I've thoroughly enjoyed using Picasa these past few weeks and will continue to use it. Picasa makes editing photos very easy. I haven't tried everything yet. But I'm sure over time, I will find a reason to try each of these cool buttons in this program. All in all, it does everything it said it would. And for free, you just can't beat it with a stick! I hope you'll try out Picasa.
About Janet Colvin
Living in Southeast Texas, I have always enjoyed tropical plants and warm sunny weather. My gardening has become much more diverse and my plant collection has rapidly multiplied since joining the great folks at Dave's Garden. Working with my sister, we create unique copper garden art. I love to think outside of the box and can be found in the Coleus and Artisans Forum.
Posted by Dinu (from Mysore
(India)) on October 18, 2008 at 10:28 AM:
Hi Janet,
I had seen this article before. Now today, in a thread redchic mentioned about Picasa 3 which I had not known. I was using Picasa 2. I think you must try it too, if you have not known about it. I've instantly fallen in love with the wonderful features it has been loaded with. Just what we all need and what to ask more for -- they are all simple to use. Even me. Corrections, editing, text, collage -- they are all so nice. Just have a look and LMK. I'm sure you'll love it too. A simple video demo is available too when you search for Picasa 3 on google. Click and enjoy. I thought I must tell you this.
Dinu
...
Posted by UniQueTreasures (from Beaumont, TX) on October 18, 2008 at 10:22 PM:
Thanks for passing along the information about Picasa 3. I will go check it out right now. I have thoroughly enjoyed using this program to improve my family photos for the ancestry project I am working on. Many old photos were discolored and undesirable for the book I am creating. Now those same photos are brought back to life for my family to enjoy. I cannot imagine how they could have improved upon this great program, so I look forward to seeing what's new.
Thanks again for thinking of me when you checked out the program.
Janet
...
Posted by Dinu (from Mysore
(India)) on October 19, 2008 at 4:19 AM:
That's a most enjoyable project I guess. I wish you luck in coming up with a treasure house of pictures that will be surely cherished by all concerned.
LMK how you felt about the new version.
Dinu
...
Posted by UniQueTreasures (from Beaumont, TX) on October 19, 2008 at 8:22 AM:
Dinu, This has been a wonderful way to get to know my family and my husband's family also. The research has been very addicting though. Each day I find out something new about the family. I am hoping to have this project finished by Thanksgiving so I can get the book printed out for my family for Christmas.
I like the way the new Picasa looks. It's got some great features. I chose all of the photos of my grandmother and made a collage. I loved the way it looked. I clicked the SAVE button on that folder to save my new collage to the folder. I was going to copy the collage into the book and for some reason, I cannot find it now. I thought maybe I had forgotten to save it. I went back and selected the 25+ photos again. When I chose the collage option, it automatically chose every photo in that folder (175+) and made the collage from them all. No matter what I did, I couldn't re-create the same collage I did at first. I got a bit frustrated about that.
Then I went to update my phanfare site. I noticed a few individual photos that were missing so I went back to Picasa and chose the original 1910 family photo. Saved several copies and cropped out the individuals. Renamed them to just show the individual. Looked like they were there. But then when I clicked on the SAVE button, the newest photos disappeared.
Evidently I did something wrong. I got so frustrated that I gave up on it. Any ideas to get the new program to actually save what has been edited would be appreciated.
Janet
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Posted by Dinu (from Mysore
(India)) on October 19, 2008 at 10:14 AM:
Janet,
I think your pictures will be saved in My Pictures folder once you click the save changes button. Please check on that. When it selected 175 pix, you would have ignorantly chosen all. I don't think such a nice program will have such a silly flaw. You have to go back to My Pictures folder and make any changes like renaming.
