Google Picasa 3: The Basics

Transcription

1 Google Picasa 3: The Basics Windows Google Picasa 3: The Basics v Pages

2 About IT Training & Education The University Information Technology Services (UITS) IT Training & Education program at Indiana University offers instructor-led computing workshops and self-study training resources to the Indiana University community and beyond. We deliver training to more than 30,000 participants annually across all Indiana University campuses. Our staff is comprised of enthusiastic professionals who enjoy developing and teaching computing workshops. We appreciate your feedback and use it to improve our workshops and expand our offerings. We have received several international awards for our materials and they are being used at universities across the country. Please keep your questions, comments and suggestions coming! In Bloomington, contact us at or call us at (812) In Indianapolis, contact us at or call us at (317) For the most up-to-date information about workshops and schedules, visit us at: Copyright The Trustees of Indiana University These materials are for personal use only and may not be copied or distributed. If you would like to use our materials for self-study or to teach others, please contact us at: IT Training & Education, 2711 East 10th Street, Bloomington, IN , phone: (812) All rights reserved. The names of software products referred to in these materials are claimed as trademarks of their respective companies or trademark holders.

3 Welcome and Introduction What You Should Already Know What You Will Learn What You Will Need to Use These Materials Getting Started Today s Project Viewing the Results Accessing the Exercise Files Launching Windows Explorer Typing a Pathname in the Address Field Copying the Exercise Files to the Hard Drive Managing Pictures with Google Picasa Choosing Picasa Options Using Folder Manager to Add and Remove Folders... 9 Viewing the Flat Folder Structure Viewing the Folder Tree Structure Customizing Picasa Albums Creating a Custom Album Assigning a Picture to an Album Moving a Picture in Picasa Putting More Pictures into Albums Changing Picture Names in Picasa Changing a View in the Picasa Lightbox Contents Rotating a Picture in the Lightbox Viewing and Editing Pictures in Picasa Straightening a Picture in Picasa Adjusting the Fill Light in Picasa Using Auto Color in Picasa Using Auto Contrast in Picasa Basic Fixes Saving a Picture in Picasa Fine-Tuning a Picture in Picasa Increasing the Contrast Using the Shadows Tool.. 33 Viewing a Picture at Actual Size Using the Neutral Color Picker for Color Tones Printing in Picasa Correcting More Photo Defects Correcting Red Eye in Picasa Using the Tuning Tools in Picasa Cropping an Image in Picasa ing an Image in Picasa ing an Image from Picasa: Demonstration Saving an Image for or Web Wrapping Up Contributions to These Materials Appendix: Getting Your Pictures from the Camera to the Computer

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5 Welcome and Introduction Welcome to Google Picasa 3: The Basics. What You Should Already Know You should have already attended Windows: The Basics or have the equivalent skills. Specifically, you should be able to: use a mouse fluently, including press and drag functions create folders and manage files in Windows interface What You Will Learn This workshop introduces techniques for editing and managing digital photos using Google Picasa, and provides hands-on practice with how to: organize a group of images straighten an image crop an image correct red eye correct poor exposure, lighting, and focus check for resolution and dimensions save images for print, , or the web What You Will Need to Use These Materials To complete this workshop successfully, you will be provided with: the use of Google Picasa 3 the exercise files in the Digital Photos folder: _DSC00481.jpg, _DSC05160.jpg,_DSC00482.jpg, including subfolders: Belgium, British Isles, France, Italy, Spain, and Switzerland. Google Picasa 3: The Basics v

6 Getting Started These materials presume you will begin work from the desktop, and have any required exercise files located in an epclass folder there. Getting the Exercise Files Finding Help Most of our workshops use exercise files, listed at the bottom of page 1 of the materials. In our computer-equipped classrooms, these files are located in the epclass folder, which should already be on the computer desktop. If you are using our materials in a different location, you may obtain the exercise files and detailed installation instructions from our Web site at: Once you are logged on and have the needed files in an epclass folder on your desktop, you are ready to proceed with the rest of the workshop. If you have computer-related questions not answered in these materials, you may look for the answers in the UITS Knowledge Base, located at: Want to Learn More? IT Training & Education offers many training options for extending your skills beyond this workshop: Self-study training: You may access computer-based training from leading commercial vendors, obtain the materials for other STEPS workshops, or access IT Training s own tutorials on a range of topics at: IT Training Tips weblog: Our blog has short tutorials and training posts on a broad range of topics and technologies. It s written by training and support providers from across the entire IU system; you may read and comment on these at: 2 Google Picasa 3: The Basics v1.0.0

