Photo Software

Trick for Newbies Writing Tech Manuals: Screen Shots

July 20, 2011 By admin

A 102-key PC US English qwerty keyboard layout...

Everyone knows that writing manualsis tedious, and even confusing when there aren’t any diagrams or photos. A visual aid along with the directions makes it easier to understand.

One good way to copy diagrams can be to photograph the computer screen and download it. Cameras these days are great for taking tech shots because they’re so amazingly clear.

Get close to the screen or adjust the camera to make the computer screen fill the entire picture frame. Click!

Then, it’s as easy as putting a photo on the laptop. However, there is another way to get that screen picture that’s even easier. It’s called getting a screen shot, and the computer already knows how to do it.

Using Those Funny Keys at the Top of the Keyboard

On the keyboard’s top row there are function keys; a user may or may not know what these are for. They usually have two symbols, or two function labels on each key. One of them on the top-right says “Print Scr” or “prt sc” on it and the way to operate it is to hold down the Control button (crtl) or the function button (fn) and press the prt scr button at the same time.

It doesn’t show it, but a copy of the computer screen was just made. Now, open Paint, click on the white space, then right click on it and choose Paste. A picture of the previous screen should appear. Save it as a .jpg or .jpeg.

So, tech-writing newbies, now there’s a way to get informational pictures of the computer screen on the document, web site or email being made.

Filed Under: Photo Software, Technology, Web Design Tagged With: JPEG, Print screen, Screenshot

Newbie Cheat: Use the Same Form With Different Labels

July 10, 2011 By admin

Form codes for websites are something found free on the Internet and lots of them are good. Even a beginning coder can look at the language and see how to modify a form. There’s no need to hire someone to make it.

Forms can be used for so many different things by simply changing the labels on the dialogue boxes. No need to be a genius; for instance, the code for an email contact response (like the Contact Us page) can have dialogue boxes labeled like these:

Customer’s email address
Customer’s zip code
Customer’s message or reason for contact
Customer’s phone number
Customer’s web address
Security question

When the customer fills in the boxes and hits the Submit button, all that form informationgets emailed to the site owner. That same form can be used for other purposes by changing the labels for the dialogue boxes.

It’s as Easy as Copy and Paste

If another dialogue box is needed, just copy the whole code for one of the boxes already there, move down and paste it in, being sure to paste it under the other dialogue boxes. Replace current labels with new labels and it’s done.

Here’s an example of which labels to change on a Contact Us response form so it can be used as an order form:

Customer’s name
Customer’s email address
Item number of intended purchase
Quantity of items
Total before shipping
Shipping address
Shipping method preferred
Security question

Modify the labels however desired and use the form over and over again without having to hire a programmer.

Filed Under: Internet, Photo Software, Technology Tagged With: Dialog box, Label, Uniform Resource Locator

Online Photo Sharing

June 27, 2011 By admin

One of the best benefits the Internet has introduced is the ability to stay in touch with family members and friends who live far away. Now you can share your photos with them immediately, so they can see your adventures or watch your kids grow up with you. There are several sites that allow you to share your photos; here are some of the best options out there.

Photobucket

Photobucket is the ideal site for users who constantly have their camera on hand; the site has tons of storage space for you to store all your photos and videos for free. You can share all your memories via email, IM and mobile phone, and the site is also connected to social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook.

Photoshop Express

An online extension of the photo editing software Photoshop, Photoshop Express allows you to crop, tweak and rotate photos online. With you’re free account, you’ll be able to store up to 2GB of digital images for free. The site also offers a 3D gallery option to allow you to show off your photos in an enhanced format.

Fotolog

Fotolog takes a different approach than most photo sharing sites. With a Fotolog account, you’re permitted to upload one photo per day as a daily photo log. You can get involved with other members of the Fotolog community as well.

