Chapter 10

Taking Photos and More

Get ready to . . .

⇒ Take Photos with Your Computer

⇒ Copy Photos from Your Camera

⇒ View Photos

⇒ Share Photos by E-Mail

⇒ Print Photos Using the Photo App

⇒ Edit Photos Using Paint

Windows 8 makes enjoying digital photos easy. You can pick and choose photos to look at or display a group of photos in a slide show. Make a favorite photo your Lock screen background so you see it every time you start Windows 8. In this chapter, you do all these things.

Use the Paint app to crop a photo to remove unwanted parts of the photo and draw attention to the subject.

If you have a printer, you can print photos for yourself or to send to someone. Even black-and-white prints of color photos may be nice.

Of course, if you want to take your own photos, nothing beats having a digital camera. Copy photos from your camera to your Pictures library for viewing and sharing. Or use the Camera app with the built-in camera found in many laptops and tablets.

In this chapter, you use the tools that come with Windows 8 for working with photos. You may want the additional features of a digital photo organizer and editing program. You might want to check out my book Digital Photography For Seniors For Dummies (Wiley) for detailed steps on organizing, editing, printing, and sharing photos as well as on using a digital camera.

Check the book website at www.win8mjh.com for the latest information on ways to enjoy your photos.

Take Photos with Your Computer

1. Select the Camera app on the Start screen. If you don’t have a webcam, the app screen displays Connect a camera. If you don’t have a built-in webcam or the resolution of the one you have is too low, you can easily add a webcam. Simply plug the camera into your computer — it’s that easy.

You can choose from many good webcam models. Generally, get the highest video resolution you can afford, because you’ll probably use the camera for video chats. Consider the size of the camera, its attachment to your computer, and whether or not it has a microphone (you want a mic).

2. The first time you use the Camera app, the screen displays Can Camera use your webcam and microphone? Select Allow to continue. (If you don’t want to continue, don’t choose Block unless you never expect to use this app. Instead, simply switch back to Start.)

3. The Camera app opens, and there’s a good chance you recognize the face staring back at you. At least, I know the guy in Figure 10-1. To take a photo, smile and then click or tap anywhere on the image. You may hear a shutter click. Your photo is placed automatically in a folder called Camera Roll in the Pictures library.

Figure 10-1

4. If you see Change Camera in the app bar, select that option. Many tablets and laptops have two cameras, one that faces you and one that points in the opposite direction. Switch to the camera away from you when you want to use your computer for something other than a self portrait. Take another picture — they’re free. Select Change Camera again to switch back to see yourself.

5. In the app bar, select Camera Options (refer to Figure 10-1). You may see the following options:

• Photo Resolution: Higher resolution results in sharper images and larger files (in terms of required storage space, as well as width and height). Generally, you want the highest resolution possible. The ratio in parentheses affects how completely the photo will fill a screen or a print. Traditionally, 4:3 was used for both screens and printing, but that has been changing. Odds are that your screen is 16:9, so this ratio may be best for you. Most prints are still 4:3, so you may want that ratio if you know you’re going to print the photo. Experiment — you’ll see the effect on-screen immediately.

• Audio Device: Relevant to video rather than photos, this option is limited to your built-in microphone unless you have more than one.

• Video Stabilization: Stability is good, especially for handheld video. Turn this on.

• More: Choose More to see sliders for Brightness and Contrast. Adjust these for the best exposure. Flicker applies to video and generally should be 60 Hz or higher.

6. Select Timer. Nothing happens until you click or tap the screen, at which point a countdown timer appears, giving you three seconds to compose yourself. Select Timer again to turn off this feature.

7. Select Video Mode. Nothing happens until you click or tap the screen, at which point you’re in moving pictures. A counter indicates the length of the video. Short is sweet in video. You can speak, too. Click or tap the screen to stop the video. Your videos are in the Camera Roll folder in the Pictures library. Select Video Mode again to turn off this function and return to taking still photos (with the next click or tap).