7 Today s Project With recent advances in digital photography, a growing number of hobbyist photographers are now using digital cameras. Since most people take simple pictures to share photos of family, friends, and vacation spots, the appeals of digital photography are many. We appreciate the ability to instantly see all newly taken photographs while they are still in the camera, because this enables us to keep just the ones we want. We can rapidly send vacation pictures home to friends and relatives, or print them to our own compact photo printers without taking them to a lab. We can also use computer software to organize, enhance, and correct our photos. For this workshop, we will assume the persona of a traveler who has just returned home from a wide-ranging trip to Europe. While touring, we snapped a variety of pictures with a digital camera. Now, we have a collection of images of interesting places and people we met along the way. They have been transferred to the computer and placed into folders. We will need to print and several of them. Before we do so, we will make them look their best. As we correct problems in our pictures, we will learn how to prepare them to share with others in several formats: print, , web, and slide show. For these tasks, we will be working with Google Picasa. Google Picasa is a free application that makes it easy to organize and improve pictures while working in a simple environment. We have chosen Picasa because it works well without damaging our photos, it is simple to use and is free. However, there are many more photo management applications available. Once a person has learned how to apply common techniques in one of the applications, these skills can be adapted to other photo-editing software. Viewing the Results Although it s very common to take pictures that are crooked or badly exposed, it is often surprising how a mediocre picture may be fine-tuned to perfection. Accordingly, before we get started, we will look at before and after views of the pictures to be improved in the workshop. Let s open them now. 1. Launch a browser on your computer. The browser opens. Now we need to open the photo comparison file. Google Picasa 3: The Basics v

8 2. Open the following location in the browser: The file opens. There are small images on the right and corresponding enlarged images in a larger pane: We are looking at the first image we will correct. The original on the left is dark and crooked, and the right-hand one contains the corrections we will make. 3. To view the corrected image, above the main picture, Next Picture link We see the original and what the picture will look like when we correct it. 4. To view more originals and their corrected images, repeat step 3 as many times as needed. We can now see how it is possible to turn some apparently ruined original photos into attractive images. We also notice that some quite presentable originals may be dramatically improved by editing. After we have completed the process, we will make a slide show of our pictures. Now that we see all that we can accomplish, let s get started. 5. Close the browser window. 4 Google Picasa 3: The Basics v1.0.0

9 Accessing the Exercise Files The exercise files we will use today are located in a folder named Digital Photos, which is on a network server. Before we begin, we will use Windows Explorer to access the location of these files and place them on our local computer. Launching Windows Explorer Let s open Windows Explorer with a keyboard shortcut. 1. To open Windows Explorer, press: ñe Windows Explorer opens the My Computer window: Between the toolbar and the Folder List is an Address field, which contains the text, My Computer. We can use this Address field as a a quick method to find the files we need. Typing a Pathname in the Address Field In Windows, we can gain access to files or folders on any networked computer to which we have privileges by entering the pathname of the files into the Address field. A pathname is the unique address of a given file or folder. It generally includes the computer s name, the folder s directory name, and the file's name. Let s type the pathname of our exercise files now. 1. To position the cursor in the Address field, in the Address field 2. To enter the pathname of the exercise files, in the Address field of the My Computer window, type: \\iu-uits-storage\groups\iuep\class NOTE: Only the workshop demonstration accounts have privileges to access this folder. If you are logged in as another type of user, this method will not work. Instead, skip this section, Accessing the Exercise Files, and follow the directions for getting the class exercises on page 2 of these materials. Google Picasa 3: The Basics v

10 The Class window is displayed. The Digital Photos folder is in the folder area. Now that we see the Digital Photos folder, we need to move it into the correct folder on our local hard drive. Copying the Exercise Files to the Hard Drive We ll copy the Digital Photos folder from the open window to the epclass folder on the desktop. Once the files are on our hard drive, we can work with them. To copy the folder from the window into the epclass folder on the desktop, we need to see them both. 1. To view both the Digital Photos folder in the Class window and the epclass folder on the desktop, the Class window s Title bar until the epclass folder is visible on the desktop 2. To copy the Digital Photos folder to the epclass folder, in the window, Digital Photos folder on top of NOTE: When the folder turns dark, and the cursor displays a plus sign, the mouse may be released. The Digital Photos folder is now in the epclass folder. We are ready to start working with the files. Managing Pictures with Google Picasa We will work with our European travel photos in Google s free product, Picasa. Picasa provides us with a powerful photo organizer and it includes many tools to improve and enhance digital photos. Picasa is a product made specifically for the Windows environment, and is also available for Linux. To learn more, visit: Before we open any photos to edit, we need to view them as a group. We will open Google Picasa and begin to configure it to display our photos. 6 Google Picasa 3: The Basics v1.0.0

11 Choosing Picasa Options If this is the first time Picasa has been launched, there may be a series of setup options. 1. Launch Picasa from the Start menu. Depending on whether this is the very first time Picasa has been launched, you may see the following window. The first time Picasa opens, it will offer you the choice of scanning all photos or just the photos in several folders: With this screen, Picasa gives us limited choices on what photos to view. For today s project, we don t want to see all photos on the computer. Instead, we would like to concentrate on just the images in our project. Accordingly, after we leave this set of options, we will be setting Picasa to display only the European vacation pictures. NOTE: If Picasa has already been opened once, this option may not appear. 2. If necessary, to set Picasa to scan only My Documents, My Pictures, and the Desktop, if necessary, Only scan My Documents, My Pictures, and the Desktop, NOTE: If Picasa has already been opened once, this step will not be available. If this step was activated, images begin loading in, the Picasa Library appears, and some small images appear. Google Picasa 3: The Basics v