Shutterfly

Shutterfly allows you to be creative with your photo memories. Upload photos onto the site, and you can create a unique photo book, greeting card or other photo gifts. Shutterfly also permits free online storage and photo sharing.

Filed Under: Photo Software Tagged With: Facebook, MySpace, PhotoSharing

How to Take Good Digital Pictures

March 28, 2011 By admin

Have you been looking at your pictures lately and wondering why they just don’t look right? Often photographers will blame the camera for bad pictures, but it important to keep in mind that it is the person behind the camera that takes a good picture, not the camera.

To get started taking good pictures you need to first get to know your camera. Find out everything you can about it including the different settings, how to control the exposure, and learn about the flash. The flash, or control of the flash is one of the most important things you can learn about when you are learning to take good pictures. The more you control the flash instead of depending on the automatic setting, the better your pictures will come out.

Make sure you have a steady hand. A steady hand and a level camera will make a huge difference in your pictures. Use the horizontal lines on the display window as your guide. If your hand is not steady, you can use a tripod. This will help you to take pictures when the light is low or when you are trying to take a picture of something that is moving quickly.

The ISO speed will also make a big difference in your pictures. If you are taking a still picture, use a low setting. If you are trying to capture moving targets, use a higher setting.

If you use theses tips the next time you take digital pictures you will see a difference. Remember, it is the person behind the camera that takes good pictures, and not necessarily the camera.

Filed Under: Photo Software Tagged With: Camera, Film speed, Flash (photography)

How to Create a Digital Copy of Your Paper Photos

March 5, 2011 By admin

Most of us have made the switch to digital photography. Even though this is a great way to keep our pictures organized, and makes them easy to share, it doesn’t mean we need to forget about all of our old paper pictures. If you have a digital slide show and would like to add some of your older photographs, you can easily do this in just a few steps.

One way you can convert your paper photos into digital form is to scan them. You can do this at home if you have a scanner, or you can send them to a professional service. If you want to pay for a service, the quality may come out better. If you have a scanner at home, and you want to do it yourself you just need to keep a few things in mind.

First is the resolution. A scanner can usually be set to scan at a certain resolution. The higher the resolution, the bigger the picture. For most paper photos you will get a good picture with a setting between 300 and 600.

You will also need to take into consideration the speed of your scanner. If you only have a few pictures you are scanning this may not be important, but if you have a lot, you want to stay on the lower end of the resolution so the process will go faster.

If you have negatives or slides at home that you want to scan you might be better off to use a service since the process is more difficult. You would also need to buy a special scanner that can be used for this.

Filed Under: Photo Software Tagged With: Image, Image resolution, Image scanner

The Best Editing Software for Digital Photos

February 5, 2011 By admin

Whether you are a professional photographer or taking pictures is just a hobby, you want to be able to edit your pictures with ease. There are several companies that offer software for editing your digital pictures, but before you pay the prices for a product, take a look at what people are saying.

The best product according to several different sources is Adobe Photoshop Elements. This program organized and easy enough to use for most general home users. It has a level that is designed specifically for beginners, along with a tool so you can create special effects. The only problem with this software is that it is expensive for those who only need something simple and fun.

Next on the list is Corel Paintshop Photo Pro. This software has a lot of tools for adjusting and enhancing your pictures. It also has a one step photo fixer. If you are just looking for something to fix your pictures and not necessarily play with them, then this is a good choice. It has a lower price tag as well for those who don’t want to shell out the higher price tag for the more advances software packages.

Google Picasa. This is one of the best online photo editing and storage sites. It is perfect for those who are new to editing their pictures with a very intuitive and easy to use format. It has a great search feature where you can search for pictures by their tags, their caption, or the date. It has a one button photo fixing feature that will fix your pictures for you and a good red eye reduction tool. It also has some fun special effects features that are right up there with other highly rated photo editing products.