I know how the pleasure of collecting old pix is. I have done it myself, but not digitized all. Just a few of them. Not for distribution, but for collection sake - at this stage. There were old picture frames in our house. I did that project of saving them first by removing from the frames [used some of the glass to replace broken window panes in our old house!!], then removing pictures carefully from their cardboard mounts [peeling them off was a real test of patience] and then carefully mounting on my self-made black-sheet album. It took me many days to complete that. But I feel worth the effort and the looks on faces of my older relatives that knew my ancestors is quite amazing. My work has won appreciation and that ends there. Few people get interested in saving them, leave alone collect and look at them once in a while. Many forget the past easily. Not so with me. Somehow I've loved the old things from childhood. My brother is opposite. Perhaps I may do a project like you have done in the future. Recently a lady wrote an article in our paper column about such a project some old family had done. She was of the opinion that it is easier for the American Indians to publish such a book instead of bringing it out like a printed book here in India. The satisfaction we derive from it is immeasurable. That nostalgia!
Dinu
...
Posted by UniQueTreasures (from Beaumont, TX) on October 19, 2008 at 11:53 AM:
I will check on the My Pictures Folder. I have never saved photos there. I have a folder for each individual family. It could be that the SAVE file is set to default to the My Pictures folder.
Shortly after my husband and I married, his mother died. Her family was located in Ohio and I never met the majority of them. When I began this project, I had very few photos of her family. There was a legend associated with the family of her grandmother, so I "googled" her name. I found that one of his mother's other relatives had already done about 30 years worth of researching and created a family history, complete with photos from at least 2 generations back to the Civil War. That person willingly shared what she'd done with me. She was the nephew of my husband's grandfather. I've taken all of that information and photos and put it together in a book form for my own children and their children.
My husband's father was adopted. He knew who both of his parents were. His (my father in law) brother had begun researching his "roots" and had come to a stump in the search. I found a really neat website called Findagrave. I located the place where his great great grandmother's "new" husband was buried. She was next to him. When I asked the contributor of the memorial page to provide me with a photo of the gravesite, she did a bit of research herself and located a death certificate of one of the half sister's of his great grandfather, which included the great great grandmother's maiden name. I was able to trace HER back several more generations and also to find out the actual name of my husband's great great grandfather, which was only known as Mr. Long.
A few weeks ago, I found a basket of photos that belonged to my paternal grandmother. Most of them were from before 1930. Growing up, I knew very little about her family. Those photos have their own story to tell and I was very blessed to have found them. My mother had no idea they were in the room that my grandmother used to use.
The whole project has been fascinating for me. Each day I find out something more about my family. I have been able to trace back most lines of my children's ancestors to the 1600's. It will be very rewarding for me (even if others don't truly appreciate all of the hard work that has gone into this) to see this project in a book form that can be passed down to generations of family to come. I have included hundreds of full size photos so that they will be able to identify the people who's heritage they share. I can't think of anything better that I could share with my entire family.
Janet
...
Posted by UniQueTreasures (from Beaumont, TX) on October 19, 2008 at 11:56 AM:
I am working on an in-home network. I checked the MY PICTURES folder and sure enough, I found the collage I made. But I still haven't located the other photos that I'd cropped. I'll keep looking.
Thank you for the helpful suggestion of what had happened to my photos.
Janet
...
Posted by Dinu (from Mysore
(India)) on October 19, 2008 at 1:50 PM:
My best wishes to you on your new venture with Picasa as well as the old one with Family Photos.
Dinu
...
Posted by UniQueTreasures (from Beaumont, TX) on October 20, 2008 at 8:37 PM:
Thank you Dinu.
I was working on some new photos today and noticed that there is now a touch up feature that wasn't there before. I've got a few photos that spent too much time in someone's wallet when they were overseas. I'm hoping to be able to restore these with this new feature.
Thanks again for pointing me in the direction of the newest version.
Janet
...
Posted by Dinu (from Mysore
(India)) on October 21, 2008 at 10:23 AM:
You are very welcome, Janet. The new features like restoration will help us do basic corrections with simpler methods. I don't know how to use PhotoShop. I tried, but got confused and left off. I sometimes use Neat Image for sharpening and reducing noise levels. It's also free and quite easy.
My good wishes to you.
Dinu
...
Subject: The kind of article that I like!
Posted by mwperry (from Brandon, MS) on August 30, 2008 at 2:44 PM:
Great article. Great subject. I already use Picasa, but you fine-tuned some features that I have never used. It was helpful. Thank you.