12 Next, also depending on whether this is the first time Picasa has been launched, we may see a dialog box that asks if we want to help improve the product by sending anonymous usage statistics to Google: NOTE: If Picasa has already been opened once, this option may not appear. We will choose not to send statistics to Google. 3. If necessary, to decline the option, Next, a new window may open, asking if we want to use Picasa as a photo viewer: NOTE: If Picasa has already been opened once, this option may not appear. On our home computer, it might be nice to take advantage of this handy photo viewer that allows us to easily view photos in large format from Windows Explorer. However, we will not use the Picasa photo viewer today. 8 Google Picasa 3: The Basics v1.0.0

13 4. If necessary, to decline the Picasa Photo Viewer, Don t use Picasa Photo Viewer, We are now ready to get started with Picasa. Using Folder Manager to Add and Remove Folders To keep the organizational structure of your photos simple, it is best to keep photos in a main photo folder, and then organize the main folder into subfolders. By using the Picasa Folder Manager, we can choose which locations on our computer Picasa will monitor for photo files. Picasa allows us to add or remove folders to be viewed. Let s instruct Picasa to access only the photographs from our European vacation. 1. To add a folder and subfolders to Picasa, from the Menu Bar, Tools, Folder Manager... We see the Folder Manager window: Google Picasa 3: The Basics v

14 The left side of this dialog box contains the Folder List, which offers us a list of folders. On the right are three radio buttons that will set Picasa to scan or remove whichever folders we select on the left. There are three states we can set for each folder location: Choice Scan Once Remove from Picasa Scan Always Action Scans all compatible image types once; will not detect new photos added to this folder. Will never scan the selected location. Actively scans this folder for changes; accesses all compatible image types and also all newly added photos. The files we want to work with are in the epclass folder on the desktop. First, to streamline things, we want to eliminate every picture on our computer from Picasa. Then after all have been eliminated, we will tell Picasa to scan only the European pictures. 2. To deselect the entire Desktop as a watched folder, in the Folder List, Desktop, Remove from Picasa The Confirm Remove Watched Folder appears: 3. To confirm removal, A large, red X appears next to the Desktop folder, indicating that the Desktop images won t be scanned: In a moment, we ll tell Picasa to return to this folder and scan only the pictures in the European vacation folder. Before we do that, we want to tell Picasa not to scan the My Pictures or My Documents folders, because we won t be using those folders today, either. 10 Google Picasa 3: The Basics v1.0.0

15 4. To remove My Pictures from the scanned photos, in the Folder List, My Pictures, Remove from Picasa, We see the large red X appear next to the My Pictures folder. Now, we want to quickly give instructions not to scan My Documents. 5. To remove the My Documents folder, in the Folder List, My Documents, Remove from Picasa, There may be one more folder we need to remove. Some computers display My Videos in the Watched Folders area, in the lower part of the window. 6. If necessary, to remove My Videos, in the Watched Folders area of the window, My Videos, Remove from Picasa, Now that all pictures have been deselected, we want to return to the epclass folder and make sure only the folders we want will be scanned. 7. To navigate to the folders containing the European vacation pictures, in the Folder List, locate the epclass folder on your computer, Desktop, next to epclass next to We can now see the Digital Photos folder listed below. 8. To select the Digital Photos folder and everything inside, next to Digital Photos Now that we have located the vacation folder, we want Picasa to scan it any time anything new is added. Google Picasa 3: The Basics v

16 9. To tell Picasa to scan it always, in the right side of the Folder Manager dialog box, the Scan Always radio button The path of the folder appears in the Watched Folders section, beneath: 10. To finish and view the photos, We are returned to the Picasa window. As Picasa scans all the pictures within the epclass folder, images appear in the window, organized into divisions. This is Picasa s organizer, called the Library: Library Tools Folder List Lightbox Folder Separators Status Bar Photo Tray Output Options 12 Google Picasa 3: The Basics v1.0.0

