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1. 7 Click Done Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Chapter 6 Advanced Photo Editing 75 Distortion Brush Freeing up The distortion brush tool lets you smear bulge shrink or erase part of the memory picture When touching up a picture you can use the distortion brush to dimin ish or accentuate certain features in the picture The distortion brush requires a lot of computer memory especially if you drag it across a wide area To speed up the processing of the effect try closing other applications you have running on your computer The distortion brush can be used to make some funny or whimsical images To use the distortion brush 1 On the Stack click the object you want to touch up 2 On the Effects menu click Distortion Brush 3 Click an effect and then click a brush size 4 Do one of the following m Click on the picture to distort inside the circular brush area m Dragon the picture to distort a wider area 5 Click Done Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual CHAPTER 7 Batch Editing in Mini Lab 4 Batch Editing in Mini Lab If you take photos regularly it can become time consuming to perform basic editing to all of your pictures after you download them from your camera Mini Lab contains tools that can help you save time with routine editing that needs to be done to many or all of the photos in a batch If you have a high capacity storage medium in your camera yo
2. Exposure Exposure describes the amount of light that comes into your camera when you take a photo Setting the camera to the correct exposure is crucial to getting the proper tones and colors in your photos Overexposure occurs when too much light has reached the image sensor or film in a film camera which decreases detail and causes the photo to look washed out Underexposure occurs when insufficient light has been let into the camera and the photo looks dim and murky Exposure is controlled by three factors the aperture the shutter speed and the ISO rating Aperture is the size of the opening that lets light into the camera Shutter speed is how long light is allowed into the camera ISO rating the film speed in a film camera is the sensor or film s sensitivity to light Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 134 Chapter 12 Taking Great Pictures The water glass analogy When taking a photograph your goal is to achieve a perfect exposure To create the right exposure you need to understand the relationship between the three exposure factors aperture shutter speed and ISO rating Achieving perfect exposure can be compared to filling a glass completely without spilling any of the water For a perfect exposure the glass should become completely full with no water spilling over In this analogy the tap symbolizes the aperture the wider the tap is open the faster the glass fills up The time that the tap is open re
3. Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Chapter 14 Optimizing Your Monitor for Photos 173 Increasing the color quality setting on your monitor can significantly improve the way photos look on your screen As with the screen resolution adjusting the color quality may be limited by your monitor type and the amount of VRAM installed on your computer Increasing screen resolution and increasing color quality both require VRAM so you may have to decrease screen resolution if you want to increase color quality To change the color settings on Windows 98 Windows Me or Windows NT 4 0 or later 1 Save any open projects and close all programs except Digital Image 2 On the Tools menu click Display Settings 3 Click the Settings tab 4 Under Colors click a color quality and then click OK 5 If prompted restart your computer To change the color settings in Windows XP 1 Save any open projects and close all programs except Digital Image 2 On the Tools menu click Display Settings 3 Click the Settings tab 4 Under Color quality click a color quality and then click OK 5 If prompted restart your computer If you try to adjust your display properties to a color quality setting that requires more VRAM than is available the screen resolution may automatically be decreased to allocate VRAM for the increased color quality Experiment with adjusting color quality and screen resolution to find settings that work for you
4. Troubleshooting tips for opening pictures from a camera Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Your camera must be connected and turned on before you start the digital camera task or it will not appear in the list of cameras and drives If you ve connected your digital camera to your computer but can t see your pictures make sure the connections are secure the camera is turned on and the batteries are charged The camera might not start download ing unless its batteries are fully charged Some cameras are equipped with an A C adapter that you can use instead of batteries If your camera does not appear in the list of cameras and drives or if you receive an error message when you click Download start your camera software from the operating system Start menu For more information about downloading photos using the software included with your camera consult your camera s manual Chapter 3 Opening and Importing Pictures 19 Opening from a scanner Digital Image supports two types of scanner formats TWAIN and WIA If your scanner doesn t use a TWAIN or WIA interface you need to use the software designed specifically for the make and model of your scanner Many scanner manufacturers provide free updates to their drivers on the Web Before you attempt to scan a picture make sure your scanner is connected properly The first time you connect your scanner the Identify Scanner Type dialog box will open asking you to id
5. 274 Index cropping 43 digital cameras 224 e mail quality 20 98 monitor color settings 173 optimal 166 overview 123 164 picture resizing 29 print size 101 recommendations 168 scanners 161 Web quality 98 RGB values 174 room lighting conditions 175 rotating picture features 59 rubber stamp effects 71 rule ofthirds 43 154 S safety precautions photography 227 sampling picture features blending brush 74 clone brush 73 saving pictures 95 scanners automatic enhancing 168 batching 167 bit depth 164 cleaning 163 dynamic range 166 film 162 flatbed 161 large pictures 165 multi page scanning 161 opening pictures from 19 optimizing performance 168 overview 161 preparing pictures for 163 previewing image 168 purchasing 166 resolution 164 166 Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual speed 167 TIFF format 168 types 161 USB 166 Scan a Picture button 25 scratch removal 162 screen settings ambient light 175 brightness 174 color adjustments 174 color settings 172 contrast 174 overview 171 preserving settings 175 resolution 171 RGB values 174 viewable area adjustments 172 VRAM 173 searching online Help 34 Selection Preview pane 115 selection tools described 28 Edge Finder 66 freehand 65 Magic Wand 67 marquee 64 object 59 overview 63 self timer features 149 sending prints or gifts 103 sensitivity camera setting 140 181 sepia tones 70 series photo 146 setting white balance 251 shadows 45 132 248 sh
6. Scanning Tor Pictures eee ted e t et E ur it e i de ac cede enu 109 Adding Keywotds onem Re da CO d e OT ER ER te Ga 110 Viewing Your Photos etn ated e e i i E EIE E Ra FREUE USA ERE 111 Viewing by Folder nao 111 Viewing Dy Dit la ie 111 Viewing by Keywotd nece ita ind da HE Dt 112 Usine the Thumbnail Slider it ek er he eret nee 112 Showing Thumbnail D t 52 0 reet nern 113 Tiles Vi Wii Y 113 ndo EIC VAC E 113 Thumbnails with Text Vi Wii tai diei in m Dead dieta cepe nS 113 Grouping Your PiCtures ooo eod iti ee in Ei pde oem eke ees 114 Showing the AAA A 114 Using the Preview Panel 115 Archiving PIGUITOS scott dai er oed eee 116 Editing and File Management from Digital Image Library eese 117 Editing in a Photo Editor eie tc tua Eve tasa eae did todita 117 Editing 1n Mini Lab ie sinn 118 Batch Fale Management n RH ERREUR IHRER RE E AREE REM EE E EH REETURST 118 Chapter 12 Taking Great Pictures sorssussossssssnnssnssnnsnnssonsnunsonsnnnsonsnnnsnunsnnsnnnsnnsnnssnnsnnnsnnsnnnssnssnnsnnssonssnnsann 119 About Digital Cameras instala 122 Photo Quality eed initis te p ent e ea E eS 122 RESONON sco cep O 123 Compression cs ceo ni USt Hes a ERN E ae aee a inne EE ae arae er ed E aE a E EErEE 125 File Formats 126 Using Zoom Features cunda dial 127 Memory Cards Disks and Sticks iicet e ada n pee n 128 Battery Life a elek een dann 129 Usine the Flash snena
7. The Bullets and Numbers button 3 lets you apply or cancel formatting for bulleted or numbered lists Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 32 Chapter 4 Digital Image Basics Accessing Help from the keyboard You can access the online Help system at any time by pressing F1 on the keyboard Help Resources There are multiple ways that you can learn more about using Digital Image In addition to this User s Manual there is the online Help system the product Tour and Instructional Videos The following sections describe the types of information available Online Help Digital Image online Help is the most comprehensive of the Help resources It provides step by step instructions overviews troubleshooting topics technical support and the What s wrong with this picture diagnostic tool Help includes several ways to find information including a table of contents a keyword index and a full text search This diagram identifies the main features of the Help window 1 4 5 Miro mb eus Lara beber ae on Ta weh Cha pi bae mr rl 1 ee ee H ER RI oU IE A PE A AA A el Poe DE sama add D prd V Cu fen sara punision ip bia pripa oe apa A bm ELI Th Gl rad co Whois eles ied a mure Po a mi beside bee Ye Cleri udo maie Fe kreas ta pam ee negoti PA mor rr a alar Peur a ind Eo ae oni Be Ho map oon i seers din Bc aibi alumna di magari 1 The Show Hide button Click this button to expa
8. To get the effect of the water almost engulfing the girls used a telephoto lens and shot from a high vantage point Take the obvious shot if you must but don t put the camera away It s often only with time and patience that you discover different ways to see the subject or scene Walk around think about how to put the scene or subject in a more meaningful or interesting visual context for the viewer of the photo Certainly your camera gear gives you a world of creative options for going Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 240 Chapter 15 The Best of Tips amp Tricks beyond the obvious For example the subject matter of the photo of two young girls playing in the surf is easily a clich However because the compressed perspective makes it appear as if the water will engulf the girls the shot escapes the mundane category To get this effect I used a telephoto lens and shot from a high vantage point Tip Develop your own clich meter If you see a picture and think this looks just like then look again and ask yourself how you could express the scene from a new point of view 5 Do it with style If you slavishly follow all the rules and guidelines for making good pictures you will doubtless end up with lots of nice photos If however you want something that sets your photos apart from others then find and fine tune your personal style Like your voice your photographic style will make your i
9. but I m not Ansel Adams and I know nothing about editing pictures While digital image editing often mirrors traditional wet darkroom picture processing you don t have to have traditional darkroom experience to perform everything from minor fixes to minor miracles in a short time with digital images And in many cases you can save pictures you would have otherwise thrown away Notice that I said many not all cases Regardless of the small miracles you can perform there will be some images that no amount of computer editing will fix Image editing software is good but alas far from perfect For example if the detail is blown out of highlight areas no amount of editing will put detail into the area You can use a cloning tool to paint in detail from a similar area but the process is tricky tedious and the results can look artificial Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Chapter 15 The Best of Tips amp Tricks 255 Tone and color adjustments made this image a standout for color and contrast But if you follow good darkroom process and practices my bet is that you ll get more keepers than you thought possible And what s more you can polish those exceptional images into a portfolio of personal best pictures that you ll be proud to share and print Following are tips and a suggested process for correcting digital images Before you start editing pictures The first two best steps in
10. m All Pictures in Digital Image Library The Archive Pictures Wizard will guide you through the whole archiving process allowing you to select an archive location archive friendly name and other options Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Chapter 11 Organizing and Archiving in Digial Image Library 117 Editing and File Management from Digital Im age Library With its powerful organizational tools Digital Image Library is an easy way to locate pictures in your collection Once you have found the pictures you want to work with you can select those pictures for editing and file management Editing in a Photo Editor From Digital Image Library you can open pictures in a photo editor perform your editing tasks and then return to Digital Image Library To edit pictures in a photo editor 1 In the Thumbnail pane select the pictures you want to edit 2 On the Tasks menu click Edit The pictures open in the photo editor 3 Edit and save the pictures 4 Close the photo editor Thumbnails in Digital Image Library will be updated to show your edits By default Digital Image Library will open the pictures to be edited in Digital Image But you can set Digital Image Library to open a different photo editor To change the photo editor associated with Digital Image Library 1 On the Tools menu click Options 2 Click the General tab 3 Under Change Picture Editor do one of the following m Click Use Dig
11. 1 Save any open projects and close all programs except Digital Image 2 On the Tools menu click Display Settings 3 Under Sereen resolution move the slider to change the screen resolution and then click OK 4 If prompted restart your computer When you adjust the screen resolution you may notice that the viewable area becomes de centered too narrow or too short To center or expand the view able area on the screen use the monitor controls These controls are usually located on the front of the monitor directly below the screen The controls can adjust the width and height of the screen directly or on many models the controls open a graphical control screen with menu commands Setting Monitor Color Quality The monitor color quality setting affects the number of colors in your photos When viewing photos it s optimal to have a high color quality setting such as 24 bit color which can display more than 16 million unique colors With a low color quality setting such as 256 colors a monitor cannot display all of the colors found in most photographs Such a monitor badly renders a photo containing a section of gradient color such as a sky that becomes brighter toward the horizon The color transition from dark to light appears uneven and jagged because the monitor cannot display the fine variations in color E A monitor with a low quality color setting cannot show the complete range of colors found in most photographs
12. another technique will give you results similar to bracketing To get a lighter exposure aim your camera at a darker portion of the subject and then press the shutter button partway down until you begin to feel a little resistance Next without releasing pressure on the shutter button reframe your photo to include what you want and then push the shutter button all the way down to take the photo Depending on your camera pressing the shutter button halfway down may lock in the exposure and the focus If this is the case you need to set the exposure on an object that is exactly the same distance away from the camera as the subject Otherwise your subject will not be in focus when you take the photo Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Chapter 12 Taking Great Pictures 8 Analyze and Shoot Again Photography takes practice And you will progress at a faster rate if some of your practice time is focused on developing specific skills One way to do that is to analyze your photos and then go shoot them again When you get a chance to look at your photos on a computer or as prints you can assess their quality of composition lighting exposure and white balance Upon close inspection you might realize that you placed your subject too close to the center of the frame or that incandescent lights caused an orange glow On your next shoot go out and take this same photo again and make adjust ments for the problems you encounte
13. Chapter 13 Successful Scanning Film Scanners If you need to scan negatives or slides on a regular basis a film scanner is the best option for the sharpest high resolution results Film scanners generally have higher resolutions than flatbed scanners producing images at 2 000 or more dpi Since slides and negatives are so much smaller than photographic prints it s crucial to be able to scan at a high resolution especially if you plan to make larger size prints from the scans If you scan a slide at low resolution you ll have relatively few pixels to work with limiting you to making small prints of the scans If you don t have a scanner that accepts film you can pay a photo lab to scan your best negatives or slides onto a CD ROM Negatives and slides can be scanned to various sizes from 128 x 192 pixels to 2048 x 3072 pixels The lat ter is adequate for making a good 8 x 10 print Paying for scanning services can be expensive so if you have a lot of slides or negatives you ll save money by buying a suitable scanner Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Chapter 13 Successful Scanning 163 Preparing Pictures for Scanning The single biggest problem with scanning is poor scans caused by contami nants such as lint dust and other specks on your photos or flatbed scanner s glass plate Some of these particles are barely visible before the scan but become noticeable spots in the digital image You can remove these spots
14. Chapter 13 Successful Scanning 165 Scanning Large Pictures Adding RAM for Scanning a large picture at high resolution requires a lot of RAM or memory faster scans on your computer The larger a picture is the longer it takes to scan and the more memory your computer requires to open it If you are having trouble scanning a large picture try the following If you repeatedly have trouble scanning larger images you m Scan ata lower resolution If you don t plan to crop or enlarge the image might want to consider 300 dpi should be sufficient adding more RAM to m Scan a smaller portion of the picture See your scanner s documentation your computer At least for specifics on controlling the height and width of the scan 128 MB of RAM is m Close programs that you re not using to make more memory available for recommended Adding the scanning task RAM can be fairly inexpensive Depending on the configuration of your system you may be able to increase performance by upgrading to 256 MB or even 512 MB of RAM Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 166 Chapter 13 Successful Scanning Five Tips for Buying the Right Scanner When buying a scanner consider these factors to find a model that suits your needs 1 Get the Best Resolution You Can A flatbed scanner s optical resolution the number of pixels that a scanner Sees includes two numbers such as 1200 x 2400 dpi The first number is the most meaningful
15. If the Marquee Tool options palette is not visible in the workspace click the Selection button on the toolbar To keep the edges of the selection smooth select the Anti aliased check box on the Marquee Tool options palette On the Marquee Tool options palette click a shape for the marquee selection To keep the marquee shape in a specific proportion click Shape propor tions on the Marquee Tool options palette and then enter a height and width On the Marquee Tool options palette choose whether you want to make a new selection add to the current selection or subtract from the current selection Drag the marquee pointer diagonally across the area you want to select To adjust the selection shape click Adjust marquee on the Marquee Tool options palette resize or rotate the marquee shape and then click Done To feather the selection click Feather on the Marquee Tool options palette enter the number of pixels that you want feathered around the edge and then click OK To select the opposite area click Invert on the Marquee Tool options palette Chapter 6 Advanced Photo Editing 65 The Freehand Tool The freehand tool t helps you select part of an object by drawing an irregu lar shape 1 Make sure that the Stack appears in the workspace 2 On the Stack click the object of which you want to make a partial selec tion 3 Click the freehand tool 1 button on the toolbar 4 If the Freehand Tool options p
16. If you cannot adjust both the resolution and color quality settings to adequate levels you may want to have more VRAM installed on your computer by a computer technician Color quality in Windows XP If your computer is running Windows XP the default color quality setting is at least 16 bit color How many colors do you need Some monitors allow you to adjust the color quality to 32 bit but that level may be higher than you need Digital Image and most other image editing programs convert 32 bit images to 24 bit color But with more than 16 million colors the 24 bit setting is adequate for most circumstances Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 174 Adjusting the video adapter Some video adapters allow you to make adjustments to brightness contrast and RGB values through the video adapter dialog box Let your ink dry before calibrating Some printer inks change color slightly duringthe drying process which can take as much as eight hours If this is the case with your printer let the print dry overnight before using it to calibrate your monitor Chapter 14 Optimizing Your Monitor for Photos Calibrating for Brightness Contrast and RGB Values When you adjust screen resolution and color quality you are telling your computer s video adapter sometimes called a video card or display adapter how to send the signals to the monitor But to adjust brightness contrast and RGB red gr
17. The y or vertical axis of the histogram shows the number of pixels assigned to any given brightness value The histogram shows shadow darkest pixels on the left midtones in the middle and highlight lightest pixels on the right The x horizontal axis shows the distribution of pixels from dark to light throughout the image From Personal Experience To make the most of your time in the digital darkroom here is my personal advice m Ina series of similar pictures choose the picture with the best exposure and work on it Others in the series can be ignored or worked on as you have time m Keep the original image open beside the image you re working on so you can track your progress and the changes you make as you work m Have a well corrected picture open or near the computer and refer to it as you work It s easy to look at a picture so long that you lose a reference point for the color correction you want to achieve m Save your work often m Back up your pictures on CD or other removable secure media Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 266 Chapter 15 The Best of Tips amp Tricks A high key or light image will have the highest level of pixels on the right A low key or dark image will concentrate pixels toward the left An average key image will have the highest values toward the middle of the histogram As you shoot check the histogram to ensure that you have a large area o
18. after all subjective Despite these disclaimers knowing the commonly accepted evaluation criteria can give you a roadmap to getting better day to day photos and a guide for evaluating the final images Following is the evaluation list that I use when I review my images and evaluate images for the MSN Photo of the Week images In addition Pve included sample questions for each checkpoint that you can use or adapt for evaluating your photos By having a clear center of interest along with subordinate elements that complement the subject the viewer knows immediately what the photo is about Is there a clear center of interest In a strong photo the viewer can immediately identify the subject While this Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Chapter 15 The Best of Tips amp Tricks 195 sounds like a no brainer a surprisingly high number of photos fail to clearly identify the main subject Instead a complex montage of elements compete for the viewer s attention In a strong photo the subject should dominate the image and form the viewer s first impression Ifthe subject is strong the viewer s eyes may move to explore other areas of the image but the eyes are drawn inevitably back to the subject Great examples of this point are pictures of sunsets an ageless and popular photo subject While the colors and cloud formations of a sunset are dramatic they are seldom enough to create a compelling image Beyond a qu
19. and image file sizes but the kinds of images I got the quality didn t change Despite my spending enough money to support a small third world nation for a year the bottom line was that to get better pictures I had to get better at taking them It sounds simplistic but in the rush for new and better technology it s a point easily overlooked So I spent two weeks of vacation figuring out the thinking stuff and came up with a personal list of improvement techniques The list evolved over the two weeks so some of these techniques have been more fully explored than others Although this is my personal list I suspect you ll find one or more of these techniques useful in your photography Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Chapter 15 The Best of Tips amp Tricks 213 Pushing the hand holding limit at slow shutter speeds is one of the patterns determined to resolve 1 Stop making the same stupid mistakes Identify the problem I spent a reflective afternoon sorting through image archives Patterns emerged Whether a result of time pressure or old habits I found that my lousy shots were all lousy in the same old tiresome ways Granted there is a lot to remember before pressing the shutter release button but I finally had to ask how many ways could I find to screw up what should have been a good photo For example one embarrassing pattern was my persistent snapshot tendency taking the obvious shot witho
20. around objects in the picture Following a sequence or workflow in the digital darkroom not only helps you Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Chapter 15 The Best of Tips amp Tricks 257 avoid time consuming mistakes but also ensures that you work with a copy of the image in as high a resolution as you can for as long as you can before making the final edits such as cropping or resizing for printing Image correction process 1 Save and correct a copy of the original Adjust the tonal range Adjust the color balance Dodge and burn Correct flaws such as dust scratches and red eyes Crop the image d ON tn Bu rn Size the image for printing e mail and the Web 8 Sharpen the image 1 Save and correct a copy of the original Before editing an image always save a copy of the original file in a lossless file format such as Tagged Image File Format TIFF or tif and work on the copy Although you may have taken the image in JPEG format do not edit and continue to save the image in JPEG format JPEG files are small because they are compressed to save space on the memory card and on your computer s hard drive However during compression some of the image data 1s discarded If you re working on a JPEG image and you periodically save it as a JPEG as you work the image will be recompressed and bits of the image will be discarded each time you save the file While you may not notice a degradation in the image on the scre
21. opening pictures from 21 interpolation 127 invitations personalized 89 irregular shapes 65 isolating picture parts See selection tools ISO setting 140 181 italic formatting 31 J JPEG files 16 62 96 123 168 K keywords grouping pictures by 114 overview 110 viewing pictures by 112 Keyword Painter 110 Kodak Photo CD files 16 L landscapes 251 252 larger print sizes 101 large picture scanning 165 layers See objects LCDs 157 lenses cold weather and 227 library See Digital Image Library lifespan ratings print 102 light side lighting 248 lighting adjust levels tool 45 ambient 175 aperture 136 183 automatic exposure 134 backlighting 53 blown highlights 223 bracketing 135 156 colors 40 dark area adjustments 52 evaluating 199 exposure compensation 135 film speed 140 181 flash 130 224 incandescent 40 overview 133 photography tips 235 problems 39 redeye 41 131 room conditions 175 shutter speed 138 187 tips 153 189 223 white balance 40 141 220 light pixels 45 53 linking objects 60 locating pictures Digital Image Library 107 file browser 14 overview 13 TWAIN support 17 WIA support 17 locations selecting photography 207 locked objects 58 long exposure shots 149 lossless compression 125 loss prevention 116 low color quality settings 172 low contrast images 247 248 low quality printer settings 101 low resolution pictures 20 101 low resolution scanning 164 LZW compression 168 M