...
Posted by UniQueTreasures (from Beaumont, TX) on September 3, 2008 at 8:35 AM:
I'm glad you enjoyed the article and that it was helpful to you. Thanks for writing.
Janet
...
Subject: Peonies
Posted by mmduba (from Grand Rapids, MI) on August 28, 2008 at 11:46 PM:
Planning a late spring/early summer wedding for '09 ... bride really would love peonies in her bouquet ... what are the chances if we plant them this fall they will be ready for next year? Any hope?
Thanks,
Mechele
...
Posted by UniQueTreasures (from Beaumont, TX) on August 29, 2008 at 12:08 AM:
Oh My! Personally, I don't know a thing about peonies. Your best bet would be to go to one of the forums specifically for that type of flower. Here is a list of the forums. [HYPERLINK@davesgarden.com]
* Forums marked with an asterisk are only available to subscribing members.
I'm sorry I can't help you with your question. Pre-Congratulations to the Bride and Groom!
Janet
edited to add: I did find the Forum for Peonies [HYPERLINK@davesgarden.com] but you need to be a subscriber to be able to read that forum.
Perhaps the Beginner Flower Forum [HYPERLINK@davesgarden.com] would be the place to post your question. That forum is available without subscription. There are many experienced gardeners that frequent that forum.
If you enjoy gardening, a subscription to Dave's Garden will pay for itself in no time. The gardeners here are always generous with their advice.
Good Luck!
This message was edited Aug 28, 2008 11:13 PM
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Subject: WOW thanks
Posted by megano24 (from Ellenboro, NC) on August 28, 2008 at 10:54 PM:
THis looks like a lot of fun thanks for finding it!! MeganO
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Posted by UniQueTreasures (from Beaumont, TX) on August 28, 2008 at 11:16 PM:
I've really enjoyed using it. I hope you do too.
Thanks for taking the time to write. I appreciate that.
Janet
...
Posted by megano24 (from Ellenboro, NC) on August 29, 2008 at 11:09 PM:
I was up until 3 am playing with my pictures!! and then when my son got up this morning I caught him playing with it, I can see me doing all sorts of stuff with this...
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Subject: My 2006 Picasa tutorial
Posted by Calif_Sue (from San Jose, CA) on August 25, 2008 at 2:04 PM:
Great articles Janet! I am glad you did this clear tutorial introducing more folks to Picasa. I have been using it and the web albums function for a couple of years now. I did a brief tutorial thread back in 2006 on the Daylily Forum, it was a fun thread and I got into a bit on the collage portion of it too.
[HYPERLINK@davesgarden.com]
...
Posted by UniQueTreasures (from Beaumont, TX) on August 25, 2008 at 2:27 PM:
Oh Sue! I had no idea that a tutorial for that program was already here on Dave's. Thank you so much for adding this link. You have many things in there that I haven't tried out yet. I'm off to look at your tutorial and learn more about this cool program. I haven't tried out the web albums yet. I'm looking forward to learning about that.
Janet
...
Posted by Calif_Sue (from San Jose, CA) on August 25, 2008 at 2:37 PM:
Well, it was a very basic tutorial/learning curve for me! I have the collage down pretty good now, some shots are better than others and there are basic numbers for pleasing looking collages without getting duplicate images, 4, 6, 9 etc. I find any more than 9 and it's just too busy looking for my eyes, I prefer larger images.
Here is my old collage thread
[HYPERLINK@davesgarden.com]
...
Posted by Calif_Sue (from San Jose, CA) on August 25, 2008 at 3:07 PM:
Oh and you have to try that web album, same thing, click Hold on the images you want in an album, I only select the best ones, and then export/upload. Super easy to organize, add captions and send album links to friends. I love looking at them as a Slideshow. And the learning curve is much easier than the picture program. A cave man can do it! ;-)
Here's one album:
[HYPERLINK@picasaweb.google.com]
...
