Practice Task for Picasa

1. Copy the Example Pictures folder from the CD-ROM to your hard disk
1. Close any open programs. Insert the workshop CD-ROM. Wait for the pop-up menu.
2. Scroll the menu until you see Open folder to view files and click it. 
3. The CD window will open.  Click once on the Example Pictures folder.
4. Click Copy this folder, scroll up until you see Desktop, click Desktop, then click Copy. 

2.  Open Picasa.  
1. Open (double-click on) the Picasa icon on the desktop.
2. Select View => Thumbnail Caption => Filename.
3. In the folder list on the left, right-click on the Example Pictures folder and select Sort Folder By... => Name. (This will make it easier to locate specific pictures by name).

3.  Rotating sideways images.  
1. Open (double-click on) "PramBefore". 
2. Click the  or  icons to rotate the image in the desired direction.
3. Click the Back to Library button to return to the thumbnail display. 

4. Cropping.
1. Open  (double-click on) "CropMe".  This photo has a white band at the bottom that we will remove.
2. Click on the Crop button on the left and drag out a rectangle over the desired portion of the image. 
3. Click on the green Apply Ö button .
4. Click the Back to Library button to return to the thumbnail display. 

5.  Sharpening.  Some photos benefit from a little extra sharpness.
1. Open (double-click on) "TooBlurry". 
2. Click on the Effects tab, then click Sharpen.button. Click Sharpen again to increase the effect.
3. If you overdo it, click Undo Sharpen to remove one level of sharpening.
4. Click the Back to Library button to return to the thumbnail display.
5. Try this operation with "TooBlurryToo". 

6. Fixing pictures that are faded or too dark.
1. Open  (double-click on) "LowContrast". 
2. Click the Auto Contrast button.
3. Click the Back to Library button to return to the thumbnail display.
4. Try this operation with "grapes", Clipping", "TinType", "Rainbow", and "Tapestry".

7. Converting a color photograph to black-and-white.
1. Open "FadedColor".  This was originally a color photo but has faded and discolored over the years..
2. Remove the unwanted color by clicking the Effects tab, then click B&W.
3. It's still a bit faded, so click the Basic Fixes tab, then click Auto Contrast.
4. Click the Back to Library button to return to the thumbnail display.
5.  Try this with "Family".

8. Color correction
1. Open "TooBlue". 
2. Click the Tuning tab.
3. Move the Color Temperature slider to the right. Try for a natural look.
4. Click the Back to Library button to return to the thumbnail display. 
5. Try this on "GrandCanyon".

9. Adding "Fill light" to brighten the dark portions of a picture.
1. Open "Add Fill flash". 
2. Move the Fill Light slider to the right until you can see the forground faces more clearly. 
3. Click the Back to Library button to return to the thumbnail display.  
4. Try this procedure on "IslandKids", "Fishing" and "InTheAlps".

10. Straightening crooked pictures
1. Open "Straighten". 
2. Click the Straighten button.
3. Move the slider under the picture to straighten it out, then click the Apply button.
4. This picture is a bit dull, so use Auto Contrast to brighten it up.
5. Click the Back to Library button to return to the thumbnail display. 

11. Combining operations
1. Open "ScannedPhoto". 
2. First, it's just a little crooked, so use Straighten.
3. Then, Crop the picture. (Ignore the message about croping a straightened image)
4.  Use Auto Contrast to brighten it up. 
5. Finally, click on the Tuning tab and use the Shadows slider to slightly darken the shadows.
6. Click the Back to Library button to return to the thumbnail display. 

12. Cropping a photo for a standard frame size.
1. Open  "TooBig" .
2. Click on the Crop button on the left.
3. Click on one of the standard frame sizes (4x6, 5x7, or 8x10).
4. Drag out a rectangle over the desired portion of the image and use the mouse to adjust the position and size of the crop box as you wish.
5 Click on the green Apply Ö button.
6. Click the Back to Library button to return to the thumbnail display. 

13. Removing Red Eye
1. Open "redeye".
2. Click the Red-Eye button in the left-hand panel.
3. Click, hold and drag the mouse over each eye separately.  Repeat if once is not enough.
4. Click the Apply button to accept the correction OR click Reset to remove the red-eye correction.
5. Click Cancel to exit the Redeye correction mode.

14. Printing multiple pictures on one sheet of paper
1. Drag several pictures that you want to print from the library down to the "Picture Tray" at the bottom left of the screen.  Or you can pull down Edit and click Select All to print all the pictures in a folder.
2. Click the Print icon at the bottom of the screen. (There will be a delay of several seconds).
3. Select the desired Print Layout on the top left. (If you want each picture printed more than once, click on the + and - buttons near "Copies per picture"). 
4. Press the Shrink to fit and Crop to fit buttons to see which look you prefer. 
5. Click the Printer button and select your printer.
6. Click the Printer Setup button and select the paper type that you have loaded into the printer.
7. Normally, you would click the Print button at the bottom right, but please don't do that in class. 
8. To exit the Print screen, click Cancel in the lower right.

15. Separating pictures that have been scanned together and saved as one image.
1. Open "OldPhotos".
2. Click on the Crop button on the left and drag out a rectangle over one of the images. 
3. Click on the green Apply Ö button .
4. Pull down File and select Save a Copy.
5. Click the Undo Crop button.
6. Repeat steps 2 -5 for each image.  Each separate photo will be saved in the same folder, with the numbers 1, 2, 3., etc added to the original file name. (e.g. "OldPhotos1", "OldPhotos2", etc).
(c) Tom O'Haver (toh@umd.edu), revised March 2006.