22. quite obviously a brilliant blue sky makes a great backdrop for pictures Secondary colors are green orange and violet Tertiary colors fall between the primary and secondary colors For example yellow orange falls between yellow and orange blue violet falls between blue and violet and so on To create eye stopping photos use complementary colors Complementary col ors are opposite each other in the color wheel such as red green blue orange and yellow violet When you place complementary colors next to each other they make each other appear brighter And because these colors are equal in value combining complementary colors creates strong color contrast Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 238 Chapter 15 The Best of Tips amp Tricks Bright dominant colors in this case red and blue not only create visual appeal they also cre ate their own composition Given that color has strong appeal you might think that a photo with many strong colors would create a more powerful photograph That s not usually the case however A photograph with many strong colors can be distracting draw ing the viewer s eye from one color to the next Instead compose the photo so that one color dominates and then use the dominant color to help organize the photo and focus attention Related colors are next to each other on the color wheel and a series of three or four adjacent colors is called analogous colors Related and analo
23. 51 Adding Fla She mus entre Orten tpe o ra tas eee ido 52 tad AAA 53 Chapter 6 Advanced Photo Edi mng eiecti ntn ront entente enne nr erae on PY eene e pans ER doin none ernennen ehe sosis 55 Understanding Objects uai erat 57 Working with Composites cioe see Bean 57 Locked Objects iii ia italia 58 Selecting Objects with the Object Tool ann an 59 Multiple Selection Grouping and Flattening Objects sse 60 M ltiple Selection roit enirn ter ttad oido tole soil doit 60 GIouping bjects ii a Laien 61 Rlattening Objects viii e n te de aan nenne 62 Automatic Flattenimg iii ne enr De eR HER 62 Flattening Objects D ring Saving nase ee aa an 62 Usme Selection ToolStrip aie til D EDI eS 63 The Marquee Tool aui iter is 64 The Freeh nd Meo 65 The Eds Rd ii dao iii 66 CAME TO 67 Editing and Copying Selected Areas riesia eorr e iaa oae eere 68 Copying Cutting and Pasting Selections eei eee ise aka 68 gl c ET 69 mgr ETE 70 Paint Effects oet eae mone RI EO dpa a OR ERE EUIS 71 Clone DTU dis iaa 73 A A FE a aa aeea aA A EE a E ae S 74 Distortion Brushes e E EE E EE a Re E ERS 75 Chapter 7 Batch Editing in Mini Lab scccicccsscccssccesecnssctsonssieccevecsetessenssenessonsscconsonscesnsvosvessetesseneoonsseassesuesesse TT Chapter 8 Adding Edges Mats and Frames eee eee eese eene eene seen s
24. For the best results from slides consider a scanner with a D range of 3 4 or higher Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Chapter 13 Successful Scanning 167 4 Scan by the Batch If you re considering a dedicated film scanner check out models that allow you to load a batch of at least four slides or six negatives at one time Batch scan ning can save a lot of time 5 Be Realistic About Scanning Speed When reviewing the specs for various scanners remember this The quoted scanning speeds are always optimistic Expect much longer actual scan times Use the specs only for comparison purposes Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 168 Chapter 13 Successful Scanning Lossless compression Digital Image can save files in TIFF format using a compression type called LZW which makes image files smaller without losing data Five Tips for Successful Scanning 1 Keep Your Scanner and Originals Clean Dust or lint on the scanner glass or on a photo will be picked up by the scanner An antistatic brush does a good job fending off even tiny particles that you can t see 2 Preview and Correct the Scan Scanner driver software generally allows you to adjust color contrast high lights shadows and other factors Most scanner programs offer an automatic enhancing feature that may improve brightness contrast and color balance Preview your scan after using that control If it seems perfect you may be ready
25. Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 58 Chapter 6 Advanced Photo Editing Locked Objects When you open any single object picture such as a picture you took with your digital camera the picture will by default be locked to its position on the canvas When an object is locked to the canvas the lock icon is shown next to that object s thumbnail on the Stack This lock icon indicates that you will not be able to drag the object around on the canvas To lock or unlock an object 1 Right click the object s thumbnail on the Stack 2 Click Lock or Unlock Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Chapter 6 Advanced Photo Editing 59 Selecting Objects with the Object Tool The object tool allows you to select one or more whole objects at a time With the object tool you can move resize and rotate selected objects by drag ging the object on the canvas or using the resize handles Each time you start Digital Image the object tool will be selected by default You will be able to accomplish many different editing tasks by using the object tool as your only selection tool Unlike the other selection tools the object tool does not have an options palette To select an object with the object tool 1 Make sure that the Stack appears in the workspace 2 Click the object tool amp button on the toolbar 3 On the Stack click the object When an object is selected with the object tool and not locked to the c
26. Note I m not suggesting that technical details such as precise exposure aren t important I am suggesting that simple shooting techniques can make a big difference in photos for those who are time challenged So if you fall into the ultra harried category just pick one of the following suggestions and try it Or pick two or try them separately or together The ideas in this article are abbreviated for easy use If you find a topic you particularly enjoy be sure to explore more on the subject in photography books magazines and of course on MSN Photos 1 Look for the light When the subject of light is brought up people expect to hear again the advantages of shooting in the early morning hours or sunset and twilight hours Both of these times of day typically offer stunning light However you can use this rule of thumb at any time of the day because looking for the light means seeing unique compositions that are created by the way light illuminates a scene and subject Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 236 Chapter 15 The Best of Tips amp Tricks Practice noticing how light can play on objects Light often creates patterns such as in this photo where the eye is lead to a vanishing point by the light canopy artificial lights and the lighter areas on the floor To use this technique think of it as a guide It will almost always show you a vignette that is perfect to photograph Once you see the vignette watc
27. On the Effects menu point to Paint Brush and then click Stamps 2 Click a stamping style and then click a stamp 3 Click a stamp size and then apply the stamp by clicking on the picture 4 Click Done Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Chapter 6 Advanced Photo Editing Clone Brush The clone brush is a sophisticated editing tool that allows you to paint with a sample from another part of the image Unlike the airbrush tool that paints in a solid color the clone brush allows you to paint gradations of color or varied textures The clone brush works very well when touching up a face or an area of skin For example you can paint over a blemish with an area of clear skin copied from another part of the face or body Similarly you can use the clone brush to cover up distractions in the background of your picture For example you could paint over power lines with a matching gradient of color sampled from a clear area of the sky The original picture on the left contained some trees in the lower right corner of the frame The clone brush was used to cover the trees with a sample from a clear area of the sky To use the clone brush On the Stack click the object you want to touch up On the Touchup menu click Clone Brush Click a brush size hh un Re On your picture click the spot from which you want to copy This spot called the start position is marked with a cross hair while you paint Move the cir
28. See objects PCD files 16 PCT files 16 PCX files 16 PC Paintbrush files 16 permanent object links 62 personalized cards 89 photo See photo quality pictures photographic prints scanning 161 photography basics 180 212 235 photography subjects and locations 207 photo card readers 14 photo editors 117 photo paper options 102 photo projects 89 photo quality aperture 136 183 automatic camera modes 142 automatic exposure 134 compression 125 evaluation checklist 194 exposure 133 151 189 exposure compensation 135 151 file formats 126 film speed 140 181 flash 130 lighting 189 long exposures 149 manual camera settings 133 minimizing noise 251 overview 121 red eye 41 131 resolution 123 self timers 149 shadows 132 shutter speeds 138 187 storage media 128 story telling 199 203 tips 150 179 water glass analogy 134 white balance 141 zoom 127 PHP files 16 pictures See also photo quality archiving 116 color effects 70 editing 117 filter enhanced 69 formats supported 16 96 126 grouping 114 identifying 110 importing 13 opening 13 ordering prints and gifts 103 organizing 107 resizing 29 scanning 161 text 31 viewing 111 pixels cropping 43 histograms 45 interpolation 127 noise 140 overview 122 picture resizing 29 print sizes 101 resolution 123 164 scanning 162 playback mode 223 PNG files 16 PNG Plus files 62 96 portrait photography 85 147 positioning camera and subjects 150 precise editing See als
29. User s Manual 204 Chapter 15 The Best of Tips amp Tricks This shot is symbolic of the Seattle earthquake aftermath Fratkin felt so strongly about the stories told in the images taken by Sarajevo photographers during the Bosnian war that she committed the last five years to getting their stories told in images She created the book and exhibition in which the images taken by nine Sarajevo photographers tell the story of war from their intensely personal perspective The hardest part This challenge shooting the story in a single shot isn t easy By comparison it makes perfecting the technical aspects of an image look like child s play But I ve spent the past few months trying it anyway And I continue to try This photo challenge has the potential for changing the way you shoot every image whether it s pictures of your children of your family of nature or of still life scenes If you re like me you ll think a lot about what telling the story means Remember that the key is to convey the meaning to viewers to help them understand what you understand about the subject Lessons along the way Here are some of the things I ve learned about using my camera to tell a story 1 Most often what you see in front of you is a pretty picture but it isn t the story 2 To understand the story whether it s small large humorous or profound you have to contemplate research watch and talk but mostly listen Pv
30. a greeting card for a holiday a party invita tion or any other occasion To open a photo card design 1 Open a photo and check to see that 1t appears on the Files palette On the File menu click Create a Project On the All Types of Designs page click Cards Click Photo Frame Cards Click a theme click a design and then click Open Follow the instructions on the screen To edit the inside pages on the View menu click Front of Card Inside of Card or Back of Card d ON tn FW WN Once your card project is open you can add your own text photos and clip art Since most printers cannot print to the edge of the page the purple margins on the edges of a card project represent the unprintable areas of the card Photo cards are either half fold cards which are larger cards printed on both sides of the paper or quarter fold cards which are smaller cards printed on only one side of the paper A favorite golfing photo was used to create this half fold card 89 Working with a multi page project When working with a project that has more than one page such as a greeting card the multi page palette appears on the bottom of the screen This palette lets you switch between pages in the project Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 90 Chapter 9 Creating Projects To change the fold style of a card 1 On the Format menu click Change Card Fold Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Chap
31. and then work on them with Digital Image Many photos sent through e mail are low resolution photos which are not suit able for large prints But low resolution photos may be fine for online viewing or printing at small sizes To open a photo sent through e mail Use your e mail program to save the photo to a folder on your computer Save the photo to a folder that will be easy for you to locate later such as the My Pictures folder 1 In Digital Image click Open on the File menu 2 The File Browser dialog box opens 3 Click the All Files tab 4 On the All Files tab browse to the folder containing the photo and then click the folder 5 Select the photo and then click Open Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Chapter 3 Opening and Importing Pictures 21 Opening a Picture from a Web Page When you surf the Internet you may come across photos and other images that you would like to use in your photo projects You might find photos of celebri ties vacation spots that you want to visit or graphics that would look good as part of one of your photo projects Unless the Web site uses image protection you can capture these images and use them for your own projects Web images are usually low resolution so they may not be suitable for printing But you could still use the images in a project to be viewed online To capture an image from a Web page you can drag it from the Web page to the Digital Image Files pa
32. and angular features On the other hand a soft warm color dif fused light is more appropriate for a portrait of a woman because it mirrors the delicate features of these subjects And of course there are few photographers who fail to take advantage of the superb colors of light during sunrises and sunsets When evaluating the lighting merits of a photo ask m Is the intensity and color of light appropriate for the subject m Is the light too harsh too contrasty or is it too soft and too flat m Are all important aspects of the subject well lit or could the lighting be improved by using a flash fill flash reflector or auxiliary light m Does the light help convey the overall message of the photo m Inacolor photo is the color balanced or corrected for the light tempera ture in other words the overall color should be natural looking And if it isn t does the color cast contribute to the photo The right angle and quality of light can transform everyday scenes and objects into photo opportunities Is the approach creative In broad terms I define creative as an image that goes beyond predictable techniques and treatments In more specific terms the best creative images show subjects through the photographers eyes and perspective In other words the photographer reveals the subject in extraordinary ways ways that the viewer otherwise would not have seen Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Chapte
33. and type of ambient light in the room when you calibrate your monitor and use Digital Image to adjust your pictures for brightness contrast and color Preserving your settings Ifyou share your computer with other people you might want cover your monitor s controls with tape to keep them in place after you ve calibrated the monitor Tape might help the settings from being unintentionally changed Just don t make it impossible to change them when you need to Decreasing light for best results If you re working in a room with bright ambient light the photo on your monitor seems to be less vivid and have less contrast especially on flat panel monitors or laptop computers Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual CHAPTER 15 The Best of Tips amp Tricks 15 The Best of Tips Tricks m When you re looking to jump start your photography visit the Tips amp Tricks section of the MSN Photos Web site Tips amp Tricks features articles interviews industry news and tips about photography as well as plenty of dynamic inspir ing photographs In this section of the User s Manual we ve selected some of the best articles currently running on Tips amp Tricks You can find these articles on the Web site photos msn com along with full color versions of the accompanying photos The online versions of the articles also contain helpful links to related articles manufacturers Web sites and other sites f
34. away from your target spot press the shutter button The exposure should occur just as the runner comes into your field of focus Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Chapter 12 Taking Great Pictures 145 Another way to shoot a moving subject is to pan your camera with the action While a stop action photo freezes everything in the photo panning your camera keeps your moving subject in focus but blurs the background For this effect you do not want to use the action mode because you do not want a fast shutter speed To accomplish this effect follow your moving subject in the viewfinder or LCD screen as it moves but pan the camera so that your subject remains in the same position in the frame Your result won t show the subject in as clear a focus as stop action but the blurred background helps to pronounce the speed and movement of your subject Since the camera panned with the subject the girl is in fairly sharp focus and the background is blurred This helps convey movement Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 146 Chapter 12 Taking Great Pictures Showing the whole series online Digital Image offers Flipbook animations as a creative way to present a series of photos in sequence Burst Mode Burst mode is a feature that allows you to take a series of photos in quick suc cession Most cameras burst modes allow you to take 10 to 15 photos in 5 to 15 seconds Even on digital cameras with slow s
35. camera Action Mode If you re photographing subjects such as athletes moving cars or even fast moving children a camera s action mode helps keep your subject in focus The most significant characteristic of action mode is the faster shutter speed of at least 1 500 of a second which helps to freeze the action of your moving subject The action mode in most cameras also uses a wider aperture setting to offset the fast shutter speed and multipattern light metering which compen sates for overly bright and overly dark areas Action mode uses a fast shutter speed to freeze the action of a fast moving subject Digital cameras create a unique challenge for shooting action photography the time lag between when you press the shutter button and the actual exposure With film cameras pressing the shutter button causes the shutter to open virtu ally simultaneously But with digital cameras you might have to wait as long as four seconds before the photo 1s taken When shooting moving objects four seconds can seem like an eternity One way to compensate for the shutter lag is to anticipate your shot Imagine you are photographing a runner with a camera that has a four second shutter lag The four second shutter lag will not be highlighted on the camera s packaging but you can figure it out through your own experience First focus your camera on a spot that the runner will cross in about 10 seconds When the runner is only four seconds
36. can t get close to such as a ship sailing in water far from the shore Use a zoom lens to get close up candid shots of people without seeming intrusive or conspicuous Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 128 Chapter 12 Taking Great Pictures Memory Cards Disks and Sticks After the image sensor captures a photo in your digital camera the digital information is stored on removable media such as a CompactFlash or Smart Media card a memory stick a floppy disk a CD a microdrive a miniature storage card or a secure multimedia card Floppy disks and CDs have the advantage of being inexpensive and easy to find even if you re traveling abroad Floppy disks however have very limited storage capacity Memory cards are small durable and reusable And storage technology has been steadily improving so you can now find cards that store as much as 1 gigabyte GB Memory cards can be reused over and over which over time makes them less expensive than film Buying additional storage media like these CompactFlash cards allows you to take many more photos in a single session Storage media size dictates how many photos you can store The media that is included with some cameras can only hold a few high resolution photos This type of low capacity card can be impractical for situations such as traveling To glve yourself more flexibility you may want to purchase additional removable storage media Microsoft D
37. choices flash natural light or available outdoor sunlight or indoor tungsten or fluorescent light If you re shooting indoors and you decide to use a flash be sure to use a bounce flash Direct flash almost always creates a harsh effect along with deep shad ows Also if you re shooting indoors natural window light if it is available is the best option Try to shoot using side light the light falls on the subject from one side If you choose to use available indoor light be sure you use your tripod to ensure rock steady crisp sharpness In tungsten light the warm tint often helps create the atmosphere you want Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Chapter 15 The Best of Tips amp Tricks 245 Outdoors consider using your flash to fill in shadow areas and add pop to what may be dull faded colors In almost every case you ll want to move in close to the subject to isolate it from the contemporary surroundings Try to frame the shots carefully to avoid cropping later Whether you re photographing alley art or antiques veering off well traveled roads almost always provides nice rewards including honing your eye for unexpected photo opportunities and adding some unexpected and interesting photos to your collection Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 246 Chapter 15 The Best of Tips amp Tricks Fall Photos Sharpen Your Eye for Color and Composition Limiting the number of colors and keeping t
38. colors of light red blue and green have complementary colors cyan yellow and magenta respectively Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 248 Chapter 15 The Best of Tips amp Tricks Using complementary colors with intent creates striking images Using the complementary colors together creates images with striking contrast or pop This shot pops because it uses the complementary red cyan colors The same shot against green foliage in the background would have much lower contrast and would become one of those nice put it in the back of the drawer shots On the other hand images with low color contrast use either a single color or colors in the same family in the composition Using low color or harmonizing contrast creatively and intentionally creates visually soothing tranquil images For example a macro shot in which the frame is filled with a single fall bloom ing plant or berry is a low contrast image as is a frame filled with billowy grayish white fall clouds or distant multihued blue mountain ranges For low contrast images to be effective it s important to have a strong focal point in the composition and to look for or create tonal differences that provide depth and definition For example if you re shooting a single color subject create or emphasize tonal differences by using side lighting and by playing up shadows Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Chapter 15 The Best of Tips am
39. ehe eer ns 20 Opening a Picture from a Web Page secet nk iid ne HR ERE pede En 21 Chapter 4 Digital Image Basics cussorssnssonssnssnnssnnsnnsnnssonsnunsonsnnnsnnsnnnsnunsnnsnnnsnnsnunsnnsnnnsnnsnnnsnnssansnnssonssnnsnnn 23 Startup WindoW E R 25 Examining the Work Area ecke arena fiado 27 Image Formatting ins li id nennen 29 Changing pict re SIZ ici dd id ld lea sicher 29 APP NE Textusaciiice ia nadia amu ILLI ue 31 Help Resources ERE 32 Online RAS 32 Usinothetable of contents cia di aa 33 Usinpithe index ansehen 33 Using th search asus castes A aba ei kleinen 34 Product OUT dilo dia tin DH DU LR UE 34 Instructional Videos siinon iia 35 Technical Support iii a ae a ra 35 Chapter 5 Basic EIU D C 37 Adjusting Brightness and Contrast uses ied et Or e Hee HR nl 39 Adjusting Tint aset ea e ev tenti atate detener ale Seas 40 Eruns Bed Bye 225285742 Shasta acta waco hac ats tallas ei cU NOI UP IEEE 41 Straightening a Picture ae eu 42 TOPPING een ein ann ee en INITIIERT 43 Using the rule OL thirds eiie esee Rue 43 Using the Adjust Levels Tool siseses araro Dra eter estende cade sted debs ates e ya beu ce edi a ete Ee pon eaae 45 Usmeo omare AS sitiado coat iria lce pda EPUM DIUI D PIN 49 Removing Spots and Blemishes ds ater et nin He i ER RED Ee eraat 50 Removing Wrinkles nct rte erede rede demere n el last ries d to v e et i e ee
40. eiii rbd ID io I MET 130 Automatic Plastica 130 Red Eye Reduction Elash ere rem ein Peres Trad EUER RYE Ge EHE ERES 131 IUBET aa a 132 Using Your Cameras Manual Settings en ann 133 EXDOSUTe S oon t eed ntes hie nter se ertt pa ee E E E R 133 Exposure Compensation ici A da Ee e ERR Rer ke tein tes 135 Aperture PE 136 Shutter Spee E 138 ISO Settingsor Equivalent un ae neo Dee beoe docete ta tv Gl eaa ea ai 140 Setting the White Balance ici dd a e P E IER 141 Using Automatic Modes on Your Camera seenen ieni erosen RA E Era E 142 Macro Mode E EEATT EA uius uH E I ET 143 Acton Moderada E E E EE EENE 144 Burst MdG S eede EEA E Ea e EE AE N N E EE 146 Portrait Mode vii AAA eai eN eps 147 Panoramic Mode dee ee en ei UEa has irit pues 148 Usine the Self LHmeEz itunes trees batur E c SL tee terete vy cert DIUI ED UI ISSUE 149 Getting Yourself intoa Photo oue nate pee ei e dida 149 Taking Long Exposure Shots free ile 149 Ten Tips for Great PICLUIES anne ii eas depo ortis id 150 1 Know Your Gear a AN 150 2 N ilithe Bxposute uu ea e id ile 151 3 Capture a Moment in the Story aee ar REG REC REGHRRE RR EE RMR ARRIERE RENT ARR 152 4 Look arudnrdbrinc T E 153 S Follow the R leof Thutds eiie is 154 6 Find a Unique Perspectives isi neve pia nen 155 A R es S 156 8 Analyze and AAA aeiae Saa
41. features and projects check out the online Help system available from the Startup Window or the Help menu Or for a demonstration of some of Digital Image Suite s key features watch one of the Instructional Videos Digital photography is exciting and fun and Digital Image Suite makes it easy to get professional results We re confident that Digital Image Suite will be an enjoyable part of your digital imaging experience Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual CHAPTER 3 Opening and Importing Pictures 13 3 Opening and Importing Pictures Digital Image makes it easy to import and open your pictures quickly To trans fer pictures from your camera or storage media to your computer use the new Import Pictures Wizard This wizard is designed to streamline the file transfer process allowing you to name the destination folder rename the picture files and add the pictures to Digital Image Library To open pictures for editing use the file browser The file browser displays thumbnails of all your pictures so you can quickly choose the ones you want Importing Pictures Cataloging The Import Pictures Wizard is a convenient way to transfer pictures and video pictures in the clips from your digital camera or other storage location to your computer The Library Import Pictures Wizard helps you rename the files so that they have recogniz able file names Also the Import Pictures Wizard automatically catalogs pictures in Digita
42. image editing begin before you sit down at the computer From personal experience I know that the most important image editing steps are to m Learn your camera gear inside and out m Use your camera correctly when you take pictures Regardless of how much fun image editing is you don t want to spend time on the computer correcting something that could have been corrected during shooting Rather ensure that you use your image editing time to perfect and polish good pictures rather than salvaging images discolored because the white balance ISO or mode was incorrectly set Another important point is to know what you are correcting to or for In other words what does a well corrected picture look like The following list provides some of the basics for correcting photos Not every item in the list will apply to every picture and of course there will be exceptions such as high visual impact pictures in which many of the guidelines should be ignored but you can use it as a starting place for image editing m Good contrast In black and white photos this usually means white Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 256 Chapter 15 The Best of Tips amp Tricks whites and black blacks and a good tonal range of greys In a color photo that has no whites or blacks then the goal is to have strong vibrant color in the darkest colors and bright vibrant color in the lightest colors m Vibrant and or realistic colors wit