Filed Under: Photo Software Tagged With: Adobe Photoshop Elements, Graphics, Image editing

Share Your Pictures With the World at Large

January 21, 2011 By admin

There are a lot of photo sharing sites out on the Internet today. Some of them are free to post absolutely anything you like (although they often have a few rules about things like pornography, with good reason), and others are sites where you can try to get your photos accepted. If you do well on these sites, people will buy your pictures and you can make some good money. You have to be a very good photographer to make a living this way, though. Still, if you like taking pictures there’s absolutely no reason why you shouldn’t share them. Even if you don’t get rich, you can still have a lot of fun.

Posting to sites where people can comment on your photos is nice, because you’ll occasionally get someone who really loves a picture you’ve taken. It can make you feel very good to get a comment like that. It’s not the same as getting paid for your work, but some people would see the comment as being even more valuable. As long as you’re not trying to sell your pictures, you can put them on more than one site, too. That’s good news, because it gives them more exposure. Some sites that accept your pictures for sale will also let you put them on more than one site, but others are exclusive.

Be sure to read the rules if you get pictures accepted to sites like that. You don’t want to get into trouble and have your pictures taken down, especially when you’re just getting started. For the free sites, you don’t need to worry about anything like that. You can post your pictures on as many free sites as you like, and you can also put them on your own blog or website. If you want to share them, the more people who see them, the better.

Filed Under: Photo Software

Share Your Photos and Videos With Friends and Family Members

January 20, 2011 By admin

Content

If you take a lot of pictures, or you take video of the trips you go on, you may want to share them with family, friends, or the entire world. You can do that through a blog, a website, or various photo and video sharing sites. There are plenty of them out there, so you’ll have some options when it comes to which one you want to pick. You may also want to consider whether you want to make those things private, or whether you want to allow the entire world to see them. That could drastically affect how you post them online and how you share them with other people – along with what site you use.

If you want the world to see them, make sure that you’re protecting personal privacy at the same time. That’s especially true if there are other people in the picture who might not want their faces and activities plastered all over the Internet. If you aren’t sure about someone who’s in the picture, ask that person before posting it. Then you’ll know you won’t be upsetting anyone by putting them out there online when they didn’t really want to be there. It’s very important to do that with children, especially, because they can become victims all too easily if too much information about them is placed out there online.

As for what you can share, though, there are plenty of options. Photos, videos, music, files, and all kinds of text documents can be shared online, through specific networks, and between designated computers. How you share will be up to you, but if you have something that others can enjoy you may want to offer it to the world, instead of keeping it all to yourself. That way you can bring more joy to a lot of people.

Filed Under: Photo Software

How to Display Digital Photos

January 17, 2011 By admin

So we have gone digital when it comes to photography. The quality is better, you can see your shots and make sure you like them, and edit your pictures with just a few clicks of the mouse. But since everything is either on your computer, or on your camera, what about hanging pictures on your walls in your home, or having a photo album to display on your coffee table.

This is where the digital picture frame comes in. These have really come a long way in the past couple of years. When they first came out the picture quality was not great, and getting your pictures from your computer onto the frame was a process. There are now varying levels of quality depending on how much you want to spend, and it is very easy to upload your pictures onto the frames. They also come in all shapes and sizes now as well.

You can spend hundreds of dollars on a digital frame, but it is not necessary. If you want all the bells and whistles that the higher end frames come with you can go ahead and spend the money. These higher end frames can have Wi-Fi, they have web browsers, and even stream radio from the internet.

When you are looking for a new digial frame make sure you find one with a high resolution. You should look to make sure that the resolution is at least 640 by 480 at the least. The higher you go the better the pictures will look. Considering this will be viewed by anyone that comes into your home, you don’t want them squinting at your pictures while they try to make them out.

You don’t necessarily have to buy a brand name frame to get a good picture. Before purchasing one, read reviews from other users to see what their experience was. A brand name with the high price tag to go with it will not always get you the best picture.

Filed Under: Photo Software Tagged With: Digital photo frame