17 The Library gives us previews of images and provides a number of tools. The Library is separated into several sections: Section Lightbox Library Tools Folder List Photo Tray Output Options Folder Separator Status Bar Function Displays thumbnail views of pictures at different sizes Used to add pictures to the Library, view and find pictures, make a slideshow, and burn pictures to CD Displays folders that contain images Used to collect images to be printed, published to web, ed, or put in slide shows Performs actions on photos in the Photo Tray, such as printing or ing Separates the Lightbox pictures into respective folders Displays information about active folder or picture Now, we want to organize these pictures. Viewing the Flat Folder Structure In the Folder List, Picasa is showing us six folders with names of countries. They are divided into sections according to date. Digital cameras integrate calendar information with each picture, so these displayed dates have been picked up from that picture data. Because people may have accumulated a complex or jumbled set of image folders, some prefer to view their photo folders by date. However, some of these folders say that the pictures were taken back in This shows us that during one of our excursions, we forgot to set our camera s date after we inserted its battery. Many digital camera owners forget to reset the date or neglect to make date and time settings. Regardless of whether they have been configured correctly or not, digital cameras store a date and time in an encoded segment of every digital image file called metadata. Metadata is a set of information that describes the date a photograph was taken and details of the camera settings. We will look more closely at metadata later in this workshop and learn how to re-label pictures in a number of ways. Google Picasa 3: The Basics v

18 Viewing the Folder Tree Structure Since our dates are all out of order and because most people are comfortable with the Windows folder structure, we will use Picasa s conventional folder structure to work with our photos. Picasa can organize folders in various ways. We can view our photos using either the flat folder structure, which we see here, or the folder tree structure, which is the same structure that Windows Explorer uses. In addition, we can use special labels that allow us to organize photos and files according to any category we want. Let s work with the folder tree structure. 1. To activate the folder tree structure, at the top of the Folder List, We see the My Computer folder in the Folder List in the Library pane: We no longer see the pictures in the Lightbox, because the folders are collapsed. 2. To view the European vacation pictures, locate and epclass, Digital Photos Here are the six folders arranged by country that we will use today. In the Lightbox, pictures are grouped according to their respective folders. Let s move through these pictures to view them. 3. To select the France folder, 4. To scroll to see more pictures, on the keyboard, press: The space bar moves us down in small increments. 14 Google Picasa 3: The Basics v1.0.0

19 5. To scroll down to the next folder, on the keyboard, press: 6. To return to the previous folder, on the keyboard, press: 7. Repeat steps 5 and 6 as many times as it takes to view the contents of several folders. NOTE: To scroll the view a shorter distance, a picture and press or. With a specific picture selected, pressing ƒ with these keys moves the view up or down to the next folder. We can see that there are many interesting pictures of places, people, and animals. Let s return to the France folder. 8. To go all the way back to the top, on the keyboard, press: ƒá The France folder pictures are now in view. Customizing Picasa Albums We will be working across several folders today, so it may be helpful to organize some of our pictures by subject, instead of by country. That way, we won t have to dig through so many folders to find just the pictures we want. An Album is a place to organize pictures that makes them easy to find. When we make an Album, we create a special place for pictures that we can arrange in any scheme we deem best, regardless of which folders pictures are stored in. To see the contents of an Album, we only have to click it once and it displays all the pictures we put there, even though they are contained in various folders. In fact, one picture may belong to several Albums at a time. Creating a Custom Album In this workshop, we will be creating only one special Album to contain people. However, if we had more time, we could create even more albums. For example, based on our collection of European photos, we might think of making Albums such as Castles and Animals. Let s create a People Album in Picasa, which will contain photos of people we met in Europe. Google Picasa 3: The Basics v

20 1. To create a People Album, in the Library Tools section, An Album Properties dialog box appears: 2. To name the new album, in the Name field, type: People Here, we could type in some more characteristics, but in this case the subject matter is explanatory enough. 3. To create the new Album, Now we want to see the new Album. 4. To expand the Albums, if necessary, in the Folder List, NOTE: When the Album section is expanded, the People Album is visible under the section header. We see the new People Album, and we may also see some default Albums. 16 Google Picasa 3: The Basics v1.0.0

21 Assigning a Picture to an Album This set of pictures contains several photos of people we met in Europe. Because we will be editing some of these pictures, we want to find a way to quickly access them. Therefore, we will put all the pictures of people into the People Album. Let s find the first person in the group of pictures. 1. To find the first instance of a person, in the Folder List, 2. To see more pictures in the folder, on the scroll bar at the right, NOTE: Clicking the upper arrow once moves the window in a small increment. Clicking the lower arrow once moves the entire window to the next folder. The very last picture in the Spain folder is one of a father and son we happened to meet at the zoo in Zurich. We can see that it has been incorrectly placed in the Spain folder. Hence, we will need to do two things with it. First, we will put it into the People Album and then we will move it into the Switzerland folder. Google Picasa 3: The Basics v

22 3. To assign the picture of the father and son to the People Album, in the Lightbox, µ, Add to Album, People We cannot see any change in the picture, but soon we will see that it will be viewable by activating the People Album. Moving a Picture in Picasa Now that we have assigned the father and son to the People Album, we will divert our attention from our Album-populating task long enough to put this picture into the Switzerland folder where it belongs. 1. To move the father and son picture to the Switzerland folder, to NOTE: When the Switzerland folder label turns dark, the picture is being added to it. The Confirm Move dialog box appears: 18 Google Picasa 3: The Basics v1.0.0