43. in Digial Image Library 115 Using the Preview Pane The Preview pane located under the Thumbnail pane is a convenient way to view and edit information about a picture or pictures The Preview pane displays the information about the pictures selected in the Thumbnail pane You can click any of the fields except file size and image size in the Preview pane to edit the information To use the Preview pane 1 In the Thumbnail pane select the picture you want to preview To multiple select pictures press CRTL while you click the thumbnails 2 Click one of the following fields File name will change the file name for all selected pictures If more than one picture is selected the file names will be the base name that you enter followed by a sequential number Caption will apply a new caption that you enter to all selected pictures replacing any previously associated captions Date taken will change the date taken field for all selected pictures which is useful if your camera recorded incorrect dates Common keywords opens the Keyword Editor to add new keywords to the selected pictures existing keywords will not be deleted Average rating assigns a new rating to each selected picture replacing any preexisting rating Showing the Preview pane The Preview pane can be hidden from view to make more room in the Thumbnail pane If the Preview pane is hidden you can show it again by checking Preview Pane on the View men
44. in this photo Photo taken at 1 160 sec f 14 300mm prime lens on a digital camera What is shutter speed a How fast a camera takes a picture b How long the light is allowed to enter the camera c How fast light travels from the lens to the shutter Correct answer B Shutter speed controls how long the curtain in the camera stays open to let light from the lens strike the film or the digital image sensor The longer the shutter stays open the more light reaches the film at the aperture you set Shutter speeds are shown in fractions of a full second Common shutter speeds from slow to fast are Bulb the shutter stays open until you close it by releas ing the shutter release button 1 second 1 2 1 4 1 8 1 15 1 30 1 60 1 125 Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 188 Chapter 15 The Best of Tips amp Tricks 1 500 1 1000 and so on How to set the shutter speed On fully controllable and manual cameras you can set the shutter speed using a dial on the camera or by selecting it from an electronic menu With single use and compact cameras the camera automati cally selects the shutter speed based on the available light and the mode you ve chosen If your camera offers several program modes for example sports program mode it will select the fastest shutter speed to freeze subject motion On manual cameras the shutter speed is set using a dial such as the one shown here When you increase
45. leaving Mini Lab select the thumbnails and click Save before you click Done The Cancel button closes Mini Lab undoing any unsaved changes Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Chapter 7 Batch Editing in Mini Lab 81 To open Mini Lab from Digital Image 1 On the Touchup menu click Batch Edit in Mini Lab To open Mini Lab from the Library 1 In the Thumbnail pane select the pictures you want to edit 2 On the Tasks menu click Batch Edit After you open Mini Lab select the photos you want to edit and then click one or more editing tasks Some of the batch editing tasks Levels auto fix contrast auto fix tint auto fix rotate clockwise and rotate counterclockwise will be performed to all of the selected photos at once The other editing tasks such as cropping let you set your preferences for each picture Mini Lab does not automatically save your batch edits To save your pictures you can select photos and click Save If you click Done to leave Mini Lab without saving the edits will not be saved Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual CHAPTER 8 Adding Edges Mats and Frames 8 Adding Edges Mats and Frames When you ve finished editing a photo you can add polishing touches by sur rounding it with an edge a border a mat or a frame Edge Effects Edge effects alter the outside edge of a photo For portrait photos try the soft edge effect To draw attention to photos that you pos
46. menu gives you access to the Help window the Instructional Videos and the Digital Image Tour Toolbar The toolbar contains shortcut buttons for single click access to some of the most common commands To see the name of a toolbar button hover the mouse pointer over the button Workspace Toolbar This toolbar contains buttons for the Tasks list Stack and Files palette You can create more room in the workspace by hiding any of these tools Common Tasks list The Common Tasks list is an easy way to locate features This list provides convenient access to some of the most common tasks as well as single click access to the Mini Lab project selector and the Startup Window All of the features found in the Common Tasks list as well as some additional features are also available in the menus Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 28 Chapter 4 Digital Image Basics 10 Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Workspace The gray area represents the workspace the area that the canvas sits within You can use the zoom controls to magnify or reduce the canvas so that it covers more or less of the workspace Selection Tools The selection tools allow you to work on a very specific area of an object The canvas The white area is called the canvas and it represents the printable area of the page When you open a photo the canvas is often not visible since it is covered entirely by the picture You can use the zoom con
47. more objects will need to be flattened to perform an editing function When you see a warning message about flattening you can click Cancel to prevent the objects from being flattened Flattening Objects During Saving When you save a composite picture in the PNG Plus file format each object is preserved separately When you open the file again you can edit each individual object However most file formats for images do not support multiple objects So if you save a picture in the JPEG format for example all the objects will be flattened into a single object Even if you open such a JPEG file in Digital Image you will not be able to edit objects individually Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Chapter 6 Advanced Photo Editing 63 Using Selection Tools New in this version of Digital Image are the selection tools which give you more control and more options for editing images Selection tools allow you to fix problems that exist in only part of the picture You can also use selection tools to create new objects that can be duplicated or pasted onto other pictures Selection tools help you to isolate any part of a larger picture which enables you to m Turn part of a picture into a separate object m Apply filters or other effects to a limited area of a picture m Duplicate part of an image within a picture m Combine parts from two or more pictures The selection tools are located on the toolbar next to the Selectio
48. nn rmn mea mma cem nen nn oa mn en Ll These three objects have been grouped as indicated by the group icon at the bottom of the selection box To group objects 1 Make sure that the Stack appears in the workspace 2 Pressing CTRL click each thumbnail on the Stack The objects become multiple selected 3 On the Edit menu click Group 4 To cancel the group click the group on the Stack and then on the Edit menu click Ungroup Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 62 Chapter 6 Advanced Photo Editing Flattening Objects Flattening objects is a permanent action If you will no longer need to edit objects individually you can flatten objects into a single object This allows you to work on the objects together and reduce the number of objects in your composite Also many editing tasks cannot be performed on a multiple selec tion But if you flatten the objects together they become a single object so you will be able to edit them together To flatten multiple objects Make sure that the Stack appears in the workspace 2 Pressing CTRL click each thumbnail on the Stack 3 On the Edit menu click Flatten Selected Objects Automatic Flattening When working with objects that are multiple selected or grouped some editing tasks such as using advanced selection tools will automatically flatten the selected objects into a single object Digital Image will give you a warning message whenever two or
49. or wet darkrooms standard image finish ing includes darkening specific small areas of the image by increasing exposure burning in or lightening other small areas by reducing exposure dodging Burning in areas often reveals more detail or de emphasizes less important or distracting areas Conversely dodging can reveal details in overly dark shadow areas In Digital Image Pro on the Touchup menu click Other Photo Repair and then click Dodge and Burn Brush Try using the Soft edge option and increase the Brightness level to lighten dodge deep shadows Use the same method but with an increased Contrast level to darken burn in the lightest areas In this image used dodging and burning to minimize distracting reflections that appeared in the man s sunglasses Regardless of which tools you use it s a good idea to start with a low intensity setting and to choose a brush size that is smaller than the object you re working on Also know that you can always click Reset in Digital Image Pro to imme diately undo any changes you make 5 Correct flaws Scratches dust and lens flare are only a few of the many flaws you can fix in an electronic darkroom Some of the most affordable image editing programs automatically correct many of these errors However if you re willing to take the time many such errors are better corrected by hand Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 262 Chapter 15 The Best of Tips amp Trick
50. or decrease the shutter speed by one full setting it doubles or halves the exposure For example twice as much light reaches the film at 1 30 sec as at 1 60 sec To assure correct exposure you need to change the aperture f stop as you change to a longer or faster shutter speed If you shoot in program or automatic mode the camera automatically adjusts the shutter speed Shutter speed affects your ability to get a sharp image in low light while hand holding the camera and to freeze motion or show it as blurred in a picture Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Chapter 15 The Best of Tips amp Tricks 189 To freeze motion used a faster shutter speed in this case 1 100 sec Photo taken at f 4 5 zoom lens set to 112mm on a digital camera Hand holding limits As a guideline never hand hold a camera at a shutter speed slower than the inverse of the focal length of the lens For example if you re shooting at a 125mm setting on a zoom lens you want a shutter speed of 1 125 sec or faster to ensure a sharp picture Another helpful rule is to never hand hold a camera at shutter speeds slower than 1 30th of a second m Freezing or blurring subject motion Shutter speed determines whether you can freeze a moving subject or allow it to be blurred in the picture For example you may want to freeze a basketball player in mid air but show the motion of water cascading over a waterfall As a very general rule of thumb to st
51. or duct tape Identification passport driver s license as appropriate Watch Winter offers some spectacular opportunities for photography that you can enjoy even more when you are prepared for the weather While this seems to be a long list as I ve learned from experience it s better to know everything you can take and pare down the list based on the circumstances Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Chapter 15 The Best of Tips amp Tricks 229 Tips for Online Auction Photos Text and photos by Charlotte K Lowrie Photos for online auctions may not win photo contests but they should be winners in the eyes of potential buyers By following a few simple tips you can make your photos stand out on cyberspace auction sites There is a hard to resist primal appeal to the idea of having a stranger pay real money for stuff that is stacked to the rafters in guest room closets attics or garages This appeal alone may explain the phenomenal growth of online auc tion sites in the past few years After all who hasn t whiled away a few hours browsing through other people s closet stuff on the cyberspace equivalent of the world s largest garage sale Whether you re buying or selling items you know that pictures of the items will maximize the appeal Never mind that since potential buyers can t examine items providing a descriptive photo can make or break the sale Another reason to include photos is that many auction s
52. redness 41 131 F f stops 136 183 185 189 facial expressions 239 facial touch ups 51 73 147 fade resistant paper 102 fade ratings 102 Files palette 28 fi f f fi Micros f f fil fi fi fi le browser 14 25 le compression 125 le formats supported 16 96 126 e format conversions 118 le management options 118 le size 123 le transfers archiving 116 importing 13 ll flash 132 250 Ims brands 251 choosing 251 ISO 251 negatives 251 Im cameras action shots 144 aperture 136 183 automatic exposure 134 automatic modes 142 burst mode 146 close ups 143 exposure 133 exposure compensation 135 ISO setting 140 181 overview 133 oft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 270 Index panoramic 148 photography tips 150 portraits 147 self timers 149 shutter speeds 138 187 white balance 141 film protection in cold weather 227 film scanners 162 film speeds 140 181 filter enhanced pictures 69 filtering lighting colors 40 filtering pictures by dates 111 folders 111 keywords 112 thumbnails 113 filters enhancing 251 polarizing 251 252 finding pictures See locating pictures Fix Red Eye tool 41 flash 41 52 130 224 FlashPix files 16 flatbed scanners cleaning 163 opening pictures from 19 overview 161 flattened PNG files 97 flattening objects 62 flat opaque objects scanning 161 Flipbook animations 146 floppy disks 14 128 focus sharpening 197 221 folders grouping pictures by 114
53. sent myself flowers to photograph borrowed floral arrangements from my manager and begged coworkers to bring in their kids This is an example of photo subjects recruited at the grocery store In fact on rainy days I sometimes go to buy groceries but forget to pick up what s on the shopping list because I become engrossed in finding prize fruits and vegetables to photograph I carefully select each piece rejecting specimens with bruises or deformities and walk away with three prize mushrooms half a dozen peppers and a handful of well chosen chilies The checkout people have stopped looking quizzically at the odd assortment of groceries and long ago I stopped feeling compelled to explain But I ve recently learned that those of us at the office who have no on location photo subjects are not alone There are other subject less readers with cameras in hand wondering What else is there to shoot Beyond the obvious and easy to shoot subjects like relatives friends and local tourist attractions what do you shoot In the best of all worlds you would hope that whatever it might be would also be interesting and inspiring Give yourself an assignment The approach I described earlier of going to the grocery store is admittedly a bit random But randomness aside my grocery store hardware store and garage sale approaches have forced me to see things more carefully than ever before I have spent hours photograph
54. show a higher level of detail When using Digital Image a higher screen resolution lets you see more of your photos in the workspace less of the screen is covered by elements like the Stack and the Files palette The best screen resolution for a computer system depends on the limitations of your monitor the amount of VRAM Video RAM you have installed and your personal preference You can experiment with different screen resolutions to find the one that works best for you To change the screen resolution on Windows 98 Windows Me or Windows NT 4 0 or later Save any open projects and close all programs except Digital Image On the Tools menu click Display Settings Click the Settings tab Under Screen area move the slider to change the screen resolution and then click OK 5 If prompted restart your computer bb UN Expanding your workspace Ifyou have an older or small monitor the default setting may be 800 by 600 pixels Increasing the screen resolution increases the size of the Digital Image workspace Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 172 For more information For more information about changing display settings see your Windows documentation Adjusting your monitor s controls Refer to your monitor s documentation for instructions on adjusting the monitor s viewable area Chapter 14 Optimizing Your Monitor for Photos To change the screen resolution on Windows XP
55. shutter speed to get the correct exposure Which aperture or f stop should you choose Your choice depends on two factors First you want to select an aperture that gives you the right shutter speed For example if you want to avoid blur from camera shake or subject motion you need to choose a wide aperture smaller f stop numbers so that you get the faster shutter speeds Likewise if you re using a telephoto long lens and hand holding the camera you need a very fast shutter speed for sharp pictures Second by intentionally selecting a wide or a narrow aperture f stop you can control the depth of field in your pictures For more on that topic go on to the next question Choosing a narrow aperture in this case f 10 and using a wide angle lens zoom lens set to 17mm on a digital camera created sharpness throughout the image What is depth of field a A term that indicates how much of a scene will be in reasonably sharp focus b The size of the area is that s included within the scene c The focal length of the lens that you re using Correct answer A Depth of field is the zone of acceptably sharp focus in front of and behind a subject For example a picture in which the background Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 186 Chapter 15 The Best of Tips amp Tricks is a soft blur has little depth of field In another picture both foreground and background elements appear to be in focus this in
56. the automatic exposure lowers the brightness until the snow looks gray To work around this shortcoming you can use exposure compensation Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Chapter 12 Taking Great Pictures 135 Exposure Compensation Some cameras have an exposure compensation feature that lets you manually override the automatic exposure setting Exposure compensation lets you adjust the exposure with settings such as 2 1 and 2 A 1 setting for example tells the camera s automatic exposure system to make the middle tones brighter When taking a photo dominated by bright snow increasing the exposure with the 1 setting might correct the light level for the snow filled scene Your actual results will vary according to your camera and the brightness of the day WU With bright snow in a scene setting your camera s exposure compensation setting to 1 or 2 might help you to get the right exposure Increasing your chances with bracketing Ifyou re not sure what the best exposure setting is try bracketing Bracketing involves taking multiple photos of the same scene Start by using the automatic exposure and then use exposure compensation to take additional frames with increased and decreased exposure levels With a series of photos taken at different settings there is a good chance that one has the exposure just right Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 136 Chapter 12 Taking Gre
57. the camera On digital cameras you can set the ISO equivalent setting using an electronic menu What are the tradeoffs of using a fast film or setting versus a slow film or setting The tradeoffs include reduced sharpness and detail less saturated color and increased grain Virtually all digicams have higher ISO settings too some set it automatically while others require you to set it In the case of digital cameras a high ISO equivalent setting provides greater sensitivity to light just as 1t does with film At ISO 400 and higher settings image quality degrades especially by the increased signal noise which appears in pictures as digital grain How to set the ISO The vast majority of newer film cameras automatically read the ISO code from the film cartridge so you don t have to set the film speed On older cameras the ISO is set by rotating a dial on the camera s shoulder Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Chapter 15 The Best of Tips amp Tricks 183 This dial generally offers the full range of common ISO numbers from 25 to at least 1600 On a digital camera the ISO equivalent is usually set using one of the camera s electronic menus or submenus Some models set the ISO automatically select ing a higher ISO equivalent in low light for faster shutter speeds High speed film such as the ISO 3200 film used for this photo tends to exhibit noticeable grain as shown here What is aperture a Th
58. the subject may be properly exposed but parts of the back lighting problems ground may be overexposed where some areas are blown out meaning the tonal range of the photo is not wide enough to show the differences in the top range of lightly colored pixels The reduce backlighting feature darkens the lightest pixels minimizing the blown out look If the lighting problems in your photos are too severe to be repaired by using the adjust lighting features use the selection tools to select the darkest area of the photo Then try adjusting the lighting just to the selected area The picture on the left lacks detail in the bright areas of the clouds diminishing the beauty of the sky In the picture on the right the reduce backlighting tool was applied which darkens the lighter pixels To reduce backlighting in a photo 1 On the Touchup menu click Adjust Lighting 2 Under Reduce Backlighting drag the slider to the right to reduce as much backlighting as you want 3 Click Done Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual CHAPTER 6 Advanced Photo Editing 6 Advanced Photo Editing 57 After you have done general touch ups to your pictures you may want to use advanced editing tools for more precise editing or to apply special effects The selection tools and multiple object composites give you the power to edit very specific areas of your pictures You ll also be able to transform your pictures with
59. the tiles view displays Caption Time and date taken File size Image size pixel dimensions File name Rating Thumbnails View The thumbnails view displays only the thumbnail with no data Thumbnails with Text View The thumbnails with text view displays the thumbnail and the field that the pictures are arranged by To switch views in the Thumbnail pane 1 On the View menu click one of the following m Tiles m Thumbnails m Thumbnails with text Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 114 Chapter 11 Organizing and Archiving in Digial Image Library Grouping Your Pictures You can group the pictures in the Thumbnail pane according to date ratings keywords or other information Grouping by rating for example will separate all the one star pictures into one group the two star pictures into another group and so on To group your pictures 1 On the Group By menu above the Thumbnail pane click a grouping option Showing the Table of Contents You can open the table of contents which is hidden by default to list all of the groups currently in the Thumbnail pane The table of contents is located along the left of the Thumbnail pane To see the pictures of a particular set just click the group in the table of contents To show the table of contents 1 On the View menu click Show Table of Contents Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Chapter 11 Organizing and Archiving
60. to make a new selection add to the current selection or subtract from the current selection On the Edge Finder options palette enter a value in the Width box The Width is the number of pixels away from the pointer that the Edge Finder will try to detect an edge On the picture click points along the edge of the item you want to select As you trace make sure that the edge stays within the zone of the Edge Finder To close the selection area click the starting point To modify the selection click Adjust edges drag any point in the selec tion marked by a square and then click Done To feather the selection click Feather on the Edge Finder options pal ette enter the number of pixels that you want feathered around the edge and then click OK To select the opposite area click Invert on the Edge Finder options palette Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Chapter 6 Advanced Photo Editing 67 The Magic Wand The Magic Wand lets you select parts of an object that are the same or similar colors The Magic Wand is useful for selecting a consistently colored area a blue sky for example without having to trace around it 1 2 10 11 Make sure that the Stack appears in the workspace On the Stack click the object of which you want to make a partial selec tion Click the Magic Wand button on the toolbar Ifthe Magic Wand options palette is not showing click the Selection button on th
61. together to form a picture Each digital photo consists of a set number of pixels ranging from a few thousand to millions When a digital camera takes a photo it creates a digital file that specifies the number of pixels and the precise color of each pixel Pixels are not a set size so they can shrink or enlarge if photo size changes When a photo is enlarged too much the individual pixels become visible mak ing a poor quality photo The original photo on the left was saved at high resolution and you can see sharp detail The photo on the right has been saved at such low resolution that you can see the individual pixels The number of pixels that make up a photo is the photo s resolution Resolution and compression are key factors in determining the quality of a digital photo The following sections explain resolution and compression Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Chapter 12 Taking Great Pictures 123 Resolution Resolution is one of the main determinants of photo quality since it is a measure of the total number of pixels that make up a photograph Resolution is sometimes expressed as the total number of pixels such as 3 megapixels 3 million pixels or in pixel dimensions such as 320 x 240 which equals 76 800 total pixels Resolution is important primarily because it determines how much you can enlarge and print a photo Everything else being equal a 3 megapixel photo and a 320 pixel x 240 pixel photo
62. viewing pictures by 111 fold styles card 89 fonts 31 formats supported 16 96 126 Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual formatting text 31 format conversions 118 foul weather protection 252 FPX files 16 frames adding 86 freehand brush 71 freehand tool 65 G GIF files 16 glossy paper 102 gradient color sampling 73 graininess 140 graphical control screens 174 gray area workspace 28 gray card 252 green values 174 greeting cards 89 grouping objects 61 grouping pictures 114 H half fold cards 89 hand created artwork effect 69 hard drive opening pictures from 14 Help links 26 Help resources 32 Hide button 27 hiding screen items 114 high color quality settings 172 high contrast images 247 high quality printer settings 101 highlighted edges 85 highlights 45 high resolution pictures 101 high resolution scanning 164 histograms 45 historical information See Digital Image Library holiday cards 89 Home Publishing files 16 hot spots 224 I ideas discovering photography 207 identifying pictures 110 image editing programs 233 images high contrast 247 low contrast 247 248 multiple exposure 252 image cleaning tips 163 image sensors 124 140 189 importing pictures 13 108 incandescent lights 40 index online Help 33 information picture See Digital Image Library ink drying time 174 ink options 102 Installation Wizard 4 installing Digital Image 3 Instructional Videos 35 Internet
63. 1 Fixing Red Eye Using your flash in low light situations can give your subjects red unnatural looking eyes The Fix Red Eye tool darkens the red spots in the eyes to reduce or eliminate the redness To fix red eye 1 On the Touchup menu click Fix Red Eye 2 Use the pan and zoom controls to magnify your picture and focus on the red eyes in the photo 3 Click the red part of the eyes You can click up to two eyes at once 4 Click Red eye auto fix The redness in the eyes is removed 5 Repeat steps 3 and 4 as necessary 6 Click Done Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 42 Chapter 5 Basic Touchup Straightening a Picture If you took a photograph while unintentionally holding the camera at an angle the horizon or other straight lines will appear tilted This tilt can be a distrac tion in the picture but is easily fixed with the Straighten Picture tool The Straighten Picture tool rotates the picture to make the horizon level To make the horizon level the Straighten Picture tool rotates the picture on the canvas When rotated part of the picture overlaps the edge of the canvas and these areas would be removed during printing The rotation also creates empty areas at the corners of the canvas Fortunately these problems are solved by the Auto Crop feature which is part of the Straighten Picture tool After you straighten the picture Auto Crop trims the edges of the picture so that it becomes al