8. Return to the Start screen. See the section “View Photos” to see the photos you just took.

Copy Photos from Your Camera

1. If your camera came with a cable, connect that cable to the camera, and then connect the other end of the cable to a USB port on your computer. If your laptop or tablet has a built-in card slot, you can take the memory card out of the camera and insert it in that slot.

If your computer doesn’t have a built-in card slot, consider buying a small memory card reader that plugs into your computer and works with your camera’s memory card. You don’t need a multicard reader, just a reader with a single slot the size of your camera card. I consider a card reader more convenient than using a cable.

2. Windows 8 detects your camera or its memory card and may briefly display a notification indicating Tap to choose what happens with memory cards. (You can also click the notification.) If you’re quick enough to tap or click the first notification, Windows 8 displays your choices, as shown in Figure 10-2. Select Import Photos and Videos, if that option is available, and then skip to Step 4. If you don’t catch the notification in time, continue to Step 3 to import photos another way.

See Chapter 3 for information on increasing the time a notification remains on-screen.

3. Start the Photos app, and then display the app bar by right-clicking, by swiping down or up, or by pressing +Z. Select the Import button. No need for lightning reflexes. If you see more than one removable disk listed, your card is probably D:. If you choose the wrong disk, you’ll recognize that fact in the next step, and you can repeat this step with a different disk.

Figure 10-2

4. Your photos appear on the Removable Disk screen, as shown in Figure 10-3. All photos are selected and ready to be imported to your Pictures library. In most cases, you’ll import all photos. If you don’t want all photos, select the ones you don’t want, to remove their check mark. Or choose Clear Selection and select the photos you do want to import. Note the indication near the bottom of the screen that these photos will be put in a folder with a name based on today’s date. You may want to change that name to something more meaningful, such as Vacation or Flowers. You can clear the text from that box to put the photos directly in the Pictures library instead of in a folder in the library. When you’re ready, select the Import button.

Figure 10-3

Organizing photos can be a challenge. If you dump more than a few dozen photos into the Pictures library without using folders, finding a specific photo later will be difficult. Using folders with unintelligible names doesn’t help, either. Most of my folder names are based on the year and month (such as 2012-06) or the subject, such as Luke the Lovehound.

5. A progress bar flashes as your photos are imported. When the process is complete, the screen displays Done! and indicates how many photos were imported and into which folder, if any. For example, Figure 10-4 shows that I imported three files into a folder called 2012-06. Select Open Folder, and then scroll through your photos.

Figure 10-4

If the photos on your memory card don’t import automatically the next time you copy photos, you can tell Windows 8 how to handle memory cards. On the Start screen, type autoplay. In the Search panel, select Settings. In the Results screen, select AutoPlay. The AutoPlay control panel window opens on the desktop. In the Camera Storage section, select the box next to Memory Card. Select Import Photos and Videos (Photos) from the available options and then select Save. Switch back to the Start screen. Remove your memory card or disconnect the camera cable. Reinsert or reconnect. This method for changing AutoPlay may be helpful for other media types or devices.

View Photos

1. To see photos on your computer, select the Photos app on the Start screen. The Photos home screen opens, as shown in Figure 10-5. Your screen will look different. Scroll to the right, noting the following photo categories:

• Pictures Library: Photos on your computer are in your Pictures library. You’ll see Add Some Photos if there aren’t any in your library.

• SkyDrive Photos: These photos are in the cloud, which means stored remotely on a Microsoft website and accessible on any machine you sign in to with your Microsoft Account.

• Facebook Photos: If you have signed in to your Facebook account, your Facebook photos are here. Otherwise, the tile displays See yours here. Some other time, select this tile to sign in to your Facebook account.

• Flickr Photos: Flickr is a very popular website for sharing photos. If you have signed in to your Flickr account, you can access your photos through this category. Otherwise, the tile displays See yours here. Some other time, select this tile to sign in to your Flickr account.