23 2. To finish moving the picture, We believe the picture is now in the Switzerland folder. Let s make sure it landed there. 3. To move to the Switzerland folder, in the Folder List, These preview pictures are so big they prohibit us from seeing them all. We need to fit more pictures in this window. 4. To zoom out, in the Output Options panel, to the left of the midpoint Now that we have changed our view, we seem to have lost our place in the Lightbox. We need to return to the Switzerland group. 5. To view all the contents of the Switzerland folder, We see that the family picture taken in the Zurich zoo is now in the correct folder. However, the job of tracking it down in this folder was a bit bothersome. Perhaps this picture would be more convenient to find again if it were located in the top row. That way, when we look in the Switzerland folder next time, we would be jumping right to that picture, which would be situated at the top of the set. Incidentally, while we are rearranging photos, we can save ourselves time later on by moving some other pictures into the top row. In this workshop, we will be editing all of the last three pictures in the bottom row of the Switzerland folder; ergo, it would help to move them all into the top row now. Google Picasa 3: The Basics v

24 6. To select the last three pictures in the folder, press and hold: ƒ and the last three pictures in the folder All three pictures are selected, as indicated by the strong border around them. NOTE: The pictures to be selected are a leopard, a dark image of a woman in front of water, and the father and son. 7. To move the pictures into the top row, in the Lightbox, to any of the selected pictures, into the top row of the group of Switzerland pictures Having accomplished that, the next time we click the Switzerland folder in Picasa, these pictures will appear first. By making this move, we have learned that we can change the order in which we view pictures in Picasa. NOTE: Rearranging pictures in Picasa does not rearrange them in the Windows Explorer view or in other photo editing applications. Putting More Pictures into Albums Now that we have put one picture of people into the People Album and tidied up a bit, let s assign some more people pictures to the People Album. At the top of the Switzerland folder, where we put it, is a sideways picture of a figure standing in front of a small lake. First, we need to deselect the three photos. 1. To deselect the photos, press: ƒ D 2. To move the picture of the person in front of the lake to the People Album, to NOTE: When the Album label turns dark, the picture is being added to it. It appears that we have assigned all the people we can see in this folder. Now, we will need to move to another folder. 20 Google Picasa 3: The Basics v1.0.0

25 3. To find the next instance of a person, in the Folder List, 4. If necessary, scroll down to see more pictures in the folder. Here is a picture of a friendly woman posing in front of the River Tyne. Let s move it to the People Album. Now, we ll assign the picture of the woman to the People Album. 5. To assign the picture of the woman to the People Album, in the Lightbox, to There is another picture to be added from the British Isles folder. In the last row of that folder is a picture of two girls on an amusement ride in Dublin. 6. To add the picture of the girls, to Now that we have added all the people to the People album, let s see how easy it is to view them as a group. 7. To activate the People album, in the Folder List, We see that there are four pictures of people in the People Album. Even though we have kept them in their respective folders, we have created another way to find them. Later, we will use the Album feature to quickly access them. Google Picasa 3: The Basics v

26 Changing Picture Names in Picasa All the workshop pictures have names that have been automatically assigned by our camera. These automatic file names consist of a confusing jumble of letters and numbers. However, it s easy to rename them in Picasa. Before we edit each picture, we will also assign a more memorable name. Let s move to an image of a fountain in Barcelona, which will be the first picture that we edit. Before we improve the way it looks, we will view and change its file name. 1. To find the picture of the fountain, in the Folder List, The very last picture in the bottom row of the Spain folder is a sideways picture of a building. Right now, it is very dark, making it difficult to see that it is a fountain in front of a building. 2. To activate the Barcelona fountain picture, The Status Bar changes. We see that the information in the Status Bar is a file name with some other information: The first string of characters in the Status Bar is the file name the camera assigned to the picture. There is a date, a time, and some information about how big the file is in pixels and kilobytes. This file name doesn t make much sense to us; differentiating names like this in a long list of files may be confusing. We want to rename the file. 22 Google Picasa 3: The Basics v1.0.0

27 3. To get naming information about the picture, from the Menu Bar, File, Rename... We see the Rename Files dialog box: 4. To rename the file, type: Barcelona fountain There are some other options here, but since Picasa already includes that information in the Status Bar, we don t need to append that information to the file name. Hence, we will leave the other options unchecked. 5. To finish naming the file, The file now has a new name, as reflected in the Status Bar. Changing a View in the Picasa Lightbox Now that our Library is somewhat organized and we have learned how to rename a picture, we want to get a better view of the photo to correct it. Right now, it is too small to tell much about it. Let s temporarily magnify the view. Google Picasa 3: The Basics v