Subject: Very informative
Posted by Lovebnretired (from Knoxville, TN) on August 25, 2008 at 7:53 AM:
I appreciate how your How To Tutor is easy reading and non-tech person, such as I, can understand it and follow them.
...
Posted by UniQueTreasures (from Beaumont, TX) on August 25, 2008 at 9:23 AM:
Thank you. I'm glad you were able to benefit from the article. While I was writing it, I tried to imagine my Mom sitting next to me.
...
Subject: Picasa
Posted by casamelosa (from Chiclana
(Spain)) on August 25, 2008 at 7:50 AM:
Hi
I totally agree about all the wonderful things this programme can do but there are two very irritating things for me. One is it seems to make multiple copies of photos, on a whim as far as I can tell. The other is that once you have changed/deleted one, you can't get it back. I'm talking about the fact that Picasa takes over any other photo folders you may have. We like to store all our pictures in a file on the PC, just as we took them, they are the 'master' copy if you like.. Picasa doesn't only change the ones imported into Picasa, it changes all copies wherever they are on the computer. If I could find a way to stop it doing this I would be pleased to learn it. Probably I need to be more methodical about renaming files etc., but with my memory!!! A 'Save as' button would be very useful but I have not found one on Picasa yet...
...
Posted by UniQueTreasures (from Beaumont, TX) on August 25, 2008 at 9:22 AM:
Something that I do, that might help you, is when I want to CROP a photo, I select the photo and then go to the FILE tab at the top of the screen and select SAVE A COPY - BEFORE I BEGIN TO CROP. This will put a copy of the file with the (-1) after the name. You can then have your original AND the new cropped photo. I haven't noticed it making multiple copies of the photos.
...
Posted by Calif_Sue (from San Jose, CA) on August 25, 2008 at 1:49 PM:
Now I do things totally different. I make the changes to an image, then click the Hold button in the bottom bar and when I am done with all the changes, I click Export and those changes are now exported into a Picasa Exports file, either in their original size or for my use, a smaller size. The original images are untouched in the My Pictures folder.
...
Posted by UniQueTreasures (from Beaumont, TX) on August 25, 2008 at 2:22 PM:
Interesting Sue. I'll have to try that. I'm learning so much from this program and the comments that those that have used it have made. Thanks!
Janet
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Subject: picasa
Posted by Samigal (from (Pegi) Norwalk, CA) on August 22, 2008 at 3:15 PM:
I haven't downloaded this yet but it sounds great. My Kodak easy share software seems to have all these features, but sure is nice to know there is another out there to help me. Thanks for all your great articles.
...
Posted by UniQueTreasures (from Beaumont, TX) on August 22, 2008 at 6:07 PM:
You're quite welcome Samigal. Most cameras come with some kind of software. Some programs are much easier to use than others.
Janet
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Posted by Sharran (from Calvert City, KY) on August 22, 2008 at 9:06 PM:
well, Janet...you sure took over my day. I have been playing with Picasa since early morning. I have easy share also, but somehow I have found that it is more fun to play with Picasa, maybe it is the collages and the extra arty things I have found.
Thanks for the article, I have had a ton of fun!!!
Decided to do a abstract painting with it.....
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Posted by Samigal (from (Pegi) Norwalk, CA) on August 22, 2008 at 9:11 PM:
That abstract is cool, I guess I should play with picasa too. If Sharran is having so much fun I want in on it. I really can mess up where I put my pictures so this software might be better for me. Thanks again.
...
Posted by Sharran (from Calvert City, KY) on August 22, 2008 at 9:48 PM:
I promise, you will love it. Can't believe I have had it on this computer all this time and had not played with it till today.
Sami, d mail me with your experiments!
See what you have done, Janet!!
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Posted by UniQueTreasures (from Beaumont, TX) on August 22, 2008 at 10:25 PM:
WOW! That is really cool. I hadn't seen that feature Sharran. Now I can see what I'll be doing tomorrow! HAHAHAHA
Please continue to share your awesome art! We can all learn from this.
Janet
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Posted by Sharran (from Calvert City, KY) on August 22, 2008 at 11:08 PM:
Surprised me too, Janet....I am still playing.