64. 25 168 connecting scanners 19 contaminants glass plate 163 contrast ambient light 175 correcting 39 monitor adjustments 174 controls monitor 174 converting bit depth 164 converting file formats 118 copying original versions 95 copying pictures See scanners copying picture features blending brush 74 clone brush 73 Edge Finder 66 copyrights 21 CorelDraw files 16 Create a Project button 26 creativity evaluating 200 cropping pictures 43 64 currently open pictures 28 customizing picture viewing 111 cutting picture features 66 D D range 166 dark pixels 45 52 dates grouping pictures by 114 viewing pictures by 111 daylight 132 default color quality setting 173 default photo editor 117 depth of field 136 185 maximizing 252 reducing 250 detecting compatibile media 13 device compatibility 13 Diffuse Glow filter 147 digital cameras action shots 144 automatic modes 142 battery life 129 blown highlights 223 burst mode 146 close ups 143 colors 220 compression 125 file formats 126 flash 130 224 focus 221 manual settings 133 opening pictures from 14 17 overview 122 panoramic 148 photography tips 150 219 portraits 147 removable media 128 repetitive patterns 225 resolution 123 224 self timers 149 sensitivity setting 140 181 zoom 127 Digital Image file formats supported 16 96 126 installing 3 Digital Image Library adding pictures 108 archiving pictures 116 editing information 115 editing pictures 117 f
65. But if the 15 inch monitor is set at 1024 x 768 pixels the pixels that make up the image and therefore the image itself will appear smaller Today Web designers generally plan for a screen size of 800 x 600 pixels as the most common denominator which works for most monitors To size an image for online display make a copy of the finished image and then change the size of the copied image to fit the screen Set a size that will display the image without crowding out the browser controls or the rest of the Web page elements For example to size a picture to fit one fourth of the total screen area of a 13 inch monitor set to 640 x 480 pixels set the size at 320 pixels wide Also remember that older computer monitors have a resolution of only 72 dots per inch dpi while newer monitors have a resolution of 96 dpi So again a high resolution image does not necessarily mean a higher viewing quality on computer monitors To size images for e mail messages the same principles apply but remember that some e mail services set a maximum limit on the size of embedded or attached files The larger the picture the larger the file size As a general guideline you can size images between 325 and 400 pixels wide at medium to low compression to have an acceptably sharp image and size within an e mail message Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Chapter 15 The Best of Tips amp Tricks 265 8 Sharpen the image In many image editing
66. Designs O G B Steve Lovi O 2000 TWENTY FOUR CARROT INC Jennifer Blomgren O Andrea Beloff O Dorothy Strait O Carmel Bartz The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners 0703 Part No X09 59868 Printed in the United States of America Contents at a Glance Chapter 1 Installation ooocccnnnnncccnnccnnnccccnonnnonnnnncnnccnnn eene eee eene T Chapter 2 Welcome to Digital Image Suite 7 Chapter 3 Opening and Importing Pictures 11 Chapter 4 Digital Image Basics eese 23 Chapter 5 Basic Touchup eeeeeeeeee eee enn nennen nnn nnn nnn 37 Chapter 6 Advanced Photo Editing u222200202000nn000nnnnnnnnnn nn 55 Chapter 7 Batch Editing in Mini Lab nun 77 Chapter 8 Adding Edges Mats and Frames 83 Chapter 9 Creating Projects nere 87 Chapter 10 Saving and Printing Pictures 93 Chapter 11 Organizing and Archiving in Digital Image Library 105 Chapter 12 Taking Great Pictures eese 119 Chapter 13 Successful Scanning eeseeess 159 Chapter 14 Optimizing Your Monitor fo
67. Macintosh PICT files 16 macro shots 252 macro mode 143 Magic Wand 67 manual camera settings aperture 136 183 automatic exposure 134 exposure 133 exposure compensation 135 ISO setting 140 181 overview 133 shutter speeds 138 187 water glass analogy 134 white balance 141 manual Digital Image setup 3 manual Import Pictures Wizard starts 14 marquee tool 64 Index 271 mats adding 86 maximum print sizes 123 media storage 13 128 memory cards or sticks 128 224 memory considerations 164 menus 27 32 meter reading 252 microdrives 128 Micrografx Designer files 16 middle gray 134 midtones 47 miniature storage cards 128 Mini Lab 79 118 MIX files 16 moir 225 monitors 24 bit vs 32 bit color 173 ambient light 175 brightness 174 calibrating 171 color quality settings 172 contrast 174 overview 171 preserving settings 175 resolution 171 RGB values 174 VRAM 173 month viewing pictures by 111 More Files button 26 mosaic effect 69 motion photography 144 moving picture features 59 MSN Photos Web site 103 179 multimedia cards 128 multiple keywords 110 objects edited 61 objects flattened 62 objects selected 60 Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 272 Index pages scanned 161 pictures edited 79 118 pictures printed 100 pictures selected 115 pictures taken in succession 146 picture versions 95 multiple exposure 252 My Pictures folder 108 naming batches 118 naming pictures 110 natural faci
68. Microsoft gt Luis User s Manual Microsoft Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Information in this document including URL and other Internet Web site references is subject to change without notice Unless otherwise noted the example companies organizations products domain names e mail addresses logos people places and events depicted herein are fictitious and no association with any real company organization product domain name e mail address logo person place or event is intended or should be inferred Complying with all applicable copyright laws is the responsibility of the user Without limiting the rights under copyright no part of this document may be reproduced stored in or introduced into a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic mechanical photocopying recording or otherwise or for any purpose without the express written permission of Microsoft Corporation Microsoft may have patents patent applications trademarks copyrights or other intellectual property rights covering subject matter in this document Except as expressly provided in any written license agreement from Microsoft the furnishing of this document does not give you any license to these patents trademarks copyrights or other intellectual property O 2000 2003 Microsoft Corporation All rights reserved Microsoft Picture It and Windows are either registered trademarks or
69. Saving and Printing Pictures 97 Setting PNG Plus Options Only Digital Image and Picture It can read individual objects saved in PNG Plus files However a PNG Plus file contains a flattened PNG version of the picture that can be read by many other programs including Internet Explorer By default Digital Image saves the flattened version of the picture at the same size as the original multi object picture But while this flattened version of the picture allows the file to be opened by other programs it does increase overall file size If you don t need to have a full size flattened version of the picture embedded in each PNG Plus file you can choose to have the flattened version of picture be saved at a smaller size Limiting the dimensions of the embedded file can decrease the overall file size To limit the size of the embedded flattened PNG file 1 On the Tools menu click Options 2 Click PNG Plus options 3 Click No Larger Than and then enter values to limit the width and height 4 Click OK and then click OK Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 98 Chapter 10 Saving and Printing Pictures Saving for E mail and the Web Avoid sending large photos in Unlike photos for printing photos for e mail and the Web work best if they are e mail relatively low resolution Low resolution photos such as one that is 440 x 330 pixels move faster through dial up modems and they are the right dimensions Sending hi
70. age Library s File menu click Add Pictures to Library The Add Pictures to Library window opens The folders already cataloged in Digital Image Library are displayed Click Browse Navigate to the folder containing the pictures you want to add click the folder and then click OK 4 Click Done Ww N Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Chapter 11 Organizing and Archiving in Digial Image Library 109 Scanning for Pictures Digital Image Library can scan your computer s hard disk drive to locate pictures to add to Digital Image Library This feature is helpful if you have pic tures stored in multiple locations or if you don t remember where your pictures are stored The scanning process can take some time ifthere are many picture files on your computer To scan for pictures on your computer 1 On Digital Image Library s File menu click Add Pictures to Library The Add Pictures to Library window opens The folders already cataloged in Digital Image Library are displayed 2 Click Scan 3 In the Beginning Picture Scan dialog box click OK The hard disk drive is scanned and the folders containing pictures are displayed 4 Clear the check box next to any folder you don t want to add 5 Click OK and then click Done Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 110 Chapter 11 Organizing and Archiving in Digial Image Library Adding Keywords Adding keywords to your pictures is one of the most powerf
71. ages that convey information about the subject such as the remoteness of this cabin in the woods Childhood memories Recall the activities and symbols that were special to you during childhood and try re creating those memories photographically For example if you had a tree swing find a local tree swing and then photograph it in a way that evokes the emotions you recall feeling when you were a child Or go back to a familiar place from childhood and photograph it from your childhood perspective The hardest thing about making these images is infusing them with the emotion and meaning you want to express Choose a single subject and photograph it repeatedly to help develop your technique and personal style Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Chapter 15 The Best of Tips amp Tricks 211 A word Pick a word and photograph it For example what does lonely look like photographically How would you photograph happiness sadness beauty energy imagination creativity hope or productivity Use the palette of light to help express the word the golden quality of sunset the rich pastels of sunrise and the harsh flat light of midday can all help characterize the word you re illustrating One just like that Find a picture from a book magazine or Web site that you wish you d taken and then try to re create the image This is another good way to learn about technique Try to duplicate the light the tone or the pers
72. ake for the print to become unacceptably discolored would be several times that These ratings are based on indoor exhibition under glass in an atmosphere that is not chemically polluted Ozone is especially harmful to dye based printing inks Do not display these prints in rooms where oxygen tanks or electric air fresheners are used both produce high levels of ozone Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Chapter 10 Saving and Printing Pictures 103 Ordering Prints and Gifts on MSN Photos Order prints of your photos online at MSN Photos and have the prints sent to you or your family and friends On MSN Photos you can also use your photos to create a variety of photo gifts To order prints and enlargements 1 On the File menu in Digital Image point to Print Professionally Online and then click Prints and Enlargements Choose to print either the current picture or all opened pictures in the Files palette To open additional photos for ordering prints and enlargements click Add or remove pictures and then follow the instructions on the screen Click Next Follow the instructions on the screen to order the prints and enlargements you want Click Done To order photo gifts 1 On the File menu in Digital Image point to Print Professionally Online and then click Photo Gifts Choose to print either the current picture or all opened pictures in the Files palette To open additional photos for ordering prints
73. al expressions 239 natural light 40 negatives scanning 161 166 noise 140 251 252 numbered lists 31 number ofpixels 123 0 objects combining 60 consistently colored areas 67 displaying separately 57 Edge Finder 66 flattening 62 freehand tool 65 grouping 61 handles 59 locked 58 marquee tool 64 moving 59 multiple selected 60 overview 57 preserving layers 62 selection tools 63 object tool 59 odd sized pictures mats for 86 one month calendars 91 Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual one week calendars 91 online auction photos 229 online Help 32 online print and gift ordering 103 online tutorials 35 opaque objects scanning 161 opening pictures cameras 17 e mail 20 file browser 14 overview 13 photo editor 117 scanners 19 troubleshooting 18 TWAIN support 17 Web pages 21 WIA support 17 opening Startup Window 25 Open from Camera button 25 optical zoom 127 ordering prints and gifts 103 organizing pictures See Digital Image Library outdoor photo sessions 207 212 227 241 outside edges photo 85 overcast conditions 249 250 251 overexposure 53 133 overriding automatic exposure setting 135 ozone 102 P painting artwork effect 69 painting pictures blending 74 distorting 75 freehand 71 gradient color sampling 73 rubber stamp effects 71 texture sampling 73 panoramic shots 249 panoramic photography 148 paper options 102 partial picture selections See selection tools parts of pictures
74. alette is not showing click the Selection button on the toolbar 5 To keep the edges of the selection smooth select the Anti aliased check box on the Freehand Tool options palette 6 On the Freehand Tool options palette click whether you want to make a new selection add to the current selection or subtract from the current selection 7 On the picture drag the pointer and then click the starting point to complete the selection 8 To feather the selection click Feather on the Freehand Tool options palette enter the number of pixels that you want feathered around the edge and then click OK 9 To select the opposite area click Invert on the Freehand Tool options palette Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 66 Chapter 6 Advanced Photo Editing The Edge Finder The Edge Finder 1 helps you select part of an object by tracing along well defined edges This tool is useful for cutting out or copying people or detailed items in a picture N Ra UJ CA a N Make sure that the Stack appears in the workspace On the Stack click the object of which you want to make a partial selec tion Click the Edge Finder button on the toolbar Ifthe Edge Finder options palette is not showing click the Selection button on the toolbar To keep the edges of the selection smooth select the Anti aliased check box on the Edge Finder options palette On the Edge Finder options palette click whether you want
75. amera has this feature use it If you see that the image has blown out highlights retake it metering on the lightest area in the scene If your camera doesn t have this functionality make it a habit to meter on the lightest area of your primary subject for example a place where the light is striking a surface directly Then take the picture at the meter reading you get for that area Then take at least two more shots decreasing the exposure in each one There will always be scenes in which the lighting differences are too great for both the light and dark areas of the image to be accurately exposed In those types of scenes try to change your shooting position to lessen or eliminate the amount of very light area or very dark area included in the frame For example if you re shooting a landscape scene that has a bright sky and a darker foreground tilt the camera up to have more sky in the frame or down Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 224 Chapter 15 The Best of Tips amp Tricks to include more foreground depending on which area is your primary subject Then meter for the area that is your primary subject Although this picture was taken on a sunny day avoided blowing out the highlights by meter ing for the lightest areas 4 Size does matter If you have a limited supply of memory cards and who doesn t you may choose to shoot at the medium or low resolution setting on the camera and use high co
76. an administrator From the Windows Start menu click Control Panel Click Add or Remove Programs From the list of installed programs click the version of Digital Image you want to remove or reinstall Digital Image and Digital Image Library will be listed as separate programs and must be removed separately Click Change Remove The Installation Wizard opens Follow the instructions on the screen To remove or reinstall Digital Image from Windows 98 Windows 2000 or Windows Me 1 From the Windows Start menu point to Settings and then click Control Panel 2 Click Add Remove Programs 3 From the list of installed programs click the version of Digital Image you want to remove or reinstall Click Add Remove The Installation Wizard opens Follow the instructions on the screen Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual CHAPTER 2 Welcome to Digital Image Suite 2 Welcome to Digital Image Suite B Congratulations on your purchase of Microsoft Digital Image Suite This suite of programs provides a unique combination of robust photo editing tools with exciting organizing and archiving features While easy to use Digital Image Suite offers powerful imaging technology that puts you in control of organiz ing editing and enhancing your photos Digital Image Suite includes both the Digital Image photo editor and the new Photo Library organizational and archiving program Photo Library allows to you search by key
77. anced Photo Editing 69 Filters The term filter originates from the colored glass covers placed over a camera lens The first filters in digital imaging sought to mimic the results of these physical camera filters providing a slight shift in color or increasing the intensity of colors But the filters in Digital Image can create many other effects from sharpening an image to making the picture look like a painting or a mosaic Three different filters were used on the original picture upper left The colored pencil filter upper right the watercolor filter lower left and the film grain filter lower right To apply a filter 1 On the Effects menu point to Filters and then click a filter Filters create a whole new look for your pictures Many filters make the image look less like a photograph and more like a drawing painting mosaic or other hand created artwork Filter enhanced pictures can become an attractive focal point of projects such as greeting cards and calendars More filters more control On the Effects menu if you point to Filters and then click All Filters you will see the complete selection of filters available You can also change advanced options and control settings such as filter transparency and pressure Using plug in filters In addition to over 200 standard filters in Digital Image you can also use Photoshop compatible plug in filters available from many third party compan
78. and enlargements click Add or remove pictures and then follow the instructions on the screen Click Next Order the photo gifts you want Click Done Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual CHAPTER 11 Organizing and Archiving in Digital Image Library 11 Organizing and Archiving in Digital Image Library Digital Image Library is a powerful tool that helps you organize find and archive your pictures Digital Image Library does not store your pictures Instead Digital Image Library stores information about your pictures includ ing a thumbnail version of each picture So you can conveniently organize the pictures on your computer But you can also use Digital Image Library to keep track of pictures that you store on removable media such as a photo CD or DVD Digital Image Library automatically tracks information about each picture you add to the library including date taken file size image size and the folder where the picture is stored Then you can add your own picture information such as ratings keywords and captions Tools like the Keyword Painter and the Selection Preview pane make it easy to add this information to many pictures at the same time With all of this information about each picture Digital Image Library helps you locate your pictures with powerful filtering and grouping Even if you have added pictures from many occasions over the years you can locate pictures that share the same keywords
79. and the most useful when comparison shopping The first number indicates the number of lines the scanner can see vertically which is the highest resolution the scanner can achieve before interpolating generating extra pixels The higher the resolution the scanner can achieve before it interpolates the better the resulting scan 2 Look for USB Connections New scanners offer USB Universal Serial Bus connectivity which makes them easier to connect to computers When compared to the older serial port connection USB data transfer is significantly faster which is especially impor tant for the large files created by high resolution scanning If your computer does not have a USB port consider adding one Some newer scanners also sup port FireWire IEEE 1394 connectivity which is faster than USB but requires a FireWire card on your computer 3 Check the Dynamic Range Dynamic range or D range refers to a scale of brightness values from pure white to black Dynamic range is indicated with a number from 0 to 4 with a larger number indicating a wider range A scanner with a wide dynamic range m Captures more detail in bright areas of an image m Differentiates between various shades of black m Creates less digital noise pixels with inaccurate color information in shadow areas If you want a scanner for digitizing prints a D range of 2 3 is adequate But if you plan to scan negatives you need a scanner with a range of at least 3
80. anvas object handles are displayed around the perimeter of the selection Object handles are yellow circles that you can drag to resize and rotate the object To move resize or rotate an object with the object tool 1 Select the object with the object tool as described above 2 If the selected thumbnail has the lock icon Ej displayed right click the thumbnail and then click Unlock 3 To move the selection hold the cursor over the object until the move handle appears and then drag the object on the canvas 4 To resize the object proportionally hold the cursor over one of the corner object handles until the resize handle appears and then drag the resize handle 5 To stretch the object hold the cursor over the top bottom or side object handles until the resize handle appears and then drag the resize handle 6 To rotate the object drag the rotate handle E that is attached to the top of the selection box Selecting an object allows you to edit 1t without affecting other objects on the canvas You can select an object by clicking it either on the canvas or on the Stack If you want to select a small object or one that is hidden behind other objects it is often easiest to select it on the Stack Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 60 Chapter 6 Advanced Photo Editing Multiple Selection Grouping and Flattening Objects Digital Image allows you to create composites that contain many objects While object
81. appear from the picture To remove a spot or blemish 1 On the Touchup menu click Remove Spots or Blemishes 2 Zoom in on a spot or blemish 3 To remove the spot or blemish click it 4 Click Done Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Chapter 5 Basic Touchup 51 Removing Wrinkles Removing curved As with removing spots and blemishes removing wrinkles is a good way wrinkles to enhance photos that contain close ups of people You can make skin look smoother by removing crow s feet around the eyes or other wrinkles on the face The remove wrinkle tool works by covering lines with the color of the surrounding pixels The remove wrinkle tool can be used to remove curved as well as straight wrinkles For curved wrinkles break the wrinkle into sections and correct just one section ata time This might give you better results than using a wider circle The remove wrinkle tool was used on the picture on the right eliminating wrinkles around the eyes to make a more flattering portrait To remove wrinkles 1 On the Touchup menu point to Other Photo Repair and then click Remove Wrinkles 2 Click a circle that corresponds to the size of the wrinkle you want to remove 3 Click the picture at one end of the wrinkle and then click at the other end of the wrinkle The wrinkle disappears 4 Repeat step 3 to remove other wrinkles in the photo 5 Click Done Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manua
82. apter 15 The Best of Tips amp Tricks For use in e mail or on the Web The size you choose for images displayed on a computer screen is determined by the size settings and resolution of the monitors on which the image will be viewed unlike for images you are print ing It is important to make sure that the pixel dimensions of your image are no larger than absolutely necessary for comfortable viewing The only result of making a file any larger than necessary is slow download times or rejection by the receiving e mail server People can change the resolution of their monitors to just about any of the following resolutions regardless of the size of their monitors However for best readability of text monitors most likely are set at a given resolution based on the size of the monitor For example monitors in the 12 inch to 14 inch range generally display 640 pixels horizontally and 480 vertically 640 x 480 Fifteen inch to 17 inch monitors are generally set to 800 x 600 pixels Nineteen inch monitors generally display 1024 x 768 pixels Larger monitors can display different numbers of pixels such as 1280 x 1024 pixels If you have a Web site and you size an image as 640 x 480 pixels the image will fill the screen of a 13 inch monitor Likewise it will fill the screen of a 15 inch monitor that is set at 640 x 480 however the pixels and therefore the image will appear to be larger on the 15 inch monitor than on the 13 inch monitor
83. are very lightweight holding them steady in even the best light can be tricky A few models still have the bothersome problem of shutter lag the interval between the time you focus and press the shutter release button and the time Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 222 Chapter 15 The Best of Tips amp Tricks the exposure is complete In that interval the subject can move or you can inadvertently move the camera thinking the exposure is complete either of which results in fuzzy out of focus images In some otherwise hopeless images you can of course claim the result was intentional along the lines of flexing of your creative muscles How to avoid it Some of the newer digital cameras have image stabilization features to help overcome this problem If your camera has this feature be sure to use it If your camera doesn t have image stabilization features look for ways to steady the camera For example take pictures using the viewfinder instead of the LCD Placing the camera up to your eye and having your arms close to your body helps stabilize the camera You can also use a lightweight monopod or tripod or you can sit the camera on a solid surface to take pictures Remember that what looks sharp in the LCD may not be sharp when you see it at full size on the computer screen Many cameras allow you to zoom the image in the LCD Get in the habit of using the LCD zoom to confirm whether the focus is sharp Tak
84. arpening pictures 69 sharp prints 101 showing screen items 114 Show button 27 Show on startup checkbox 26 shrinking picture features 75 shrinking picture to show edge 85 shutter lag 144 shutter priority mode 139 shutter speeds 138 187 side lighting 248 single picture printing 99 size batches 118 Digital Image workspace 171 e mails 98 file compression 125 flattened PNG files 97 odd sized pictures mats for 86 picture cropping 43 picture features 59 picture resizing 29 prints 101 123 storage media 128 text 31 thumbnails 112 skewing picture features 75 skin touch ups 51 73 147 slides scanning 161 166 SLR single lens reflex cameras 133 smaller print sizes 101 small aperture 136 183 SmartMedia card 128 Smart Erase tool 49 smearing picture features 75 snapshots scanning 161 soft edge effect 85 special effects See also objects colors 70 filters 69 freehand 71 stamps 71 speeds scanner 167 splotchy color 125 spots removing 50 Stack 28 57 stained glass filter 69 stamps painting with 71 Startup Window 25 static electricity 163 still life photography 209 storage media 13 128 storing information See Digital Image Library story telling with photography 199 203 stretching picture features 59 subjects selecting photography 207 sunlight 132 249 sunsets 252 T table of contents 33 114 tabs 32 technical support 35 temperature changes cameras and 227 temporary object links 60 text adding to