28 1. To temporarily see the picture in full screen view,, press and hold: ƒ and «The picture completely covers the screen. Now that our view is enlarged, we can see that this picture has been taken with the camera positioned in a vertical orientation, but the image here is horizontal. 2. To return to the Lightbox, release the keys To work with this picture, first we need to rotate it. Rotating a Picture in the Lightbox Most cameras take pictures with unequal width-to-height proportions. Good photographers know how to use this to their advantage. Subjects that are vertical, such as standing people, trees, or fountains, can be attractively emphasized by orienting the camera vertically, in portrait view. On the other hand, when taking pictures of terrain, the view can often be best represented by a horizontal, or landscape, orientation. This picture was taken in portrait view to emphasize the stature of the fountain and the building behind it. We need to rotate the photo. 24 Google Picasa 3: The Basics v1.0.0

29 1. To rotate the photo, in the Output Options section, The picture is now oriented in the proper direction: Now, we can better see that this image is crooked and dark. We can correct these problems using Picasa s View and Edit tools. Viewing and Editing Pictures in Picasa Picasa lets us fix lots of problems in our photos. In addition to basic corrections, we can also create some special effects. To do so, we need to open the photo in the View and Edit mode. Let s view and edit the photo now. Google Picasa 3: The Basics v

30 1. To open the photo in View and Edit mode, from the Menu Bar, Picture, View and Edit The View and Edit screen appears, with the enlarged photo on the right and some buttons and tabs on the left: Editing panel Active image area Output Options panel Photo Tray The left part of the window contains three sections with tabs that are labeled Basic Fixes, Tuning, and Effects. Each tab contains a different set of editing tools. The lightest tab, Basic Fixes, is the active one. Straightening a Picture in Picasa Since this picture is obviously crooked, we need to straighten it. The Basic Fixes tools section features a Straighten button. Let s try this one first. 26 Google Picasa 3: The Basics v1.0.0

31 1. To activate the Straighten tool, in the Basic Fixes panel, The Picture now has a grid overlay with a slider and two buttons: 2. To straighten the photo, in the photo editing window, to the right until the vertical edge of the building aligns with a grid line The picture is straightened along the grid. We need to apply the change. 3. To finish straightening, The picture is now straight. Note that parts of the picture have disappeared from around the corners. Any time Picasa straightens a picture, it automatically removes the parts in the corners that do not fit within an optimal rectangle. Adjusting the Fill Light in Picasa Now, we need to brighten up this picture. There is an adjustment in the panel called Fill Light. Let s try the Fill Light slider. Google Picasa 3: The Basics v

32 1. To change the Fill Light, in the Basic Fixes panel, to the right The slider should be about 1/3 of the way into the right half of the slider bar. Although the overall picture is improved and now the Barcelona evening ambiance has come forth, it seems that we have lightened the shadows more than we wanted, and all parts of the picture still have a very purple cast. Using Auto Color in Picasa In the Basic Fixes section on the left is an Auto Color button. In digital editing programs, automatic color correction tools generally distribute colors around those that should be gray or white, creating an overall color cast. Sometimes, we need to tell the application to make a different guess and automatically redistribute the colors in another way. Perhaps Picasa s Auto Color will wash away some of the purple. Let s try this option. 1. To activate Auto Color, in the Basic Fixes panel, Now, the lighted parts of the fountain exude a warm incandescent hue. The lights in the windows of the building are also warmer, and the sky now has a touch of peach sunset color. Using Auto Contrast in Picasa Basic Fixes Although this picture looks much better, when we adjusted the fill light, we removed some of the overall contrast. The Basic Fixes section has an Auto Contrast button. Let s see if we can easily rectify that with this tool. 1. To activate Auto Contrast, in the Basic Fixes panel, The contrast improves, and the picture looks acceptable. Let s return to the Library. 28 Google Picasa 3: The Basics v1.0.0

33 2. To return to the Picasa Library, above the Basic Fixes tab, The picture displayed in the library contains all our corrections. Saving a Picture in Picasa We have not yet saved this picture. We are simply seeing a temporary preview of our image with our adjustments. Although Picasa will display our unsaved picture just like this for as long as we want, if we were to view or open this file in any other photo-editing application, we would still be working with the original. Since this rendition of our Barcelona fountain is a dramatic improvement over the original, we want to save it to disk. Picasa allows users to save in several different ways, each of which preserves the original file so we can return to it if necessary. In this way, Picasa always protects our original photo. It will never be completely overwritten. At any time, even years from now, we can return the image to its original state with Picasa s Undo commands. We will use the Save feature to save this file. The Save button is at the top right corner of the folder. 1. To save our changes, above the pictures, A dialog box opens, asking us if we want to save our changes. It also states that a backup file will be made: Google Picasa 3: The Basics v