It is the artistic component that catches me, and keeps me playing. I have found that this feature works better using similar subjects...like the daylilies, one subject but several different photos of similar coloration.
I have been playing with roses this time, then will try iris, then think I will do something with trees. Already had to change batteries in my camera.
can't believe this program has been on my computer for months, maybe a year, and I am just now discovering it....thanks to you.
I will be up all night!
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Posted by UniQueTreasures (from Beaumont, TX) on August 23, 2008 at 7:58 PM:
Sharran,
How in the world did you do the abstract painting? The only creative things I see to do is make collages and posters. What am I missing here?
Janet
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Posted by Sharran (from Calvert City, KY) on August 23, 2008 at 8:29 PM:
collect your pictures, like 3 or 4 photos of the same thing.
Hold them in the tray..
Click collages
Then on the dropdown, choose "mixed"....ouch, can't remember the phrase, but it says, I think, grid, or scattered photos, anyway it is the other one. Just give it time, and it will overlay those in your tray, one on top of the other.
Give me a minute and will go check what that direct is on the Picasa screen.
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Posted by UniQueTreasures (from Beaumont, TX) on August 23, 2008 at 9:22 PM:
Oh Man oh Man! Check this out!
This is with the Multi-Exposure option under the Picture Collage tab.
This was 3 photos of a red headed woodpecker.
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Posted by UniQueTreasures (from Beaumont, TX) on August 23, 2008 at 9:26 PM:
And now a caterpillar, the chrysalis and the Monarch that emerged
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Posted by UniQueTreasures (from Beaumont, TX) on August 23, 2008 at 9:27 PM:
What HAVE you done SHARRAN? HAHAHAHA I'll never get anything done now!
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Posted by Sharran (from Calvert City, KY) on August 23, 2008 at 9:27 PM:
see what I mean...now you will be up playing all night just like I was....
Not sure I like this one, will have to tweak it a bit.....too much rose and not enough baby
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Posted by Sharran (from Calvert City, KY) on August 23, 2008 at 9:31 PM:
I love it, and honestly would not have played so much with it if you hadn't written those articles.
I can't seem to stop tweaking everything. I love how it crops, too...manually.
But it sure is addictive.
Love your butterfly/caterpillar one.
Makes me want to paint all of them. Or print them out on that w/c paper card stock...wouldn't that be pretty!
Think what you could do for holiday cards.....cardinals , poinsettias....
Whew.
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Posted by UniQueTreasures (from Beaumont, TX) on August 23, 2008 at 10:33 PM:
Good idea on the holiday cards!
I'm glad that my articles prompted you to use the program Sharran. I've heard so many good things about this program ever since I got to Dave's. Now I see why so many people enjoy using it.
Something I noticed about the picture pile collages though is that I usually have too many photos that I want to include in the collage to really appreciate that particular type of collage. But in some instances, that one really looks good.
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Posted by Sharran (from Calvert City, KY) on August 23, 2008 at 11:40 PM:
Yes, that one is really lovely.
With the flowers I like to use several, but with people, or a specific subject, it is better to plan it carefully and use fewer pictures.
fun!!
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Posted by Samigal (from (Pegi) Norwalk, CA) on August 23, 2008 at 11:52 PM:
I should have read this before I answered Sharron's D-mail. Now I guess I will have to go back to playing around. Still trying to figure out how to get my pictures in their right folders.
Pegi
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Posted by Sharran (from Calvert City, KY) on August 24, 2008 at 12:34 AM:
I just sent you a more specific D mail, Pegi....
You can do it, just play with it.
I just choose from my pictures, since that's where most of them are.
Have fun. It really is addictive.
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Posted by Sharran (from Calvert City, KY) on August 24, 2008 at 12:36 AM:
OK, promise, this is the last one for tonight...
Maybe tomorrow I will do a masterpiece of my grandson.....
This is a rose with a spiderwort overlay.
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Posted by MartyJo (from Fayette, IA) on August 27, 2008 at 10:53 PM:
Janet and Sharran - thanks so much for introducing me to the multi-exposure collage feature in Picasa. I had tried the tiled collage and the pile of pictures and not been too impressed, but this is FUN. Like my ghostly herons?