85. artifacts 125 artwork effect 69 aspect ratio 148 auction site photos 229 AutoCAD files 16 automatic bit depth conversions 164 automatic camera modes action 144 burst 146 macro 143 overview 142 panoramic 148 portrait 147 automatic Digital Image setup 3 automatic document feeders ADFs 161 automatic dust and scratch removal 162 automatic exposure 134 151 automatic flash 130 automatic media detections 13 automatic object flattening 62 autumn photography 246 B backing up pictures 116 backlighting 53 132 balancing colors 40 batch editing 79 118 batch file management 118 batch scanning 167 battery life 129 227 bit depth 164 black and white changing to 70 blemishes removing 50 blending brush 74 blown highlights 223 blue values 174 blurry See focus sharpening BMP files 16 bold formatting 31 borders adding 85 bracketing 135 156 brightness correcting 39 45 dynamic range 166 monitor adjustments 174 brushes blending 74 clone 73 distortion 75 freehand 71 267 rubber stamp effects 71 buffers 146 bulleted lists 31 burst mode 146 buttons 25 32 C calendars 91 calibrating monitors 171 cameras action shots 144 automatic modes 142 battery life 129 burst modes 146 close up shots 143 compatibility 13 compression 125 digital 122 219 file formats 126 flash 130 manualsettings 133 opening pictures from 14 17 overview 121 panoramic 148 photography tips 150 212 235 portraits 147 removable media 128 r
86. ast tool use the automatic or manual adjustments to tweak the brightness and contrast of the image Then use the cloning tool to delete small imperfections such as dust or use the cloning tool to eliminate unwanted or distracting objects from the image If you clone large sections be sure to resample or set a new starting position frequently as you work Frequent resampling gives the cloned area a more realistic look Next use the crop tool in your image editing program to crop the image You can crop to eliminate empty space or distracting objects in the image You may want to leave a little space around the object as a visual frame Before you begin the final step in the process be sure you check the guidelines of the auction site Many auction sites set a SOKB file size limit to ensure quick page viewing for visitors Depending on the image editing program you re using you can resize the image so the image file meets the file size require ments of the auction site or you can use the option to save the image for the Web The latter option takes the guesswork out of the sizing process because 1t shows you as you work what the final file size will be for each of the size options If you re using Microsoft Digital Image Pro just choose Save Special from the File menu then choose Save as a Web ready Picture Under Click a picture size choose an option that results in a file size shown below the dropdown box that falls within the au
87. at Pictures Program modes If your camera offers program modes for specific photos like portraits or action shots read your camera s manual to find out the aperture settings used for those modes Aperture The aperture is the opening through which light passes to reach the film or in digital cameras the image sensor Aperture is measured by f number where a specific setting is called an f stop With f stops a low number such as f 4 represents a wider opening that lets in more light A small aperture such as 116 lets in significantly less light Some cameras have a fixed aperture that can t be adjusted If you re adjusting the aperture yourself a setting of f 8 is a good place to start since it gives you a fairly wide zone of sharpness If your camera allows you to adjust the aperture use the settings to regulate the depth of field in your photo Depth of field refers to the zone in your photo that is in acceptably sharp focus A wide aperture gives you a shallow depth of field while a small aperture allows a very deep zone maybe even everything in the photo to be in focus Imagine pointing your camera down a set of railroad tracks which go all the way to the horizon With a wide aperture like f 2 8 if you focus on a railroad tie a short distance away only a few of the other ties are in sharp focus With a narrow aperture like 22 many more of the ties are in focus even those quite a distance from your main f
88. aten path and explore some unlikely places and events that offer photo opportunities Weekends are a great time to take detours because detours often take you out of the mainstream crowd crush and give you space to do some creative exploration and shooting If you plan to detour at random be sure to pack your camera bag with a full complement of gear Often the lighting and space you have to work in will be as unconventional as the location So at a minimum pack the speedlight a tripod or monopod and if you re shooting with a camera with interchangeable lenses a full focal range of lenses Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 242 Chapter 15 The Best of Tips amp Tricks Alley art Beautiful things can happen in alleys Those narrow dark less traveled passageways provide a studio in which nature finds asylum from the incessant human need to clean up And left to her own devices nature often draws exqui site three dimensional vignettes on canvases woven by time Wherever nature works undisturbed there are bound to be photo opportunities On an overcast day in a dim alley a flash added the extra light needed to make the faded colors pop in this shot But why risk life and camera gear to schlep down dark alleys to photograph nature Why not go to a park or nature preserve The difference between photographing in alleys and say a meadow or woodland is the unique juxtapo sition of man and nature In alleys nature wo
89. ation of auto matic modes vary for each camera read your camera s manual for availability and usage instructions Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Chapter 12 Taking Great Pictures 143 Macro Mode Most cameras in automatic mode have trouble focusing on objects that are less than 12 inches 30 centimeters away So when you re shooting close up photography like capturing a special piece from your coin collection you need to set your camera to macro mode Macro mode adjusts the focal length to accommodate the unusually short distance to the subject Macro mode usually reduces aperture which widens the depth of field and increases the chances that the whole subject is in focus The camera s macro mode was used to capture the fine detail of the jewelry When using macro mode make sure to turn off the flash since the flash does not provide proper illumination at such close range Tripods are a good way to keep the camera steady for a close up shot If you don t have a tripod set the camera on a firm surface focus the photo and then activate the shutter with the self timer This way your hand does not have to touch the camera and accidentally introduce any movement to the shot Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 144 Chapter 12 Taking Great Pictures When the lag is a drag Some digital cameras have a much shorter shutter lag than others You may want to consider this factor when buying your next
90. b filling in the area over the distraction Since Smart Erase incorporates pixels from surrounding areas to fill in the area that has been removed the tool works best if the surrounding areas are consistently patterned To use Smart Erase 1 On the Touchup menu click Smart Erase 2 Trace around the area you want to fill releasing the pointer on the spot where you began tracing 3 Click Fill in 4 To fill in additional areas repeat steps 2 and 3 5 Click Done Using Smart Erase with the clone brush Ifyou don t get perfect results right away with Smart Erase you can use the clone brush to clean up the background to make itlook more natural Learn more about the clone brush in the Advanced Photo Editing chapter Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 50 Chapter 5 Basic Touchup Removing Spots and Blemishes Whether you take portrait photographs or just informal snapshots you usually want to present your subjects in a flattering light Many photos of people can be enhanced by removing spots or blemishes from the original photo In the remove spots or blemishes task you click the spot or blemish and the color from the surrounding pixels is used to paint over the discolored area This task is also useful for removing isolated specs of dust from a scanned photo or removing any other spots that detract from the photo With a few clicks of the Remove Spots or Blemishes tool the blemishes dis
91. best possible photo for each situation With the range of cameras available from basic point and shoot models to professional SLR single lens reflex cameras this chapter cannot cover specifics for all features available on all cameras But this chapter does provide a foundation of photography concepts that are vital to taking consistently good photographs The first section of this chapter contains information specific to digital cameras concepts such as resolution and compression that don t have direct counterparts in film photography Later sections cover universal photography concepts that apply to both film and digital cameras 121 Opening photos from your digital camera For information on opening photos from your camera in Digital Image see the digital camera section in the Opening and Importing Pictures chapter Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 122 Chapter 12 Taking Great Pictures About Digital Cameras If you re new to using digital cameras several camera features may seem foreign to you Some of these features such as digital zoom and compression did not exist with film cameras because the technology did not exist But it s important to understand what these features do and when it s appropriate to use them or in some cases not use them Photo Quality A digital photograph is composed of tiny colored squares called pixels short for picture elements Like a mosaic the pixels blend
92. bject The downside of cropping is that it reduces the overall size and therefore the resolution of the image thus limiting how much you can enlarge the image for printing For this reason it is always best to do as much cropping as possible in the camera as you take the picture Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Chapter 15 The Best of Tips Tricks 263 cropped the image and cloned out the background distractions For example if you crop out a third of an overall image the resulting image may not have a high enough resolution to print larger than 5 x 7 To order an 8 x 10 enlargement from MSN Photos the image must be at least 1536 x 1024 pixels And it follows that to get a poster size enlargement it s a good idea to avoid cropping the original image at all 7 Size the image for printing e mail and the Web Assuming that by now you have a flawless version of a picture you can make copies of the final image and size each copy for the medium in which you want to print or display it The following table provides the minimum image dimensions needed for each print size available from MSN Photos Print size inches Min width pixels Min height pixels 4x6 800 600 5x7 1050 750 8x10 1536 1024 11x 14 1750 1375 16 x 20 poster 2500 2000 18 x 24 poster 2500 2000 24 x 36 poster 2500 2000 30 x 40 poster 2500 2000 36 x 48 poster 2500 2000 Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 264 Ch
93. camera is its megapixel rating The megapixel rating indicates the maximum number of pixels in millions that are captured by the camera s image sensor Instead of film a digital camera uses an image sensor usually a CCD charge coupled device or CMOS complementary metal oxide semiconductor chip to capture the visual information when you take a photo The image sen sor on a simple low resolution camera might capture just over 76 000 pixels The image sensor on a high quality digital camera might capture more than 6 megapixels As you can imagine the 6 megapixel camera can produce very large high quality photos with very large files The 76 000 pixel camera can capture a relatively small number of pixels so photo quality would be fair to poor even at small print sizes On many cameras you can set the resolution at which the image sensor captures the photo As a rule of thumb always shoot at the highest resolution possible you ll get higher resolution photos that you can print in larger sizes However in some cases you may want to lower the resolution so that the files will be smaller This allows you to store more photos on the camera s storage media but you must sacrifice some quality for quantity Make sure to check your camera s manual to find out what resolution you will get from the photo quality settings on your camera Beware of settings that offer enhanced or interpolated resolution These features add
94. canning large Images at such a high resolution can make very large files which might be a concern if your computer lacks sufficient random access memory RAM or hard disk space For scanning everyday prints that you do not plan to enlarge or crop set your scanner to scan at a lower resolution Scanning at 300 dpi should give good results for images that you want to print For images that you want to send in e mail or post to the Web 72 dpi is adequate resolution Just remember that if you plan to crop or enlarge you will need more pixels to work with so you should increase your scanning resolution accordingly Many scanners allow you to adjust the bit depth sometimes called color depth Bit depth is the range of colors the scanner is able to capture per pixel Scanner bit depths range anywhere from 8 bit on older models to 48 bit on some newer models A high bit depth such as 24 bit ensures that the scanner captures the wide range of colors in your photos Setting the bit depth higher than 24 bit requires longer scanning time and may make image files larger than necessary Most image editing programs includ ing Digital Image cannot work with bit depth higher than 24 bit If you scan an image at the 32 bit setting and then open it in Digital Image the photo is converted to 24 bit automatically The 24 bit level supports 16 7 million distinct colors which is usually more than adequate Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual
95. ck one of the following Batch Rename m Batch Convert File Format m Batch Resize 3 Follow the instructions on the screen Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual CHAPTER 19 Taking Great Pictures 12 Taking Great Pictures No matter how polished and creative you are as a photographer Digital Image is a valuable tool for helping you get the most out of your photos With Digital Image features you can easily correct common photo problems such as red eye and overexposure And you can use features like filters and layers to create photos strikingly different from your originals Although Digital Image is a powerful photo editing program it s important to get the best photo you can at the time you take it Digital Image can do a lot to correct minor problems with the originals but certain problems such as severely blurred or underexposed photos cannot easily be fixed with computer software And if you can develop your photography skills to take higher quality photos you can spend your time doing creative photo editing with Digital Image rather than fixing mistakes that can be avoided Many cameras avallable today offer a high degree of automation just turn the camera on and press the shutter and the camera does the rest While this approach is quick and easy it isn t perfect in all situations As a photographer you can learn to fine tune the settings on your camera to gain greater control of the camera to get the
96. cooler light at twilight or in overcast conditions or in the warmer light of sunrise and sunset offer a new perspective on familiar colors and subjects and provide a more creative backdrop for pho tographs Overcast and after the rain conditions in particular produce richer more saturated colors For example red leaves photographed against a twilight backdrop instead of in daylight create a moody interpretation that suggests a sense of mystery or drama u m In the dim light of a rainy day the red leaves in this photo look especially vivid For interior photographs look for strong sources of natural light as from a win dow or a skylight The glow of light coming from one direction can illuminate your subject dramatically Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 154 Recomposing a photo with Digital Image After a photo has been transferred to your computer use the crop tool in Digital Image to change the composition By clipping away the edges of the photo you can reposition your subject to comply with the rule of thirds Chapter 12 Taking Great Pictures 5 Follow the Rule of Thirds When composing a photograph many beginning photographers always center their subject directly in the middle of the frame While this technique may be the easiest way to get the subject in focus with a point and shoot camera it is not always the most interesting way to present the subject Most advanced photographer
97. ction site s guidelines If you are not using Digital Image Pro look for the Image Size or Resize command Storing auction photos A picture especially for an online auction is certainly worth a thousand words If you re selling a closet full of items online you may quickly find that you have hundreds of photos to store and track For a list of sites that offer hosting services go to the auction site and search for a Help topic on submitting auction photos If you feel overwhelmed by the thought of overstuffed closets attics or garages consider how easy it is to sell the items on the auction sites With a little luck and some good pictures you can be only days away from clutter free closets and a few extra dollars Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Chapter 15 The Best of Tips amp Tricks 235 The Fast Track To Better Photos Text and photos by Charlotte K Lowrie No time to study the fine points of photography One or more of a few fast track ideas can net noticeable results in your photos In this example strong color can make a big visual impact If you re one of the millions of overscheduled overwrought people who loves photography but barely has time to read your mail much less time to read tomes of technical information on the fine points of photography take heart You can make an appreciable improvement in your photos with one or more simple techniques that don t require lots of reading or memorization
98. cular pointer to the position you want to paint over CA 6 Drag the circular pointer to paint As you paint keep an eye on the cross hair so that you don t copy unwanted areas 7 Click Done Cloning from a different layer When using the clone brush your starting point must be in the same object as where you want to paint To clone from one object to another first group the objects 73 Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 74 Chapter 6 Advanced Photo Editing Blending Brush The blending brush works similarly to the clone brush but can give you a more subtle smoother effect Like the clone brush you select an area to sample from But when the sampled area is applied to the new area the colors are blended in with the colors of the surrounding area The blending brush works very well for touching up skin For touching up skin the blending brush lets you cover up blemishes with colors and patterns from clear areas of skin 1 On the Stack click the object you want to touch up 2 On the Touchup menu click Blending Brush 3 Click a brush size 4 On your picture click the spot from which you want to copy This spot called the start position is marked with a cross hair while you paint 5 Move the circular pointer to the position where you want to paint with the blending brush 6 Drag the circular pointer to paint As you paint keep an eye on the cross hair so that you don t copy unwanted areas
99. d exposure compensation for each m Fora side lit subject Increase exposure by one half of a stop m Fora backlit subject Increase the exposure by one stop Or step in close and meter directly on the subject step back and recompose and then shoot at the reading you took on the subject You can also switch to spot metering m Forasmall dark subject against a bright background or any subject in a very bright scene Use exposure compensation of 1 to 3 or increase exposure by one to two stops for example from f 8 to f 5 6 or f 4 5 m Forasmall light subject against a dark background Use exposure compensation of 1 or decrease exposure by one stop for example from f 8 to f 11 Planning for the imperfect Learning to nail the exposure takes a lot of experience and no one gets it right with every shot If you suspect the lighting might make it difficult to nail the exposure you can increase your chances of success by bracketing as explained in tip 7 Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 152 Chapter 12 Taking Great Pictures 3 Capture a Moment in the Story Consider driver s license and passport photos We think of these photos as uninteresting and unrepresentative of how people usually look Why are these photos dull One problem with these photos but certainly not the only problem is that they capture people out of their element without context or a story There are no interesting details in
100. dates ratings and more Digital Image Library also makes it easy to archive your photos on CDs or other media Digital Image Library also allows you to make simple changes to multiple pictures at the same time such as batch editing in Mini Lab batch rename converting file format and batch resize Opening Digital Image Library The Digital Image Library can be opened from the Windows Start menu or from the Digital Image Startup Window or File menu Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 108 Chapter 11 Organizing and Archiving in Digial Image Library Adding Pictures from CDs and other removable media You can use Digital Image Library to help catalog your pictures located on CDs or other removable media To import these photos into the Library click the Import button on the toolbar to launch the Import Pictures Wizard Adding Pictures to Digital Image Library Any pictures you have in your My Pictures folder and its subfolders are automatically added to Digital Image Library s database You can also add pictures from other folders on your computer The first time that you open Digital Image Library the Welcome to Digital Image Library window will open to help you add pictures from folders other than the My Pictures folder After the first use of the Library you use the same process to add additional pictures to Digital Image Library To add pictures from a folder on your computer On Digital Im
101. dicates more extensive depth of field Aperture is the main factor that affects depth of field In some situations you want to increase the depth of field For example in a scenic photo choose a narrow aperture a large f stop number such as f 16 or f 22 so that much of the foreground and background will seem sharp in the photo For other situations you ll want to decrease depth of field For example in a portrait where you want the background to be blurred choose a wider aperture or a smaller f stop number such as f 2 8 f 4 or f 5 6 The subject will be in sharp focus but the background will be soft and less distracting Tip Remember that large numbers enlarge and small numbers shrink In other words large f numbers such as f 22 enlarge the range of acceptably sharp focus Small f numbers such as f 4 shrink the range of acceptably sharp focus and help to blur the foreground and background When you choose a small aperture such as f 16 a longer shutter speed is required to ensure that enough light reaches the film or sensor for a correct exposure With slower shutter speeds however camera shake or subject motion can result in blurred pictures If the shutter speed is slow use a tripod or switch to a faster film or ISO equivalency setting that allows for faster shutter speeds If you want to freeze a moving subject you ll need to use a high ISO film While aperture is the most important factor that affects the range o
102. dited area will blend smoothly with the surrounding pixels Copying Cutting and Pasting Selections Advanced selection tools also allow you to cut out or copy part of an object to create a new object These techniques allow you to trim a hole in a picture or create a new object that can be pasted in the same picture or in a different picture To cut a hole in an object 1 Make sure that the Stack appears in the workspace 2 On the Stack click the object you want to cut a hole in 3 On the toolbar click a selection tool and then select part of the object 4 On the Edit menu click Cut To copy and paste part of an object Make sure that the Stack appears in the workspace On the Stack click the object you want to copy part of On the toolbar click a selection tool and then select part of the object On the Edit menu click Copy The selection is copied to the clipboard 5 If you want to paste the selection onto a different picture open that picture so that it is on the canvas On the Edit menu click Paste The selection becomes a new object on the Stack BW Ne a Note If you paste the selection onto the same picture that you copied it from the new object will be in the same position and may not look like a separate object But the new object will be visible on the Stack and you can use the object tool to move resize or rotate the new object Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Chapter 6 Adv
103. e While it s important to show your photos to others remember that you are the ultimate judge of your own work Photography is an art and as an artist you should establish your own voice and style You don t have to listen to every piece of advice and you may produce your best work by taking chances and following your own instincts That said photographs are made to be seen As you improve your photography skills showing off your photos can be the best part Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual CHAPTER 13 Successful Scanning 13 Successful Scanning A scanner is a useful tool for your digital photography projects A scanner generates a digital image from whatever you scan a document a photo a leaf and so on enabling you to manipulate the image on your computer Even if you take all of your photos in digital format scanners allow you to digitize things such as old photos pages from books negatives and slides Once scanned the digital images are rich raw material that can be edited incorpo rated into composites printed or posted on the Web Types of Scanners If you re thinking about buying a scanner consider the two primary types that are available for working with photographs Flatbed scanners convert photographic prints or other flat opaque objects into digital files Film scanners convert film negatives or 35mm slides into digital files Flatbed Scanners For general purpose scanning a flatb
104. e the combination of focal length lens or zoom setting aperture shutter speed and ISO should also enhance the intent of the photo For example in a scene of an old building did the photographer use exposure controls to emphasize the age of the structure and perhaps the starkness of the surroundings To create this sense a photographer can choose a moderately Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 198 Chapter 15 The Best of Tips amp Tricks wide angle lens or zoom setting use black and white mode choose a higher ISO or use a high ISO black and white film set a narrow aperture larger f stop number and choose a fast shutter speed depending of course on the light This combination would produce sharp detail visible grain or digital noise to enhance the sense of antiquity and increased depth of field to empha size the sense of loneliness On the other hand if the image is a portrait of a person I would look for quite different exposure settings for example a low ISO a wide aperture small f stop number and depending on the light a slower shutter speed In this case the portrait would have little or no grain or digital noise and the narrow depth of field would blur the background to emphasize the subject Of course a photographer might choose the opposite setting to achieve an entirely different look The question is whether the exposure settings were planned to enhance the image design Questions tha
105. e a cloth a roll of inexpensive craft paper or poster board for the base and backdrop From experience I ve learned that if you photograph items outdoors try to set up the table and backgrounds in an area where there is little or no wind Then tape the paper to the edge of the table to avoid having gusts of wind turn over small items you re photographing A clean uncluttered background is easy to set up in a makeshift studio When you create the background choose colors that will show off the items you re photographing For example if you re photographing a crystal wine glass choose a background other than white Use even diffuse lighting The goal of lighting in this case is to provide soft even light on the subject Consider setting up your photography area next to a window for small items or outside on an overcast day or in the shade If the area you re working in has natural light coming from one direction the oppo site side of the item may be dark and lack detail You can bring a small lamp in to fill in the darker area Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Chapter 15 The Best of Tips amp Tricks 231 An on camera flash can overexpose the subject obliterating details that a potential buyer would want to see You may be wondering why I haven t mentioned using the on camera flash In most cases an on camera flash creates harsh shadows around the subject may overexpose the details you want to show and can c