34 2. To confirm the changes, The Save to Disk button disappears. Picasa has replaced the original file on our hard drive with the one that contains the new adjustments. However, the original file has not been overwritten. Any time we use the Save Changes button in Picasa, a copy of the edited photo is created in the active folder, and the original picture is moved to a subfolder called "Originals," which is hidden within the same subfolder on your computer. This folder will not be visible in Picasa. The pictures in both the visible folder and the hidden folder have the same names. Saving the originals in a hidden folder allows us to undo or revert our pictures later even though we have saved them with the Save command. NOTE: To retrieve the original in Windows, in the Windows Explorer Menu Bar, Organize, Folder and Search Options, the View tab. Under Hidden files and folders, the Show Hidden Files and folders radio button. The Originals folder will be visible in the Folder List, and can now be opened with Picasa. Fine-Tuning a Picture in Picasa Now that we have successfully corrected a picture in Picasa, we can open another photo and work with it. While we were putting our pictures of people into the People Album, there was a dark picture of a figure standing in front of a body of water. Let s open that one and try to correct it now. 1. To find the dark picture of the woman, in the Folder List, The people pictures come into view, and we see the dark image of the young woman in a sideways position. First, let s give it a memorable name. 30 Google Picasa 3: The Basics v1.0.0

35 2. To select the picture for renaming, 3. To rename, on the Menu Bar, File, Rename... We see the Rename Files dialog box. 4. To rename the file, type: Geneva friend, Now we ll edit the picture. 5. To open the picture for editing, the picture The image opens. This is a photo of a young woman we met at a tiny alpine lake in Switzerland. The time of day in which we snapped the picture was quite late, with very little available light. To compound the problem, we had accidentally deactivated the flash on our camera, so it came out extremely dark. However, since the young lady asked us to mail a print to her once we returned home, we will try especially hard to save this picture. Let s see if we can improve this picture with Picasa s editing features. First, we must rotate it into the correct upright position. Google Picasa 3: The Basics v

36 6. To rotate the photo, on the bottom panel in the Output Options section, The picture rotates to the correct position, and its view size is reduced to fit in the window. The severity of problems in this picture may require more than Basic Fixes has to offer. Let s try using the Tuning tools. 7. To activate the Tuning tools, The Tuning panel appears: We can see that Tuning is now the active panel because its tab is the lightest. Here, there is a Fill Light slider, along with some other sliders that might help us to refine the image. Let s adjust the Fill Light first. 8. To improve the Fill Light, in the Tuning panel, to the right until the picture is lightened In this case, the image brightness can be brought up to nearly daylight levels, even though the original was taken under very low exposure. 32 Google Picasa 3: The Basics v1.0.0

37 Increasing the Contrast Using the Shadows Tool The image looks much better, but since we have brightened the fill light, we have also decreased the contrast; now the shadows are grayish. In our last photo, we were able to use Auto Contrast, but in the Tuning panel we can adjust the shadows manually. 1. To darken the shadows, in the Tuning panel, to the right until the shadows darken slightly The contrast is now much better, and the image looks sharper. We have radically improved this image. There is one more color adjustment that might be of benefit. Before we do that, we want to zoom in on the image. Viewing a Picture at Actual Size When we zoom in on a picture, we are changing the way in which we view it. Digital pictures are composed of tiny colored squares called pixels, which are so small that they appear to blend together. A picture that has a large number of pixels is said to have high resolution. Sometimes, pictures can contain so many pixels that the computer cannot display them all. With high-resolution pictures, in order to fit the entire picture onscreen, the computer must hide some selected pixels from view. Conversely, when the computer displays a high-resolution picture at actual size, it is displaying all of the pixels in the picture, and not all of the image might appear on the screen. Let s zoom in to actual size. 1. To display the picture at actual size, in the Output Options panel, near the Zoom slider, Google Picasa 3: The Basics v

38 We are zoomed into the girl s face, and now the cursor becomes a hand : In close-up view, the mottled and fuzzy appearance of this picture becomes apparent. Although we were able to dramatically improve it by enhancing the contrast, it retains some artifacts of the original photographic mistakes. This exemplifies what happens when photographs are taken in dim light. Nonetheless, we will continue to do the best we can to fix this photo. Now that we have zoomed into this picture, we are unable to see the borders of the picture. To help us determine what piece of the photo we are viewing, Picasa displays a small inset on the lower right side of the image that indicates the zoom size: This inset shows a thumbnail of the picture, with a rectangle inside the thumbnail that tells us what part of the picture we are viewing in the large window. We can use the hand cursor to move to other parts of the picture. 2. To see the trees above the subject s head, inside the large image, until the road in the background is visible 34 Google Picasa 3: The Basics v1.0.0

39 We can see a roadway and some trees above our friend s head. Note that as we change the part of the picture we are viewing, the rectangle inside the inset changes. Let s use this preview rectangle to see a different part of the picture. 3. To view a different part of the picture, inside the picture s inset,, all the way to the right The visible part of the picture in the large window changes. We can see that this picture contains an odd coloration. Now, let s fix the color cast. Using the Neutral Color Picker for Color Tones Digital editing applications can correct colors in a picture based on information about what areas of the picture should be neutral. A neutral color in an image is one that has no color cast whatsoever; it is absolutely gray or white. We can tell Picasa what should be gray, thereby changing the overall color cast of the picture accordingly. Now we need to find a part of the picture that should be gray. We see a strip of road above the girl s head which should be gray. We will use this as our neutral color. We see that the Picasa Tuning panel has a Neutral Color Picker, which allows us to choose an area in the photo that should be absolutely gray. Let s use the Neutral Color Picker now. 1. To activate the Neutral Color Picker, in the Tuning Panel, The cursor now becomes an eyedropper. Google Picasa 3: The Basics v