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Posted by Sharran (from Calvert City, KY) on August 27, 2008 at 10:57 PM:
Oh my goodness, Marty!!! How beautiful.
Ghostly indeed.
Thanks to Janet, it is really fun for all of us.
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Posted by Samigal (from (Pegi) Norwalk, CA) on August 28, 2008 at 12:24 AM:
Now, how do I post pictures from picasa in Dave's? When I click on Browse it goes to my old software. I'm always having such a hard time posting pictures anywhere. Still haven't figured how to send pictures with my e-mail. I feel so dumb at times that I can't catch on to this. Love to play with my pictures now.
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Posted by Sharran (from Calvert City, KY) on August 28, 2008 at 12:42 AM:
Sami..
When you get your picture like you want it, go to the bottom where the button says Export, I think. hit it and the box will ask you where you want to put it. I put it in My Pictures.
OK, so then once that is done, when you are on DG, hit browse...go to my pictures. There you will find a folder, probably at the top, that will say Picasa Exports. Click on it, and whatever you exported from picasa will be there.
Hope that helps.....took me awhile to work out the kinks, too.
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Posted by Samigal (from (Pegi) Norwalk, CA) on August 28, 2008 at 3:51 PM:
Thanks, Sharron, going into Picasa and play now. I think the collage one is so neat. I need more pictures of flowers to do a lot. I never did take too many pictures until I joined Dave's Garden. I'll have to carry it with me all the time.
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Subject: Great articles
Posted by Nedhudson1 (from Thorne Bay, AK) on August 22, 2008 at 11:23 AM:
I read the first article and downloaded Picasa the next day.Now after reading this one,I'm going to spend another rainy day playing with those tabs.
Thank you,Janet.
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Posted by UniQueTreasures (from Beaumont, TX) on August 22, 2008 at 2:51 PM:
You're welcome Ned. I hope you get as much good out of it as I have. It's a wonderful and easy to use editor.
I'll warn you now though. When you see how well it works, none of your photos will be safe from Picasa's "fixings". HAHAHAHA
Janet
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Posted by Nedhudson1 (from Thorne Bay, AK) on August 22, 2008 at 3:11 PM:
By some stretch of luck,most of my photos are pretty good without touching up.I played with some that the sun was wrong or were too dark.I can rotate the photos in "My Pictures"by using one of the choices below the pic after double clicking on the thumbnail.
Another thing-I never use the screen-ALWAYS use the viewfinder.
This message was edited Aug 22, 2008 11:12 AM
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Posted by nanny_56 (from Putnam County, IN) on August 22, 2008 at 4:17 PM:
I just had a aha! moment and think I figured out what we were doing wrong. now!! Thanks just might give it another try now.
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Posted by UniQueTreasures (from Beaumont, TX) on August 22, 2008 at 6:06 PM:
Well Gosh Ned. I'd think being in Alaska, with your beautiful scenery, you WOULD have beautiful photos without tweaking them. You're lucky to live there. Some folks just have the knack for taking great photos. And then there are others, like me....
I've done the rotating with the Windows Viewfinder also. I've never tried to rotate them on the camera itself. I try to do everything I can to conserve my batteries because I do use the LCD Screen on my camera. My eyes aren't what they used to be and the main reason I bought that Sony was because of the size of it's screen. Those little screen was one of the things that made me hesitate to buy a digital camera for so long. Now that I have digital, I have so many more and better photos than I used to have when I had to get film developed.
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Subject: Hehe
Posted by crimsontsavo (from Crossville, TN) on August 22, 2008 at 10:08 AM:
I downloaded this before you published your article. Thanks for reminding me about a good program!
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Posted by UniQueTreasures (from Beaumont, TX) on August 22, 2008 at 2:50 PM:
You are quite welcome. I hope you enjoy using it as much as I have.
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Posted by crimsontsavo (from Crossville, TN) on August 22, 2008 at 2:51 PM:
I really have, I even straitened my first photo cause of you, lol.