106. e built in adjustable zoom lenses others accommodate interchangeable zoom lenses of different focal lengths Digital cameras may offer optical zoom or digital zoom An optical zoom feature uses the same principle as a zoom lens on a film camera the lens itself moves to change the focal length In any of the zoom positions the resulting resolution is the same A digital zoom feature does not move the lens Instead the software inside the camera crops the photo to make the subject appear closer Because the pixels are removed from the area that s cropped out the overall resolution is lower Many cameras offer a combination of optical and digital zoom For best results use only optical zoom Then if necessary use Digital Image to crop the photo Both digital zoom and enhanced resolution features use interpolation to add pixels to the original photo a process that increases the overall size or resolution Interpolation assigns colors to the added pixels based on the colors of the surrounding pixels While these features technically do increase resolu tion they do not achieve the same photo quality as a photo that has not been interpolated If your camera has digital zoom or enhanced resolution test it and make sure you like the results before you use 1t for important photographs For true zoom capability and highest image quality use optical zoom Expand your perspective Zoom lenses are great for capturing objects you
107. e button you press to take the picture b The size of the lens opening that determines the amount of light that strikes the film or image sensor c A technical term that has always confused me even when it s been explained to me so I just ignore it Correct answer B The lens aperture or opening determines the amount of light that strikes the film or digital image sensor to make the image Either you or the camera s automatic system can control the size of the lens aperture or opening by setting an f stop Changing the f stop increases or decreases the size Of the lens opening Aperture is shown as f stop numbers such as f 2 8 f 4 f 5 6 f 8 and so on The smaller f numbers such as f 2 8 set the lens to a large opening that allows more light to enter the camera A large opening is often referred to as wide aperture A small opening is referred to as a narrow or small aperture and is indi cated with large f numbers such as f 16 As you would expect a small aperture Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 184 Chapter 15 The Best of Tips amp Tricks allows less light to enter the camera To get a good exposure with a small aperture the amount of time the shutter stays open to let light into the camera must be increased Most cameras automatically adjust the shutter speed when they are set in program or semi automatic mode If you re shooting in manual mode or with a manual camera you set a lon
108. e formats If your camera allows you to choose file formats for your photos you can decide which format to use based on your particular criteria photo quality file size or compatibility with other programs The JPEG format is the most common format for photos JPEG files are versa tile since they can accommodate over 16 million colors can be compressed and can be viewed in any Web browser To reduce file size the JPEG format always uses compression although the degree of compression varies by camera Experiment with the compression settings on your camera to find a low compression setting that produces good or excellent results Because JPEG uses some compression every time a file is saved many photo purists prefer formats like TIFF over JPEG The TIFF format provides an extremely accurate recording of digital image data Some cameras can use a lossless compression method with TIFF But even with some compression TIFF files are generally larger than JPEG files for pho tos with the same resolution For example a single uncompressed 5 megapixel TIFF image is larger than 10 MB To work with photos of that size you need a lot of memory on your computer as well as a high volume storage disk Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Chapter 12 Taking Great Pictures 127 Using Zoom Features A zoom lens lets you adjust the focal length of the lens making your subject appear closer to or farther from the camera Some cameras hav
109. e slight movement of your finger pressing the shutter button can create movement Using the self timer will eliminate this problem By setting the camera on a firm surface and using the timer your hands don t have to be anywhere near the camera while the shutter is open Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 150 Chapter 12 Taking Great Pictures Ten Tips for Great Pictures The following 10 tips offer suggestions for developing your photography approach technique composition and habits If you are an inexperienced photographer some of these tips might be new ideas for you If you re a photog raphy veteran these tips might be a good reminder of things you haven t heard in a while Either way we hope they inspire you to get out and shoot some great photos 1 Know Your Gear Having command of your equipment is an important aspect of enjoying and being successful with photography As you get to know your gear and gain confidence in a camera s capabilities the camera can become an extension of yourself When you have reached this level of competence you can concentrate more on the creative aspects of photography When you get a new camera first read through the manual With digital cam eras especially operating the controls may not be intuitive since many digital cameras controls must be accessed through menus on the LCD screen After you ve read the manual and you understand how and when to use your camera s featu
110. e spent time thinking reading and asking about the meaning of people trees rivers places and my cat I ve gone back to the same place over and over and gotten better and better read more meaningful images with each successive trip Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Chapter 15 The Best of Tips amp Tricks 205 Children often present the best opportunities to tell visual stories 3 Every so often if you re persistent enough fate presents you with gimme picture stories This article features some of my gimme images To take advantage of the gimme shots you have to have a camera in your hands and you have to react quickly It is entirely possible to miss the shot if you re fumbling around getting ready to shoot Unlike pretty pictures pictures that capture the essence of a subject can have technical flaws and still be keepers Though you may wish you had every technicality nailed it s okay 1f the image is less than perfect because it has the strength to stand on its own merit In other words being off by an f stop doesn t diminish the story Shooting meaningful images is tough Once I committed to this shooting philosophy I found myself making deals with myself reminiscent of the deals I make with myself while lm on a diet or trying to stop smok ing I tell myself that nature s beauty tells its own story and so it s okay just to shoot a pretty stream And I still photograph b
111. e toolbar To select only similarly colored pixels that are connected to each other select the Contiguous check box On the Magic Wand options palette enter a value in the Tolerance box The Tolerance is the range of colors that will be included in the selection On the Magic Wand options palette click whether you want to make a new selection add to the current selection or subtract from the current selection On the picture click the color you want to select If the selection has includes too much or too little of the area you want to select enter a different value in the Tolerance box and then make another selection To feather the selection click Feather on the Magic Wand options palette enter the number of pixels that you want feathered around the edge and then click OK To select the opposite area click Invert on the Magic Wand options palette Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 68 Chapter 6 Advanced Photo Editing Editing and Copying Selected Areas Using the advanced selection tools helps you to isolate a very specific area of a picture for editing or copying For example if a picture has generally good lighting levels but a person s face in the picture is in dark shadows you can make a selection of just the face and then adjust the brightness and contrast only in the selected area And with anti aliasing and feathering the selection your edits to the selected area can look natural since the e
112. e unifying element in the composition Also remember to try vertical formats Because cameras are easier to hold in a horizontal position it s easy to overlook the possibilities offered by a vertical composition Last composition checklist Before you take the picture look at everything within the frame again Then ask yourself a series of questions m What more can you do to emphasize the textures lines and form of the subject For example if the day is overcast can you use a fill flash or an off camera side flash to enhance the texture and create depth Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Chapter 15 The Best of Tips amp Tricks 251 m Is the frame filled Or is there dead space that will be distracting or competing elements that add nothing to the image m Does what you see in the viewfinder communicate the message you want to share with viewers This series of questions should provide enough of a pause to keep you clear of the predictable fall photo rut Afill flash provided critical highlights in this shot Additional shooting and technical tips In addition to color and composition standard shooting tips apply Following are a few to keep in mind m Pick the right film Choose a film that is known for reproducing rich and saturated colors If you prefer to shoot transparencies many pho tographers swear by Fujichrome Velvia for its sharpness and vivid color rendition Kodak Ektachrome E 100S is al
113. eaturing great photos If you enjoy the articles here check Tips amp Tricks regularly for the most recent articles news about the latest gear and photo tips for current seasons and holidays Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 180 Chapter 15 The Best of Tips amp Tricks How Photo Savvy Are You Online Mini Course on Photography Basics Text and photos by Charlotte K Lowrie Knowing the basics of photography is the key to getting the kind of photos you want For a quick review of the basics take this quiz and test your photographic mettle Photo taken at f 8 1 100 sec zoom lens set to 35mm on a digital camera When was the last time you found yourself in over your head during a discussion about photography For most casual and occasional snapshooters the answer may be every time the subject of photography comes up Most people don t want to think about the technical details of making pictures until they begin tossing more images into the trash than they paste into the brag book This is when many people realize that they need know at least the basics of cameras and photography to get consistently good pictures Or you may have had an introduction to photographic concepts at some point along the way but the fine points have faded over time Whichever camp you fall into now s a good time to see how photo savvy you are Just take the following quiz by matching the term to the correct definitio
114. eauty but I know that if I studied the stream if I followed it to its source there would be a story and there would be a very different picture There should be rules for shooting stories I didn t know the rules so I made up my own For example I consider it cheating to set up shots by using unnatural props In other words if adding an object to a scene helps tell the story the object is only okay if it is part of the subject s natural context But 1t s not okay to carry props like stuffed animals in the car and add them to a scene such as a park bench Instead of shooting right away I look around get to know the place understand what s happening and look more closely at what I m seeing Itake as many pictures as always but most of them are taken later rather than sooner Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 206 Chapter 15 The Best of Tips amp Tricks Waiting to find the story to understand the story is certain to frustrate anyone who is inherently impatient or anxious to get images in the canister or on the memory card quickly Your turn If you have trouble getting started start with your own story Take pictures that tell about you what you do what matters to you or what you want to be or do Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Chapter 15 The Best of Tips amp Tricks 207 Weekend Photo Ideas What Else Is There to Photograph Text and photos by Charlotte K Lowrie Having t
115. ed scanner gives you the most flexibility You can scan virtually any two dimensional object photographic prints text documents kids crayon drawings even leaves or feathers If you have a flatbed scanner you can buy a transparency adapter an accessory that allows you to scan slides negatives and transparencies with your flatbed scanner Flatbed scanners with transparency adapters scan at lower resolutions than dedicated film scanners However flatbed scanners are usually adequate for occasional scanning of snapshots or amateur photos If you plan to scan only prints and other flat artwork a 1200 dpi dots per inch flatbed scanner should meet your needs More information about scanner resolution and dpi is available in the section later in this chapter titled Setting Resolution and Bit Depth 161 Scanning with Digital Image For information on using your scanner with Digital Image see the scanner section in the Opening and Importing Pictures chapter Quick multi page scanning Ifyou plan on scanning multi page documents look for a scanner with an automatic document feeder ADF which can save you a lot of time on bigger scanning jobs Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 162 Automatic dust and scratch removal Some high end film scanners include automatic dust and scratch removal software This option can save a great deal of time later eliminating the need to fix most defects
116. ed to set or it will set it for you Keep a log or look at the shooting information displayed with many digital images to see how changing the aperture affects the final image Then move on to experiment with different shutter speeds If you have a digital camera it s the greatest single tool you can have to learn photography quickly and inexpensively Regardless of what type camera you have the more pictures you take the more you learn and the more you learn the better your pictures will be Using a wide angle lens helped increase depth of field in this photo Photo taken at f 6 3 1 80 sec zoom lens set to 35mm on a digital camera Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 194 Chapter 15 The Best of Tips amp Tricks What Makes a Photo Good A Short Checklist for Evaluating Photo Quality Text and photos by Charlotte K Lowrie What makes one or two photos rise to the top in a stack of 20 30 or even 100 photos The answer despite what beginning photographers may imagine is not a secret known only to seasoned photographers and photo editors Nor is there a single element that makes a photo good Rather there is a not so secret checklist of criteria commonly used to evaluate images Having said this I hasten to add that evaluation checklists vary by person and like other judging criteria there are always exceptions to the rules Further more the lines separating the criteria very often blur Photography is
117. eed each time you change the aperture f stop Or you must change the aperture each time you change the shutter speed The light meter indicator in the viewfinder will remind you to adjust the set tings appropriately In an automatic mode the camera will take care of that step for you All in camera light meters read the amount of light reflected from the subject They use this information to calculate the necessary exposure depending on the ISO aperture size and the shutter speed If you change the aperture the cam era recalculates the amount of time needed for the exposure Change the shutter speed and the camera s meter determines what aperture f stop is required for a correct exposure In a manual operating mode you set both factors using guidance from the light meter You can try different apertures and shutter speed combinations to create different effects in your pictures Tip Many people prefer to shoot in a semi automatic mode such as aperture priority mode This mode gives them creative control over depth of field and eliminates the need to constantly make manual adjustments to the shutter speed In this mode you set the aperture f stop for the depth of field that you want and the camera automatically sets the appropriate shutter speed Note that in shutter priority mode you set the shutter speed and the camera automatically set the appropriate aperture f stop In either mode the exposure always remains the same or
118. eed very fast shutter speeds Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 192 Chapter 15 The Best of Tips amp Tricks Choose an aperture that helps convey the story you want to tell In this case didn t want the background to blur completely because it provided context for the photo Photo taken at 1 250 sec f 6 3 zoom lens set to 175mm on a digital camera As it begins to get dark your choice of f stop will be very limited with slow films such as ISO 100 or ISO 200 You ll need to use wide apertures f stops such as f 4 to get a fast shutter speed Otherwise your images will show some blur from camera shake or subject movement Switch to a fast ISO 800 film however and your options increase Now you can select smaller apertures f stops such as f 8 or f 11 for greater depth of field The fast film allows you to shoot at fast shutter speeds to reduce the risk of blurred images While many people prefer to shoot in a semi automatic mode I typically use manual mode This picture was taken at 1 400 sec at f 5 6 using a zoom lens set to 17mm on a Nikon D1X digital camera Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Chapter 15 The Best of Tips amp Tricks 193 While the basic elements of exposure and using them together may seem like a lot to digest you may find it easier to choose one aspect say aperture and experiment by changing the f stop to achieve different effects Your camera will tell you what shutter spe
119. een and blue values you make the adjustments on the monitor itself using the monitor s controls These controls are usually located on the front of the monitor directly below the screen The monitor s controls can make adjustments directly or on many models the controls open a graphical control screen with menu commands If you get stuck check your monitor s manual for instructions on making these adjustments The simplest way to calibrate your monitor is to print photos on your home printer and then adjust your monitor to match the prints This method works well if you print most of your photos from your home printer To do a simple monitor calibration 1 Make sure that there is no bright light or reflective glare on your monitor screen 2 Set your monitor s brightness and contrast controls at exactly the halfway point Do not reset these controls until specified in this procedure 3 Open a picture in Digital Image that s familiar to you preferably an image with skin tones and a large area of medium gray 4 Follow the instructions in your printer manual for printing a picture at the best quality If your printer allows choose RGB as the printing method 5 When the ink has thoroughly dried on the print place it next to the image on the monitor 6 Use the brightness contrast and RGB controls on your monitor to make the image on the monitor look as close to the print as possible Repeat this process each time you change pri
120. en the more you save a JPEG the more its resolution will decline Instead start by making a copy of the original image in a format such as TIFF TIFF files are significantly larger than JPEG because TIFF does not compress files and it does not discard bits of the picture For this reason TIFF is referred to as a lossless format Also keep your untouched original images in whatever format you took or scanned them in a separate folder That way you can always go back to the original if image correction doesn t go the way you want Note If you plan to use layers to make adjustments on your picture you ll prob ably want to save the image in the image editing program s native file format For example if you re using Digital Image Pro the file format is png Saving in the image editing program s format preserves the layers so you can go back to them and make adjustments Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 258 Chapter 15 The Best of Tips amp Tricks In this image the water has a greenish color cast and the visual impact is diminished by the wide angle view 2 Adjust the tonal range The tonal range of an image is the distribution from light to dark pixels within the image In an average exposure the tonal distribu tion will have a fairly even distribution of dark midtone and light pixels You adjust the tonal range of the picture to get the sharpest detail throughout the image Most image editing programs off
121. endless instinctive shooting opportunities Athird trip to the same location was the charm The interesting lighting was the element that had been missing in earlier shots 5 Reshoot Be your own critic As I reviewed my photos I would look at a picture and instantly know how I would shoot the image differently While I regularly go back to scenes to reshoot it s usually to get different lighting or to shoot from a different vantage point or perspective In reviewing my images I most often thought Pd like to change the composition or focus on more specific aspects of the scene or subject In my self review I realized that time experience and an evolving personal style all factored into my evaluation of how I d reshoot the Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 218 Chapter 15 The Best of Tips amp Tricks picture Keep going back If the subject was worth shooting the first time chances are good that it s worth shooting again with and from a new perspective from a different angle or vantage point and in different light But more important the more often you go back and reshoot the more you familiar you are with the subject and the better your images of it are 6 Get a second opinion Get input I m fortunate to have at the office a number of avid photographer friends who also have a great eye for photography We regularly share photos and exchange critiques Through this ongoing exchange I see images through thei
122. entify the type of scanner To connect your scanner 1 Install the software that came with your scanner 2 Turn off your scanner and computer 3 Attach the connector cable from your scanner to your computer 4 Turn on your scanner and computer Once the scanner is connected and recognized by your computer you re ready to scan To scan a photo with a flatbed TWAIN or WIA scanner Connect your scanner to your computer and then turn on the scanner On the File menu point to Get Picture From and then click Scanner Under Select a scanner select a scanner Place your picture on the scanner Select Automatic Scan To automatically correct brightness and contrast during the scanning process select the Correct brightness and contrast check box Click Scan 8 Click Done Du A UNEI About TWAIN and WIA TWAIN is interface software that allows communication between a camera and your computer Many digital cameras come with a TWAIN driver WIA is a newer interface that works similarly to TWAIN but often provides more control over the device WIA is compatible with TWAIN but is only available on some computer operating systems Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 20 Chapter 3 Opening and Importing Pictures Opening a Photo Sent Through E mail Many friends and family members enjoy sending photos through e mail When you receive photos through e mail you can save them to your computer
123. equivalent These equivalent exposures give you control over the depth of field in your Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Chapter 15 The Best of Tips amp Tricks 191 photo and freeze or blur motion For example choose a wide aperture and a fast shutter speed combination and the picture will have a shallow depth of field and motion will be frozen This is often an ideal setting for sports shots With a small aperture and a slow shutter speed combination depth of field is increased but any subject motion will be shown as blurred in the image You can use this combination for creative effect or for pictures of subjects that are not moving For sharp pictures at long shutter speeds mount the camera on a tripod Depending on your camera you can choose from among different exposure modes ranging from fully automatic to aperture and shutter speed priority modes u re For this photo chose to use f 5 6 with a zoom lens set to 80mm which allowed me a shutter speed of 1 500 sec Putting it all together When you combine film speed aperture shutter speed and the amount of light in a scene you have the essential elements of an exposure On a bright sunny day you can select from many different f stops and still get fast shutter speeds to prevent image blur There is little need to switch to a fast film for fast shutter speeds at small apertures A high ISO film is necessary only if you re using a telephoto lens and n
124. er Digital Image Library does not actually store pictures it just remembers where they are located When viewing by folder the folders shown mimic the folder structure on your computer and removable media When you click a folder or drive in the View By pane only pictures in that folder and its subfolders are displayed in the Thumbnail pane To filter by folder 1 On the View By menu click Folder 2 In the folder structure click a folder or drive Pictures in that folder or on that drive are displayed in the Thumbnail pane 3 To view pictures from all folders and removable media click All Pictures View Viewing by Date Viewing by date allows you to filter your pictures based the dates the pictures were taken You can set the filter to display pictures taken in a particular year month or even a single day When you click a year month or date in the View By pane only pictures taken during that time frame are displayed in the main viewing area To filter by date 1 On the View By menu click Date 2 Click a year to display the months within that year 3 To display the days in a month click a month 4 To display the pictures from a particular day click the day 5 To view pictures from all dates click All Pictures View Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 112 Chapter 11 Organizing and Archiving in Digial Image Library Viewing by Keyword Viewing by keyword allows you to filter pictures based on k
125. er automatic and or manual tonal level adjust ment tools Using the automatic option the program typically chooses the light est and darkest pixels and distributes the midtone pixels proportionally This is a generalized approach to tonal adjustment and it usually works best on images that have average tonal ranges However on overexposed or underexposed images automatic tonal correction can not only overdarken or overlighten pictures but it can also introduce unwanted color shifts or tints Color correction renders a truer color for both the water and the boy s clothing and cropping focuses the viewer s attention on the boy watching the fountain Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Chapter 15 The Best of Tips Tricks 259 First try the automatic tonal adjustment In Digital Image Pro click Levels Auto Fix or Contrast Auto Fix on the Touchup menu If the automatic adjust ment isn t what you want then adjust the tonal levels manually in the Adjust Levels task by adjusting the sliders for Shadows Midtones and Highlights Tip Try the automatic levels and color adjustments first because if the results are good they can save time in processing images If you don t like the results you can undo the changes and make the adjustments manually This original image was too dark overall Adjusting the tonal range brings out the details and makes a more acceptable image Another good starting point for tonal adjustment i
126. esolution 123 self timers 149 winter photo sessions 227 zoom 127 candid shots 217 canvas 28 cards greeting 89 cataloging pictures See Digital Image Library CDR files 16 CDs archiving pictures 116 Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 268 Index importing to Digital Image Library 108 opening pictures from 14 recommendations 128 scanning images to 162 centering screen viewable area 172 circles 64 cleaning images 163 cleaning scanners 163 close up photography 143 closing Startup Window 26 cold temperature photo sessions 227 color complementary 247 contrasts 247 emphasizing as focal point 250 enhancing filters 251 including red in photos 252 polarizing filters 251 primary 247 shooting single color subjects 248 colored casts 40 141 colored pencil filter 69 colors See also painting pictures antique 70 applying color effects 70 black and white 70 blending 74 digital camera tips 220 gradient color sampling 73 Magic Wand 67 mats 86 monitor calibrations 174 monitor quality settings 172 photography tips 237 print lifespan ratings 102 red eye 41 scanning 164 text 31 Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual tint adjustments 40 white balance 40 141 220 color depth 164 color management printer 101 combining objects 60 Common Tasks list 27 CompactFlash card 128 compatibility automatic detection 13 composites 57 composition 43 196 checklist 250 techniques 250 compressed air 163 compressing files 1