40 2. To select the roadway as the neutral color, with the point of the eyedropper tool, the roadway The image changes color slightly. Now let s look at the whole picture to see what has happened. 3. To fit the picture in the window, in the Output Options panel, The picture is now entirely visible. Let s try another neutral point. 4. To find another neutral point, in the Tuning Panel, another gray point in the picture 5. If necessary, to change the color tone again, repeat step 4, making sure to click the Neutral Color Picker before selecting an object in the picture. At this point, it s hard to tell what looks best. We see a button to the right of the Neutral Color Picker that looks like a magic wand: When we point to it, we see a tool tip that says One-click fix for color. Let s try this. 6. To apply One-click fix for color, NOTE: If the one-click color is unsatisfactory, you must use the Neutral Color Picker again, instead of the Undo Tuning button. Note also, the Undo Tuning Button will undo the entire set of Tuning settings. This color cast is appropriate for a lakeside sunset. We can save it now. 36 Google Picasa 3: The Basics v1.0.0

41 7. To return to the Picasa Library, above the Basic Fixes tab, We are returned to the Library, where we see the adjusted picture. The picture displayed in the People Album contains all our corrections. In the Output Options tray at the bottom of the window, notice that this picture is in the Photo Tray: The photo tray shows us any images that are selected. 8. To save our changes, above the pictures, A dialog box opens, asking us if we want to save our changes. 9. To confirm the changes, The image is now saved. Google Picasa 3: The Basics v

42 Printing in Picasa We will be sending our friend the picture of herself as a print. Before we print any picture, it must be selected, making it active in the Photo Tray. Since this picture is still selected, it is displayed in the Photo Tray, waiting for us to choose a button in the Output Options panel. 1. To activate Picasa print choices, The Print window opens. It displays a preview of the printed image and several layout buttons: Let s choose the printer now. 2. To choose a printer,, the default printer The printer is now chosen. Let s pick a layout. 38 Google Picasa 3: The Basics v1.0.0

43 3. To choose the 5 x 7 layout, The preview seems to indicate that we might be able to fit more of these on a single sheet of paper. Let s print two per sheet. 4. To print another copy on the same sheet, in the window under Copies per Photo, Now, the Preview panel shows two pictures side by side: To print to our own printer, we would click the Print button at the bottom. However, since we are not able to print today, we will cancel. 5. To cancel the print job, We are finished with this picture. Let s work with another. Google Picasa 3: The Basics v

44 Correcting More Photo Defects The next picture we will revive is the one of the father and son at the Zurich zoo. During our time with them, we exchanged addresses, we would like to the picture to the father in Zurich, and we would also like to add it to our own collection of prints. We remember that we put the picture into the People Album. Let s open this picture from there. 1. To open the People Album, if necessary, in the Folder List, The four pictures of people appear. 2. To open the father-and-son picture for editing, in the Lightbox, We are taken to the View and Edit screen. As with the others, we must first rotate the picture. 3. To rotate the photo, in the Output Options panel, The picture rotates, and its magnification changes to fit in the window. We can see that the subjects have reddish eyes, and the skin colors are a bit bluish. The background is very dark. We will start by fixing the red eyes in this picture. Correcting Red Eye in Picasa Red eye is a term used for the reddish color sometimes visible on the eyes of subjects in photographs. Red eye is caused by the light from a camera s flash, which reflects from the person s eyes. Many cameras attempt to prevent this 40 Google Picasa 3: The Basics v1.0.0

45 by emitting a preliminary flash to constrict the pupils of subjects before the flash picture is taken. However, in some lighting conditions, even this can be ineffective. Since red eye is very common, most digital photo editing applications include a red eye remover. 1. To activate the Redeye tool, in the Basic Fixes panel, The Redeye Repair panel appears: This panel tells us to drag the mouse around each eye separately. To get a better look at the red eyes, let s zoom in on the picture. 2. To zoom in, to the right Google Picasa 3: The Basics v

46 3. To center the eyes, if necessary, in the tiny navigator pane, upward All of the eyes should be fully in view. 4. To select the first eye, in the image, a rectangle around the father s right eye The screen changes for a moment and then we return to the image. The eye shows no more red. Let s finish removing red eye from the other eyes. 5. To select the other eyes, in the image, a rectangle around each of the other eyes in the picture One by one, in this view, the redness in each eye is corrected. NOTE: It may be helpful to repeat the action on each eye. Let s apply this change. 6. To apply the red eye correction, We are returned to the View and Edit Screen. The eyes look correct now. 7. If necessary, to fit the picture in the window, in the Output Options panel, We see the whole picture now. We are ready to correct the color in this image. 42 Google Picasa 3: The Basics v1.0.0