• Devices: If you sign in to more than one computer using the same Microsoft Account, use Devices to access photos stored on a different computer.

Figure 10-5

Pictures Library is the only option that doesn’t require a Microsoft Account. When you select any other option, you’ll see the Sign In screen, if you’re not already signed in with a Microsoft Account.

You can use the Hide option on any of these tiles to hide a category you don’t expect to use. Don’t hide any categories just yet. If you do, you can redisplay a category using the Photo Settings panel.

2. Select the Pictures Library. If you don’t see any pictures, skip to one of the following sections:

• If you have a digital camera, see “Copy Photos from Your Camera.”

• If your computer has a built-in camera or a webcam, see “Take Photos with Your Computer.”

3. If you see pictures in your Pictures Library, scroll to the right to see more photos.

You can take a screenshot — a picture of the current screen — by pressing +Print Screen. (A touchscreen or mouse equivalent is not available.) The screen dims slightly to indicate the capture, which is stored automatically in the Screenshots folder in your Pictures library. Use this technique to create your own documentation of problems or something you want to see again later.

4. If necessary, select a folder in your Pictures library (folders appear first, followed by photos). Scroll to the right through your photos. Select any photo to see it full screen. (Due to proportions, the photo may fill only the width or the height, not both.) Scroll through the full-screen photos by clicking or tapping the right edge of the screen (to go forward) or the left edge (to go back). Press the PageDown key (forward) or PageUp key (back).

5. Display the app bar, as shown in Figure 10-6. Select the Slide Show button. The photos in your album appear full screen in succession. (If you don’t want to wait, click or tap the photo to change to the next.) Stop the slide show by selecting a photo or by displaying the app bar again. Use the back arrow to return to the folder.

On the Photos home page (refer to Figure 10-5), select the triangle to the left of the Pictures Library for a different kind of slideshow, in which multiple photos are tiled in a mosaic.

Figure 10-6

6. Zoom in and out on a photo using one of these methods (repeat to zoom in or out more):

• Mouse: Click the plus sign in the lower-right corner to zoom in. (Ignore the charms bar, if it appears.) Click the minus sign to zoom out.

• Touchscreen: Touch two fingers on the screen. Move your fingers apart to zoom in. Pinch your fingers closer together to zoom out.

• Keyboard: Press Ctrl+plus sign (actually, press the equals sign — no need to press the Shift key) to zoom in. Press Ctrl+minus sign to zoom out.

Zoom in for to see part of a photo made larger. Zoom out as far as you can to see many photos at once.

7. Select one of your photos to display it full screen. Display the app bar. Select the Set As button and note the following options, using any or all if you want:

• Lock Screen: Set one of your own photos as the one that appears on the Lock screen.

• App Tile: By default, the Photo app tile displays photos from your Pictures library, unless the Live Tile option is off. If you prefer, you can set a single photo as the one on the Photo app tile.

• App Background: This photo is the one on the Photos home screen (refer to Figure 10-5).

Use the Delete button in the app bar to delete all photos you selected using a right mouse click or a tap and drag. Note the number of selected photos to the left of the Delete button. Be certain you don’t have more photos selected than you realize. See Chapter 14 for information on undeleting files.

As this book goes to press, the Photos app does not have any options for editing photos. I recommend Windows Photo Gallery. See Chapter 12 for information on installing Photo Gallery. Check the book’s website (www.win8mjh.com) for the latest on editing photos. See the section “Edit Photos Using Paint.”

Share Photos by E-Mail

1. In the Photos app, select one of your photos.

You can select more than one photo to e-mail by right-clicking or by using a finger to drag down slightly on additional photos. The app bar shows how many photos are selected. Clear individual selections by repeating the process or use Clear Selection to deselect all.