127. ess of establishing a sense of order for the elements within an image The lines in this image not only create organization but also lead the eye through the image Note Composition rules or guidelines are a helpful starting point but they are useful only as long as they enhance the overall image As a quick review here are a few basic composition pointers m Fill the frame Filling the frame helps establish the center of interest and simultaneously 1t helps exclude competing background details You can fill the frame by moving closer to the subject or by using a longer focal length or zooming in Organize elements In composition the rule of thirds is often used to Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Chapter 15 The Best of Tips amp Tricks 197 organize elements in a composition This rule is derived from the Golden Section or Golden Rectangle that divides a space such as a photographic frame into equal segments to create pleasing proportions In simple terms if you apply the rule of thirds in photography you simply imagine a tick tac toe pattern on the viewfinder Then when you place the subject of the photo at one of the intersection points the result is a pleasing sense of order m Control the background A non distracting background is a compo sitional tool to help bring attention to the subject of the photo You can control the background by moving your position or moving the subject to avoid background di
128. extra pixels not found in the original photo to produce a higher resolution photo which may reduce overall sharpness or quality Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Chapter 12 Taking Great Pictures 125 Compression You ve seen one way to reduce photo file size lower the resolution at which you shoot the photo You can also reduce file size by having the camera compress the photo file as it saves the file to the camera s memory Compression consoli dates similar information in the photo and discards some information With JPEG compression for example series of similarly colored pixels are grouped together and considered to be the same color In the code that makes up the file the color information for these grouped pixels only has to be listed once instead of hundreds or even thousands of times This shortcut can reduce file size considerably Taken to extremes a photo in highly compressed JPEG format might be 95 percent smaller than the same photo in an uncompressed format Although compression does reduce file size 1t also reduces photo quality Slight to moderate compression might not noticeably reduce photo quality but high compression produces visible areas of splotchy color called artifacts Even with slight compression artifacts become more pronounced each time the photo is saved and compression is applied The left photo has been saved with lossless compression so all of the image quality is retained The p
129. eywords you assigned To filter by keyword N e UJ a On the View By menu click Keyword Click either With at least one selected keyword or With all selected keywords Click the keyword or keywords you want to find pictures for Pictures with those keywords assigned appear in the Thumbnail pane To deselect a keyword from the filter click the keyword to clear its check box To find pictures with no keywords assigned click the Unassigned keyword To view all pictures regardless of keywords click Folder on the View By menu and then click All Pictures View Using the Thumbnail Slider The thumbnail slider in the upper right of the Thumbnail pane allows you to change the size of the thumbnails With larger thumbnails you must scroll more to see all your pictures but more detail is visible With smaller thumbnails you scan see more pictures at once To use the thumbnail slider 1 2 Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual To increase the size of the thumbnails do one of the following m Drag the slider to the right m Click the plus button To decrease the size of the thumbnails do one of the following m Drag the slider to the left m Click the minus button Chapter 11 Organizing and Archiving in Digial Image Library 113 Showing Thumbnail Data There are three ways to view the thumbnails and their associated data in the Thumbnail pane Tiles View Along with the thumbnail
130. f acceptably sharp focus in a picture other factors also affect depth of field including Camera to subject distance At any aperture f stop the further you are from a subject the greater the depth of field will be If you take a scenic photo of a distant mountain the foreground midground and background may all be in acceptably sharp focus If you take a head and shoulders portrait however only your subject will be in very sharp focus Focal length of the lens In simple terms focal length determines how much of a scene the lens sees From the same shooting position a wide angle lens sees more of the scene than a telephoto lens In addition a wide angle lens produces an extensive depth of field provided you are not extremely close to the subject In more technical terms a wide angle lens or zoom setting has a 110 degree angle of view while a telephoto lens may have only a 23 12 or even 4 degree narrow view of the scene Because a long or telephoto lens or zoom setting any lens or zoom setting over 50mm magnifies the subject the depth of field is shallow so that only the subject is in very sharp focus Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Chapter 15 The Best of Tips amp Tricks 187 To blur the background in this photo opened up to f 2 8 Photo taken at 1 100 sec zoom lens set to 200mm on a digital camera Telephoto lenses have a narrow range of view and they compress perspective as shown
131. f detail and good distribution across the range to make corrections later If your picture does not have a good tonal range you ll generally want to edit the image to distribute the tones as evenly as appropriate for the type of image you re working with Final advice With this process you should be well on your way to getting sparkling images that you ll be proud to share and print Keep in mind that you can overdo adjustments so that the final image looks unnatural When making adjustments try to remember the original scene and then match your image to the colors and tonal range you remember The first pictures you correct will be the most time consuming but as you get the hang of it you ll find you spend less time at the computer and more time shooting Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Index 12 month calendars 91 24 bit vs 32 bit color 173 A action photography 144 adding flash features 52 keywords 110 pictures to canvas 28 pictures to Digital Image Library 108 text to pictures 31 additional photography resources 179 adjust levels tool 45 Adobe Photoshop files 16 aging pictures with color effects 70 aligning text 31 ambient light 175 analyzing photos 250 antique effects 70 antistatic products 163 aperture 136 183 185 189 affecting depth of field 250 maximizing depth of field 252 reducing 250 aperture priority mode 137 archival paper and inks 102 Archive Pictures Wizard 116 archiving pictures 116
132. filters color and edge effects and specialized editing brushes Understanding Objects For many advanced photo editing tasks you ll need to understand the concept of objects An object is a part of a picture that can be edited individually For example when you add text to a picture the text is a separate object from the background image When you edit the text say making the font color red the background picture remains unchanged because it 1s a separate object Working with Composites A picture that contains multiple objects is called a composite The Stack helps you work with composites by displaying each object separately Using the Stack you can easily select any object Make sure the Stack is showing in the workspace when you are working with composites To show the Stack 1 On the View menu click Stack On the Stack you ll see a thumbnail representation of each object in the composite The top thumbnail represents the object that is the top layer in the composite The bottom thumbnail represents the background object in the composite Thus the object that is lowest in the Stack may be at least partially obscured in the composite by the objects on top of it You can change the order of the objects in the composite by dragging thumb nails up and down the Stack For example dragging an object s thumbnail from the lowest position on the Stack to the top position will bring it to the foreground of the composite
133. find box type the word you want to find 3 In the results list select the word you want to find and then click Display Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 34 Chapter 4 Digital Image Basics Using the search You can use the search function to find all the topics in Help that contain a word or combination of words To use the search m In the left pane ofthe Help window click the Search tab 2 Inthe Type in the keyword to find box type the word for which you want to search and then click List Topics 3 In the Select Topic to display list select the topic you want to view and then click Display Product Tour The Digital Image Tour uses pictures and text to demonstrate popular features and new features of the program To take the product tour 1 On the Help menu click Take A Tour The Tour opens displaying icons to represent different categories of features 2 Click an icon A feature list appears on the left side of the window 3 Click a feature Graphics and text appear that explain the feature 4 Repeat steps 2 4 to learn about more features 5 To close the Tour click Close Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Chapter 4 Digital Image Basics 35 Instructional Videos Instructional Videos use animation and narration to show you how to use a variety of image editing features on your photos To watch an Instructional Video 1 On the Help menu click Instructional V
134. for the final scan However think about cropping in the preview to scan only the part of the picture that you need This helps keep the digital file size to a minimum 3 Scan at a High Resolution Any scanner can be used for quickly digitizing photos into small low resolu tion files These are fine for online display or other Internet use High resolu tion scanners can produce much larger image files a valuable feature for making or ordering oversized prints 4 Choose the TIFF Format Save any scanned image in TIFF format as opposed to JPEG format JPEG format compresses files to a small digital footprint but you lose information every time you edit and resave a file The TIFF format does not discard any information and also supports more color data If you have limited hard disk capacity you can transfer large TIFF files to a CD RW disc and then delete the files from your computer 5 Convert Large TIFF Files to JPEG If you ve scanned a high resolution picture in TIFF format the file may be too large to upload to the Web in a reasonable amount of time Open the file in Digital Image and save the file with slight compression The compressed copy may be small enough to upload quickly enough Or try changing resolution from 300 dpi to 150 dpi for example If the photos are viewed online and not printed a resolution of 72 dpi is adequate Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual CHAPTER 14 Optimizing Your Monitor f
135. ft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Chapter 4 Digital Image Basics 31 Applying Text You can add text to any picture and easily change the text font font color font size alignment and emphasis You start by adding a text box and then you edit the text in the box A text box is its own layer on the Stack To add text 1 On the Text menu click Insert Text A text box appears Type your text As you add text the text box will automatically expand vertically to fit all of your text To change the width of the text box select the text box and drag one of the side resize handles To move the text box select it hover the mouse pointer over the edge of the text box until the move handle appears and then drag the move handle Once you ve added the text you can select the text to edit it You can also select the text and use the toolbar buttons to change formatting When text is selected the following tools are available on the toolbar for formatting The font menu lets you choose between 140 different fonts The font size menu lets you choose font sizes from 8 to 620 points The font color button Zu lets you choose from a standard palette of colors or choose a custom color The Bold button f adds bold formatting to the text The Italic button adds italic formatting to the text The Underline button underlines the text The Alignment button E has menu choices for Left Right Center and Justify
136. g The most important point in getting crisp focus is to check the camera s in focus indicator Just because you pressed the shutter release half way down doesn t mean the picture is in focus Look for the in focus indication in the viewfinder before shooting Show color accurately If you re selling bone china you don t want a strange green or blue color tint in the photo To avoid unwanted color tints be sure you set the white balance on a digital camera to match the type of light If you re shooting with film buy film that is balanced for the light you re shooting in or use the appropriate color correction filter While you can make color correc tions on the computer later it saves editing time if you shoot using the correct settings film or filter Additional tips Here are a few other tips you may find helpful m If you are using a digital camera check your pictures on the computer before you dismantle your studio This saves time if any photo needs to be retaken m If you re using a digital camera always meter for the lightest highlight area in the scene This means you should point the camera to the lightest area press the shutter release button halfway down and then note the exposure settings the f stop and shutter speed Then use that exposure setting to take the final picture Except in instances when you use a flash this technique helps avoid highlight areas that appear white with no vis ible detail in the final pictu
137. g the rule of thirds Onthe Format menu point to Crop and then click Canvas 2 Under Select a proportion click a proportion 3 Select the Show guidelines for the rule of thirds check box 4 Click a starting point on your photo and then drag the outline to the opposite corner of the area to be cropped The guidelines show the cropped area divided into thirds vertically and horizontally 5 Move and resize the cropped area so a focal point in the picture is positioned at one of the intersections of the guidelines 6 Click Done Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Chapter 5 Basic Touchup 45 Using the Adjust Levels Tool Lighting problems in some photos need more precise adjustment than can be achieved with the Levels auto fix or manual brightness and contrast controls To achieve greater control you can use the adjust levels tool which includes a histogram The histogram is a visual representation of the photo s tonal range or the distribution of the pixels across the 256 degrees of brightness In the histogram pictured below the horizontal axis represents the range from the darkest pixels shadows on the left to the lightest pixels highlights on the right For each point in the range along the horizontal axis the height of the graph represents the percentage of pixels at that degree of brightness The example below shows the histogram of a photo that has a concentration of pixels between the shadows and the midt
138. ger shutter speed using a dial on the camera or an electronic menu Although shot with a narrow aperture f 11 the telephoto lens zoom lens set to 200mm on a digital camera reduced the depth of field in this photo Learning the jargon Switching to a wider aperture is also referred to as opening up Switching to a narrow aperture 1s referred to as stopping down How to change the aperture On fully controllable cameras you can change the aperture using the f stop ring or a dial on the camera body that allows you to select an f stop Very few compact cameras have a control that allows you to select an f stop The camera automatically selects an aperture based on the available light and the mode such as a portrait or landscape program A few of the high end compact cameras allow you to set the f stop On cameras with interchangeable lenses you set the f stop using an aperture ring Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Chapter 15 The Best of Tips amp Tricks 185 With fully controllable and manual cameras you can choose among a range of apertures You first select an f stop aperture and then you set the correct shutter speed to get a good exposure The camera s light meter provides a signal in the viewfinder that indicates when you have set the correct shutter speed In automatic modes a shiftable program or aperture priority semi automatic mode you select the f stop aperture and the camera sets the
139. gh resolution SP for viewing on most computer monitors photos in e mail may cause problems for your To save a photo for e mail or the Web recipients For example a single 5 megabyte 1 On the File menu point to Save a Copy For and then click Save for MB high resolution E mail or Web image will take over 20 2 Doone ofthe following minutes to download on m Click a picture size a 28 8 Kbps modem m Set maximum dimensions Also some e mail 3 Click Save As programs limit the The Save As dialog box opens size of attachments and may for example block e mail with 4 Click the folder to which you want to save the photo 5 Inthe File name box type a file name and then click Save attachments larger than 1 MB Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Chapter 10 Saving and Printing Pictures 99 Printing Pictures Printing from Photo Library Digital Image Library uses the same printing tools as Digital Image To start the print task To print a single picture use the Thumbnail pane to select the picture or pictures that Printing Single Pictures Digital Image has a simple process for printing single images When using the single picture printing task one copy of the picture will print on the page and the picture will be centered on the paper 1 Make sure your printer is turned on and connected to your computer 2 On the File menu click Print you want to print Then 3 Under Select a pri
140. gia Rettmer and Kimberly Rinehart O Great Arrow Graphics Jay P Morgan O Jeanine M Frazier EthnoGraphics O Jesus amp Margaret Flores EthnoGraphics O Jim Z Zhang EthnoGraphics O Joann Pecoraro EthnoGraphics O Joseph Polevoi EthnoGraphics O Karen Gutowsky O Kay Erickson EthnoGraphics O Keith Henry Brown EthnoGraphics O Kersti Wells O Kiki Oberstenfeld de Suarez O KOKO New York O Kristin Elliott O Kristin Nelson Tinker EthnoGraphics O Larry LaBonte O Laura Schuman O Leeann Lidz EthnoGraphics O Linda G Fisher EthnoGraphics O linneadesign com O Lisa R Foster EthnoGraphics O Liz Kahlenberg Bordow O Lorie L Clark EthnoGraphics O Madison Park Greetings O MARA ML O Marian Heath Greeting Cards O Maril Delly EthnoGraphics O Marisela Godoy EthnoGraphics O Mark Downey EthnoGraphics ME GRAPHICS Northern Exposure NRN Designs Corporation Painted Hearts amp Friends Palm Press Inc O Paula Doherty 2001 Advocate Art O Penny Laine Papers O Pinx A Card Co Inc O Rebecca Pavlenko O Red Farm Studio O Roobee O Sally Martin do Gastelum EthnoGraphics O Sandi Carpenter EthnoGraphics O Sara Schneidman O Snafu Designs O Socially Yours O Steve Haskamp O Steve Katz O Suzanne Tornquist EthnoGraphics O Xiaoxing Yu EthnoGraphics Bottman Design Inc Chris Roberts Antieau Bottman Design Inc Paris Bottman Fan Mail Greeting Card Co O Dona Rozanski LARKSPUR GRAPHICS O Andie Thrams Off Ramp TM Silk Spiral
141. gous colors create harmony and are often used to lend a sense of atmosphere Colors can set or enhance the mood or atmosphere of an image and make objects appear to advance or recede in the image Colors such as red orange yellow red violet and yellow green are warm and inviting and they come forward visually Conversely violet blue and green are cool colors and they tend to recede visually Color intensity can also complement the subject For instance pastel colors suggest tranquility bright colors suggest activity while dark shadowy colors suggest a somber tone As you probably know light at different times of the day has different tempera tures or colors For example the early evening hours produce a much warmer color of light 3 000 to 4 500 degrees Kelvin than midday sun 5 500 to 7 000 degrees Kelvin and artificial light a 100 watt incandescent bulb is 2 900 degrees Kelvin creates even different color variations You can use the color variations of light creatively to enhance your images Tip To get saturated details in foliage or in a rich blue sky and to help reduce bright highlights when shooting into the light use a polarizing filter To balance the bluish color found when shooting in open shade try using a warm up filter such as an 82A or 82B If you re shooting with a digital camera you ll get the best color by setting the white balance to match the light in the scene Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Ma
142. h Digital Image If you end up with red eyes in your photos Digital Image makes it very easy to remedy this problem For more information see the section on removing red eye in this book s Basic Touchup chapter Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 132 Chapter 12 Taking Great Pictures Fill Flash You can use the fill flash setting to fill in deep shadow areas caused by bright overhead sunlight or in a scene where the light is behind the subject In the left photo the strong backlighting creates a shadow that covers the subject s whole face For the photo on the right fill flash was used to counteract the backlighting and keep the shadows off the subject s face If your flash is using the automatic setting bright daylight can prevent it from firing Turn on the flash manually or if your camera has a fill flash setting turn it on If you see shadows on your subjects faces as you re composing the shot fill flash is a good idea An alternative to using the fill flash is moving to a different place where the light from the sun is diffuse and indirect which produces a softer more flatter ing portrait light Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Chapter 12 Taking Great Pictures 133 Using Your Camera s Manual Settings In today s camera marketplace the lines between manual and automatic cam eras have become blurred It used to be that manual cameras were 35mm SLR single lens reflex camera
143. h how the light paints the scene revealing some detail here and concealing other details elsewhere Then notice how the shape and direction of light direct the eye and use this in your composition to move the viewer s eye through the photo Of course the color or temperature of light will also define the colors of the scene Move around to see how the light separates and outlines the subject against the background Watching how light plays on parts of a scene is a good habit that can often result in a worthwhile photo Tip If you re shooting with a digital camera take the meter reading on the highlights in the scene and shoot using that exposure If you re shooting with film take a meter reading on a shadow area and take the picture using that exposure Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Chapter 15 The Best of Tips Tricks 237 In this photo looked for light in an otherwise shaded scene At the last minute saw the thin shaft of light falling across the musician s straw hat The direction of the light conveniently provided a subtle path leading to the musician s face 2 Look for color If you want to make a visual impact look for bold color and make it the primary element of your photo Further use color with intent in your photos All you need is a little background in color basics The three primary colors are red yellow and blue These are saturated domi nant colors that make a big visual statement And
144. h no excessive color casts caused by improper settings for white balance or not using a color correction filter on film m Detail in both the shadows and highlights or in the area either highlight or shadow that is most important to the image overall m Natural skin tones if people are in the picture Cropping that enhances the composition m Anappropriate sharpening level This picture has many of the elements you look for when editing images a good tonal range vivid colors white whites black blacks and detail in the shadow areas The image correction process For those new to image editing the process of image correction generally follows a sequence of adjustments that build upon each other Following this sequence often makes subsequent steps easier to complete and it will help avoid time consuming mistakes that result in artificial looking pictures A simple example is sharpening In image editing software sharpening doesn t magically fix blurry focus Instead 1t makes existing focus appear sharper by increasing the contrast of adjacent pixels typically where there are significant color changes such as the edges Sharpening sounds like a good starting point for image editing right Not so As it happens if you sharpen an image first and then make other adjustments such as burning darkening an area or dodging lightening an area the subse quent editing can create unnatural looking edges and pronounced halo effects
145. he composition simple can help make fall photos more vibrant As fall inevitably creeps across the summer landscape it brings color changes vibrant enough to motivate even the most languid photo buffs into recording at least a few frames of nature s brilliant displays Yeah right you may say yawning that s what we need yet more sweeping landscape shots of red yellow and orange trees Granted anyone who s been through more than a few autumns knows that given the stunning show nature provides colorful postcard like landscape shots are a gimme If you re thinking been there done that then it s time to think about fall as an opportunity to develop your eye for color and composi tion If you want fall images that resonate beyond the predictable fall landscape shots then you ll have to get creative and use fall color in less predictable ways Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Chapter 15 The Best of Tips amp Tricks 247 Look for details within the scene Color contrast To go beyond the obvious ho hum tree changed color shot learn to use color contrast to its maximum potential You can choose to use high or low color contrast but use both with intent High color contrast is achieved by using complementary colors in a composition By definition colors are complementary if they form gray when combined in equal amounts On a color wheel complementary colors are opposite each other So the primary
146. hoto on the right was saved with heavy JPEG compression which is not loss less and the compression significantly reduced the image quality For important photos that you want to make into prints it s good practice to use little or no compression Or if your camera offers it you can take your photos in a format such as TIFF that offers lossless compression Lossless compression reduces file size but retains all of the photo quality once the photo is restored File size and photo quality Lowering resolution and increasing compression both reduce file size and photo quality Bearing this in mind you can use file size as a rough way to judge photo quality Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 126 Chapter 12 Taking Great Pictures File formats compatible with Digital Image Digital Image can open photo files in any of the following formats m Adobe Photoshop psd m AutoCAD dxf m CorelDraw cdr Enhanced Metafile emf EPS eps FlashPix fpx GIF gif Home Publishing php JPEG jpg m Kodak Photo CD ped m Macintosh PICT pct m Micrografx Designer drw m PC Paintbrush pcx m Picture It Digital Image php mix px PNG png TIFF tif Targa tga Windows Bitmap bmp m Windows Metafile wmf File Formats There are many file formats designed for photos or other digital images Digital Image can work with JPEG TIFF and many other fil
147. hots This is also a good place to use a long lens or to switch to telephoto mode so that you can remain unobtrusive to the activity going on in the park Still life Virtually anything you have around the house is fair game for a great still life photograph from cut crystal to old brooms to nuts and bolts Try pho tographing a wine glass a sandwich fruits and vegetables a piano keyboard musical instruments game tables and a meal on a platter Portray life on a miniature scale by photographing old dolls and toys Arrange the subjects as an artistic composition and then experiment with using window light a flash a flashlight or household lamps You ll find that every subject presents different shooting challenges such as lighting composition and texture Real life Tell a story There is no more powerful use for a camera than for Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 210 Chapter 15 The Best of Tips amp Tricks telling a story Photojournalists travel thousands of miles to tell stories of international import But you don t have to go that far to tell the story of your life or the life of someone close to you For example one reader recently had a photo epiphany she decided to use her camera to tell the story of her aging mother Stories of life are close by and they are powerful compelling subjects for photographers of all skill levels Controlling depth of field and using selective focus can produce interesting im
