Maximize the Use of
Your Digital Camera this Christmas

 

Hopefully you all have a digital camera and can get your photographs into the computer, organize them, and edit them.  Great but this is just the beginning.

Listed below and available to download on www.pctrainingspain.com (click on the Download button on the navigation bar above) are three simple pieces of free software that can enhance you photography experience.  You will be able to create projects with your photos put them on DVDs and make lovely inexpensive Christmas gifts.

One such program is available from Google.  Many of us are familiar with Picasa, Google’s free photo editor.  Well Picasa has an upgraded version, Picasa 3 with some great new tools.  One such tool in Picasa is the improved Collage page.  Unless you download Picasa 3 and start experimenting with it you can’t realize all it can do.

One of its improved tools is the collage creator. With as many photos as you choose you can immediately create a collage in various formations, rearrange pics to your liking, include the photos’ caption, put in a background colour, add borders, and shadows (great for creating a depth perception on the page) and either print them out or email them.

These collages make great gifts when printed on paper of 160gms (we usually print on 80grms) and the pages compiled to make an album.  Albums are very popular in the arts and crafts world.

The collage is just one of the many tools in the new Picasa.  Along with the Picasa 3 setup to be downloaded on the website are two word files you can also download.  These will give you good introductions to Picasa 3.  

The next piece of software is one of my favourites.  I’ve been teaching it now for a few months and have not found anything to surpass it.  It is Photo Story 3.  This is an easy to use program that turns your photos into a slide show.  But not just a slide show as in Power Point. Photo Story 3 also allows you to put in text, your own voice over and your choice of music, but the most impressive aspect is the motion tool that allows you to pan out and in on a photo giving a sensation of movement.  This movement makes the finished project seem like a video rather than just still photos.  The project can then be stored on your computer to be played back with Windows Media Player, sent as an email or, with the aid of the Sonic DVD plug in be burned onto a DVD and played on any DVD player.  This makes a unique gift if the photos were of a special occasion i.e. birthday, wedding, grandchildren or a trip one has taken.  The project can also be emailed but then only played on the computer.  A great piece of software.

Many people forget that their digital cameras take videos!   Or if they do take videos, (sometimes by mistake) then they don’t really know what to do with them.  They see a strange looking icon in their photos folder and when clicked on there is the movie, sound and all, which can be quite a surprise. 

But another easy piece of free software will enable you to join your video clips together and then burn them to a DVD.  It’s called DVD Flick.   If you have never attempted working with clips before this is where to start.  It does not allow you to edit the individual clip but it does enables you to join the clips you have, give titles to them and put them onto a DVD just like a movie DVD.  When you have mastered this then you can go to more sophisticated software, such as Cyberlink Power Director which will cost you about 40 or 50 euros.  

On www.pctrainingspain.com you will find the above programs to download, each with its own tutorial.  Hope you enjoy them and let me know how you do.  Would love to see your finished projects!!  email me at: alberta@pctrainingspain.com

Also on www.pctrainingspain.com you will find a folder filled with Christmas clipart, gifs, etc. Great for creating Christmas cards and or inserting into emails. Download them and enjoy!