2. Display the Share panel using one of the following methods:

• Mouse: Move the mouse pointer to the upper-right corner of the screen. On the charms bar, select the Share charm.

• Touchscreen: Swipe from the right edge of the screen. Tap the Share charm.

• Keyboard: Press +H (think sHare) to go straight to the Share panel.

3. On the Share panel, select the Mail tile. (The number of selected photos appears in the Share panel.)

You can share using any apps that appear in the Share panel.

4. The Mail panel slides in from the right, as shown in Figure 10-7. Enter an e-mail address under To. Add a subject. A thumbnail image of the selected image appears in the content area. You can add a message below the photo. When you’re ready, select the Send button in the upper-right corner. The Mail panel indicates Sending email.

The next time you use the Share panel in Internet Explorer or another app that shares with Mail, the e-mail address you used in Step 4 appears near the top of the panel. Select that address to save time when sharing something else with that person.

Figure 10-7

Print Photos Using the Photo App

1. In the Photo app, select one photo using a click or tap for full-screen viewing.

2. Display the charms bar, and then select Devices. A list of printers appears, as shown in Figure 10-8. Select your printer.

Figure 10-8

If you have a printer but it doesn’t appear in the list, you may not have selected a photo or you may have two or more photos selected. As this book goes to press, the Photos app doesn’t have an option for printing more than one photo at a time. Check the book’s website (www.win8mjh.com) for updates on printing photos.

3. The Printer panel expands into view, as shown in Figure 10-9. Note the preview. Select the Print button. (To cancel, use the back arrow or select anywhere outside the Printer panel.)

Here’s a handy keyboard shortcut that works in any app: Press +K to display the Devices panel. The shortcut Ctrl+P opens the Printer panel directly in some apps, but not all.

Figure 10-9

Edit Photos Using Paint

1. You can use the Paint accessory to make changes to a photo, including making a picture smaller. On the Start screen, type paint. In the Apps search results, select Paint, which opens on the desktop. See Chapter 5 for information on using the desktop.

2. In the ribbon at the top of Paint, select the File tab, and then select Open. The Open window displays photos in your Pictures library. If necessary, double-click or double-tap a folder to locate the photo with which you want to work. Select the photo and then select Open.

3. Because Paint opens photos full-sized, you see only a portion of the photo. In the lower-right corner of the Paint window, select the Zoom Out (minus sign) button or drag the slider to the left. The photo in Figure 10-10 is shown at 12.5% magnification. Zoom in and out as necessary to work with different areas of the photo.

Figure 10-10

4. Before you make any changes to this photo, consider saving a copy so you can retain the original. Making duplicates gives you some insurance against edits you can’t undo, but you may not want to duplicate every photo. Select the File tab, and then select Save As. You can ignore the menu of file types that pops out to the side.

5. Change the name in the File Name box to create a new copy of this picture — you might want to just add 2. Select Save. You’re now editing the copy; the original file exists under the original name and will remain unaltered.

6. Many photos can be improved by cropping, which involves cutting out distracting elements and keeping just part of the photo. You might crop a photo to concentrate on its most important part. To crop, click or tap Select in the Image section of the ribbon. In the photo, click (or tap) and drag a box over the area you want to keep — everything outside this box will be deleted. With practice, you can change the area selected by dragging the tiny square handles that appear in each corner and in the middle of each side.

Selecting the right area can be awkward. To start over, click or tap Select again.

7. Select Crop. The selected area is all that remains, as shown in Figure 10-11. If you crop a very small area, you may want to zoom in to see the results.

Figure 10-11

You can undo each step by selecting the Undo button above the Home tab (or by pressing Ctrl+Z).

8. If you want to save the changed photo, select the Save button.

Windows Photo Gallery is a great tool for viewing, organizing, editing, and printing photos. See the book’s website (www.win8mjh.com) for a link to Photo Gallery, or search the Store for the latest photo apps. See Chapter 12 for information on installing Windows Photo Gallery.