148. hrough a stack of magazines books and brochures that I d been collecting I found pictures like the kind of shots I most often take and then tore out the pictures or flagged them Then I got out my photo archive and matched up pictures by category For example I stacked my nature shots alongside professional nature shots my still life images next to professional still life images and so on Then I compared them side by side Try new approaches The goal of this exercise was to determine ways in which Ican improve my approach to specific types of photographs Because I hate copying anyone s work whether it s a personal style or a standard technique I studied the differences between the shots I d collected and my shots looking for variations that would give my photos more creative punch without copying someone else s methods For each category of shots I made an initial list of impressions and ideas I waited a couple of days and then revised the list of ideas For me the waiting time 1s incubation the time it takes me to refine ideas I chose one of the categories and experimented with the approach I envisioned In some cases I realized quickly that I needed to do more research and experi mentation In other cases the approach just didn t work As of this writing I continue to test and revise the new approaches Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Chapter 15 The Best of Tips Tricks 215 By the time began shoo
149. hutter lags the burst mode still allows you to take many frames in a short time span The burst feature uses a buffer to temporarily hold the information from the image sensor After the set of 10 to 15 frames is stored in the buffer the camera processes each frame separately and sends them to the removable storage media If your camera has a burst mode feature you can use it to overcome the slow ness of the shutter lag When photographing a child for example it can be hard to get the child to pay attention for the few seconds that it takes to shoot the photo But with burst mode you might be able to shoot 10 frames within 10 seconds During that 10 seconds you can encourage the child to talk look at the camera and make different movements and expressions It s doubtful that all 10 exposures will turn out to be great photos but you re much more likely to get at least one good shot than if you d just taken a single frame Another great use of the burst mode feature is to take a photo series of an action sequence Create a series of photos of a golf swing a child riding a bike or a pet moving across the yard Then you can assemble the whole series in a slide show or mount the photos together in a frame Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Chapter 12 Taking Great Pictures 147 Portrait Mode For portraits and candid shots using your camera s portrait mode is a convenient way to get good results Portrait mode is set to u
150. ick though perhaps appreciative first glance most sunset photos are quickly forgotten And in large numbers they quickly become ho hummers However when the photographer adds an element that gives the sunset context and interest you have a sunset photo with impact and one that is far more likely to capture and retain the viewer s interest The sunset photo here includes the activity of people enjoying the last moments of the day against the backdrop of the dramatic late day color To evaluate your own photos for a strong center of interest try asking yourself these questions Or show the picture to a friend and ask your friend to honestly answer the questions m When you look at the photo what is the first thing you see If you re evaluating your own image is what you see first the subject you had in mind for the photograph m What holds your eye the longest Do other elements in the image compete with the subject for attention Do technical aspects such as light and the direction of light depth of field focus and so on add to or detract from the subject Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 196 Chapter 15 The Best of Tips amp Tricks The activity of people on the piers adds interest beyond the colors of the sunset Is the image composed well In a strong photo there should be a sense of overall organization While entire books are written on composition at the most basic level composition is the proc
151. icture open in the workspace 95 Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 96 Chapter 10 Saving and Printing Pictures Choosing a File Format Digital Image allows you to save photos in a number of image file formats You can determine the best format for saving your photos based on what you will use the photos for compatibility with other computers and file size To help you understand the difference between file formats here are some important characteristics of three common image formats Digital Image PNG Plus png saves the individual objects in your photo projects so you can edit them later PNG offers lossless compres sion but not all computers have the software to open PNG files m TIFF tif is a common format for cameras that produce lossless images TIFF does not support layers but is a good format for saving important photos although the files are relatively large m JPEG jpg is the most common format for images since the files can be opened on practically any computer JPEG does not support layers Too much JPEG compression can reduce image quality but JPEG is a format that makes relatively small files that work well for most purposes especially for e mail and the Web To save a photo in a specific file format 1 On the File menu click Save As The Save As dialog box opens 2 Inthe Save as type box click a file type 3 Click Save Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Chapter 10
152. ictures 149 Using the Self Timer Creating a Many digital cameras even inexpensive ones come with a self timer feature makeshift tripod Some self timers open the shutter after a preset amount of time such as 10 seconds others allow you to adjust the length of time before the shutter fires Either way this fairly simple feature is great for getting yourself into a photo and for taking long exposure shots If you re outdoors try proppingthe camera on a rock or car roof Then fine tune the Getting Yourself into a Photo NU the camera on a jacket To get yourself into a photo plan where you want to position yourself for the or other object that you shot Then set up the camera by putting it on a tripod a table or any other flat can shape to adjust the stable surface With your camera in position focus the camera on your subject a camera angle which should be close to the position where you will stand for the photo If your camera has autofocus press the shutter halfway down to focus press the self timer button and then press the shutter all the way down Then you ve got about 10 seconds to get yourself in position for the shot Taking Long Exposure Shots Another great use of the self timer is for exposures with a relatively slow shut ter speed For speeds slower than 1 30 of a second there is a good chance the slight movements in your hands will cause blurriness in your photo Even if you have very steady hands th
153. id static electricity be sure to shoot in single frame mode If your camera offers the option of switching from automatic to Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 228 Chapter 15 The Best of Tips amp Tricks manual film advance switch to manual mode and then advance the film slowly Rely on a zoom lens In cold conditions you want to avoid handling icy cold lenses In extremely cold weather a metal lens case can stick to your fingers and a plastic lens case could potentially break Instead mount a zoom lens with the most versatile range to avoid changing lenses Transition the camera between temperature changes As Peter Burian recommends in The Joy of Winter Photography when you first go out doors allow your gear to cool down Once you re in the field Burian cau tions against taking cold photo equipment into a warm or humid vehicle or building for short periods If you do so condensation will form on the exterior of the camera and this moisture will freeze when you return outdoors he says When you must take cold photo equipment indoors keep it inside a camera bag with the zippers closed tight he adds In addition to these tips be sure to follow general safety precautions and that includes having the following Fully charged cell phone spare battery and car charger cord Compass Flashlight Bottled water Map Notepad and pens Blankets in the car Small tool set Nonperishable snacks Masking tape
154. ideos The Help window opens to a topic about Instructional Videos 2 Click a video title link The Video player opens and the Video begins The Instructional Videos are accompanied by complete online tutorials that let you walk through the tasks at your own pace To open the online tutorial click the Written Tutorial button on the Video player Technical Support The type of Technical Support resources available vary based on where you live and how you obtained your Digital Image product To view Technical Support information 1 On the Help menu click About Microsoft Digital Image Pro 9 2 Click Tech Support Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual CHAPTER 5 Basic Touchup 5 Basic Touchup Almost all photos can be improved with basic touchup tools Digital Image touchup tools can be used to correct common photo problems such as red eye crooked pictures lighting problems or similar distractions that can ruin a photo In many cases Digital Image helps you eliminate basic problems with just a few clicks Adjusting Brightness and Contrast When you take a photo with an automatic camera the camera s automatic exposure feature measures the available light and determines how much light is required to take the photo Sometimes the exposure meter s measurement is slightly too low or too high creating problems with brightness and contrast in the photo Digital Image provides tools to fix the levels of bright
155. ider to the right or make the midtones darker by dragging the midtones slider to the left Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 48 Chapter 5 Basic Touchup To adjust levels using the histogram On the Touchup menu click Adjust levels Drag the Shadows slider to the right until the vertical shadows bar on the histogram meets the first vertical rise of the graph Drag the Highlights slider to the left until the vertical highlights bar on the histogram meets the first vertical rise of the graph If the midtones need adjustment do one of the following m To lighten the midtones drag the Midtones slider to the left m To darken the midtones drag the Midtones slider to the right To make adjustments to a specific color channel click a channel in the Channel drop down list and then use the sliders to make adjustments to that channel Click Done Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Chapter 5 Basic Touchup 49 Using Smart Erase The Smart Erase tool helps you remove distractions from pictures Smart Erase can remove items such as telephone poles power lines or even strangers in the background In addition to removing the unwanted element Smart Erase fills in the area with colors and patterns from the surrounding areas In many cases Smart Erase makes it hard to tell that the distraction was ever there With the consistently patterned background in this picture Smart Erase was able to do a smooth jo
156. ier 157 9 Shoot Every Single Dic aa 157 10 Show Your Photos to Other People 4 2 ri ter d ect e err e 158 Chapter 13 Successful Scanning eee eere eoe evertere epp erste arr eese tees eis aee a vua re Une e eeu aeo ed rase e Ye pa eee ae o eE 159 Types of Ca Sit aaa een 161 Elatbed Scanners acacia lidad ads 161 Filmi Scam ua od 162 Preparing Pictures for Scanning ecreis aner ernn eren nennen nennen ener nnne enne nennen 163 Setting Resolution and Bit Depth niii eoe ii cera a Va Eu loe a teens ea ia 164 Scanning Large Pictures oa ae en ee ish 165 Five Tips for Buying the Right Scanner ia 166 1 Get the Best Resolution You Can 1 eicere rere tenente ide ese tio dea ko ees ya recevra ve Pega 166 2 Look for USB Connections oie bee eR RET ER Ite gie UE RU CN PER 166 3 Check the Dynamic Rates 166 4 Scan bythe Batch 22 02 20 20 Dope teet araa ee aar io eise dp gen sa EE 167 5 Be Realistic About Scanning Speed aee eter eerta 167 Five Tips for Successful Scanning iii ree rin eaten te coercet der EH ee eig a nva 168 1 Keep Your Scanner and Originals Clean essere 168 2 Preview and Correct the Scars 168 3 Scan at High Resolution sesegor x ee Rh te ER EE CERTES ERE ESO Ue 168 4 Choose the TIFF E rmat iia tenen edet in m eade die tacet 168 5 Convert Large TIEF Filesto JPEG ic pr rr a again 168 Chapter 14 Optimizing Your Monitor for PhotoS zu serssursonssossnssnnsnunsnns
157. ies at retail stores and on the Web Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 70 Chapter 6 Advanced Photo Editing Color Effects You can give a color picture a new look by applying a color effect Turn a favorite color picture into an instant classic by changing it to black and white Or apply the antique effect which ages your picture by giving it a sepia tone To turn a color picture to black and white or antique 1 On the Effects menu click one of the following Antique m Black and White Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Chapter 6 Advanced Photo Editing 71 Paint Effects With the freehand paint brush you can choose from several painting tools Paint brush Airbrush Pencil Eraser Highlighter Chalk Use these tools to add new colors to a picture To use the freehand paint brush 1 On the Effects menu point to Paint Brush and then click Freehand 2 Click a painting tool and then click a color 3 Click a brush size and then paint by dragging on the picture 4 Click Done You can paint with stamps to enliven your pictures with a rubber stamp effect Choose from a variety of stamp designs or make your own Paint with a single stamp design or use multiple stamps on the same picture 9 9 You can choose from a wide variety of stamps to customize any picture Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 72 Chapter 6 Advanced Photo Editing To paint with stamps 1
158. igital Image Suite User s Manual Chapter 12 Taking Great Pictures 129 Battery Life eui The best Compared to film cameras many digital cameras use batteries at a surprising rechargeable rate The LCD preview screen and the flash on the camera both put a heavy batteries drain on the batteries And unlike some manual film cameras digital cameras cannot function without batteries or an AC power adapter Lithium ion batteries 1 hooti h 1 hich last 1 and nickel metal To ensure longer shooting you can buy rechargeable batteries which last longer hydride NiMH than disposable alkaline batteries Keep your spares charged so they ll be ready Daten f 4 atteries both when you need them If you are running low on power and don t have a spare B work very well with battery conserve remaining power by trying the following y cameras providing m Turn off your LCD screen and compose through the viewfinder excellent power and m Turn off your flash so that it doesn t fire automatically Turn the flash on convenience only when you really need it m Wait until you re home to preview your photos Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 130 Upgrading your flash If your camera supports an external flash consider buying one especially if you take a lot of indoor photos of people An external flash will give you much more control and often better results The range of your flash Check your camera s manual t
159. igned with the canvas To straighten a picture with Auto Crop 1 On the Format menu point to Straighten Picture and then click Canvas 2 Identify a line in the picture that should be straight such as the horizon and then click one end of the line 3 Click the other end of the line The picture is automatically straightened 4 Make sure the Auto Crop check box is selected The area of the picture that will be cropped is shown in lightened color around the edges 5 Click Done Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Chapter 5 Basic Touchup 43 Cropping Cropping is an easy way to improve the composition of a photograph For example if your picture has distracting background elements along the top bottom or side you can crop away these parts of the background to focus the attention on the subject When you crop a photo you are removing pixels and therefore lowering the effective resolution although the dots per inch will stay the same If you crop a significant portion of the original you re limiting the extent to which you will be able to enlarge the picture for printing This is why it s better to compose the picture as best you can when you take it rather than relying on heavy cropping later Cropping a picture allows you to eliminate distractions and improve the composition Cropping your picture to a specific proportion lets you control exactly where the picture will be cut Otherwise 1f your pict
160. in the foreground or a pine cone next to a seasonal cluster of berries Maximize depth of field To maximize depth of field especially in landscape photographs choose the smallest aperture larger f number possible and focus one third of the way into the scene Make red work for you Red is a visually dominant color If you include red in a photograph use it with intention to enhance the composition and draw the viewer s eye Ifred is used unintentionally it will of course draw the viewer s eye from the focal point Know the message Know why you re taking a picture If you can verbal ize what s compelling about the scene chances are much better that you can communicate that message to the viewer Carry a card for quick backgrounds Carry a gray card or any neutral color card in your camera bag that you can use as a backdrop for macro shots Meter with polarizing filters If you use a polarizing filter to enhance color be sure to take a meter reading from a midtone within the scene such as green foliage or grass Then use that meter reading as the expo sure for the shot This can help avoid possible overexposure due to the polarizer Add foreground elements When you take photographs in the warm light of sunrise or sunset try including shadowy foreground elements The contrast of the cooler bluish illumination of the foreground increases the contrast to the warm colors of the sky Carry foul weather gear If you decide to shoot i
161. ing grocery store mushrooms Because I have no built in subjects I ve learned to look very closely at the things I ve found to photograph even mushrooms Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Chapter 15 The Best of Tips amp Tricks 209 However if mushrooms don t appeal to you then one of the best ways to solve the dilemma of what to shoot is to give yourself an assignment For example shoot everyday objects and people from the perspective of a child Do some research for the assignment and find out how tall a three year old child is and then shoot from that height and that mental and emotional viewpoint With every assignment work on techniques such as perspective depth of field and macro photography Experiment with different shutter speeds and focal lengths Here are some more ideas for finding interesting and inspiring photography subjects People and things Public parks are ideal for photographing people and their playthings For example parks are a great place to get shots of details on a bicycle sports equipment in a heap on the basketball court sidelines the silhouette of a child playing on the slide or a boat floating lazily on the lake In the park and in public always ask permission before you photograph people and children and even pets The park is a great place to find photo subjects Use your time in the park to work on techniques such as low light shooting panning action shots and cutaway s
162. ing the time to zoom in the LCD image is impractical while you re shooting a rapid sequence of shots for example a child blowing out candles on a birthday cake For a quick sequence of shots try using the burst or best of the series option if your camera offers it In addition keep in mind that virtually all autofocus systems have difficulty focusing on certain subjects These include smooth and continuous tone subjects finely patterned objects subjects with objects in front of them such as animals in a cage and subjects that have little contrast with the background Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Chapter 15 The Best of Tips amp Tricks 223 3 Don t blow the details White areas in the image that have no detail are called blown highlights While this problem isn t confined to the digital camera arena it is more prevalent with digital images than with film Blown out highlights are most common in flash pictures where the photographer was too close to the subject But highlight blowout can happen with almost any well lit subject And just as with film images if the camera does not record detail in an area highlight or shadow no amount of image editing in this case burning in can put in detail that was never recorded Highlight blowout is evident on the upper area of the train in this picture How to avoid it Some cameras offer a playback mode that highlights blown out areas as flashing areas If your c
163. ings that cover the spectrum of different color temperatures If you don t already know learn how to set the white balance on your camera Usually the white balance setting is displayed on the LCD as part of the current exposure information You can change it using the camera menus for example under the recording menu or camera settings Once you know how to set the white balance the trick is to remember to set it to match the light before you take a picture Alternatively you can set the white balance to automatic and let the camera calculate the temperature for you Set to automatic the camera will get it right sometimes and sometimes not Some cameras also offer manual white balance settings To manually set the white balance you point the camera at a white object that fills the entire frame and then press a button The camera adjusts the color balance for the specific scene This is the most accurate method and the one to use when you need the assurance that colors will be accurately reproduced in the final image Note If your camera offers RAW mode and you shoot in RAW mode white balance settings may or may not be recorded However white balance along with other exposure settings can be set or adjusted after the fact using the manufacturer s postcapture software 2 Focus is fuzzy Digital cameras perhaps even more than conventional cameras can produce images with less than tack sharp focus Because many digital cameras
164. ital Image 9 m Click Use a different picture editor and then click Browse to locate a different editing program Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 118 Chapter 11 Organizing and Archiving in Digial Image Library Editing in Mini Lab Mini Lab allows you to perform the most common editing tasks to multiple pictures at the same time Some of these tasks include Levels auto fix Contrast auto fix Rotate Crop Fix red eye The Mini Lab you can access from Digital Image Library is the same Mini Lab you can access from Digital Image To batch edit pictures in Mini Lab 1 In the Thumbnail pane select the pictures you want to edit 2 On the Tasks menu click Batch Edit in Mini Lab Mini Lab opens with the selected pictures 3 For each batch editing task select the pictures you want to edit and then click an editing option 4 Click a file saving option You must save the files for the Mini Lab changes to be saved 5 Click Done Mini Lab closes and thumbnails in Digital Image Library will be updated to show your edits Batch File Management Digital Image Library has its own tools for batch file management These tools include batch rename batch convert file format and batch resize These file management options save you time when you need to perform the same task on multiple files To begin batch file management 1 In the Thumbnail pane select the pictures you want to manage 2 On the File menu cli
165. ital Image Library window 108 white area canvas 28 white balance 40 141 220 251 WIA 17 wide aperture 136 183 Windows Bitmap files 16 Windows Metafile files 16 winter photo sessions 227 wizards Archive Pictures 116 Import Pictures 13 Installation 4 workspace area 27 171 wrinkles removing 51 Y year viewing pictures by 111 Z zoom 127 228 zoom lens 250 Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual
166. ites will allow you to advertise your item on additional areas of the auction site such as the photo gallery You don t have to be a pro to take pictures of the items you want to sell In fact you don t even have to have a digital camera Just take pictures with your film camera and have the film scanned at a photo lab or scan them yourself With some smaller items you can place the items on a flatbed scanner to create the image While you don t have to be a pro to take the pictures it is a good idea to keep the following basic shooting tips in mind as you take the pictures Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 230 Chapter 15 The Best of Tips amp Tricks Basic tips for taking pictures that sell Auction photos do not have to be works of art But they do need to answer questions that a potential buyer might have such as what the item looks like in accurate detail reflect the color and condition of the item and show the fine points such as handcrafted details or the interior of the item Sounds relatively easy right It can be easy with a little preparation and a few tips Here are four basic guidelines to follow Use simple uncluttered backgrounds To show off the item you re selling create a makeshift studio next to a window or outdoors on a table stand or chair The area you choose should provide enough room for you to work com fortably Clear any items from the area that will not be included in the photo Then us
167. l 52 Chapter 5 Basic Touchup Fine tuning the lighting If you need to make further adjustments after adding flash you can use the brightness and contrast or adjust levels tools Adding Flash In some lighting conditions such as when the sun is low in the sky behind your subject your subject will be very dark compared to the light in the background Ideally you could use your camera s flash for this situation illuminating your subject as you take the photo But if you forget to turn on your flash or if your subject is out of your flash s range your subject may come out too dark in the photo In this situation you can use the Digital Image add flash feature to lighten the dark parts of your photo improving the exposure by imitating the light of a camera flash The add flash feature works by lightening the darkest pixels in your picture and also slightly increasing the contrast When the picture on the left was taken the boats were out of the flash s range so the whole foreground ended up in dark shadow The add flash tool was used in the picture on the right to lighten the foreground and bring out the detail To add flash to a photo 1 On the Touchup menu click Adjust Lighting 2 Under Add Flash drag the slider to the right to add as much flash as you want 3 Click Done Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Chapter 5 Basic Touchup 53 Reducing Backlighting Fixing severe In some photos
168. l Camera Under Select a camera or drive click a camera To launch the Mini Lab after opening the pictures click Yes under After downloading your pictures do you want to edit them in Mini Lab Click Automatic Download Click Download The pictures stored on the camera appear in the workspace Click Download all pictures or To download an individual picture drag the picture from the workspace to the Files palette Click Done Using your camera s software Some digital cameras especially older models may not function as a virtual drive or be TWAIN or WIA compliant For these cameras use the software provided by the camera to download the photos to a folder your computer Then open them with the file browser Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 18 Chapter 3 Opening and Importing Pictures To open photos from a camera that uses TWAIN support 1 9 A Make sure that you have installed all the drivers and software that came with your camera Connect your digital camera to your computer and then turn on the camera On the File menu point to Get Picture From and then click Digital Camera Under Select a camera or drive click a camera Click Automatic Download 6 Click Download The pictures stored on the camera appear in the workspace Click Download all pictures or To download an individual picture drag the picture from the workspace to the Files palette Click Done
169. l Image Library See the Organizing and Archiving in Digital Image Library chapter to learn more about cataloging your pictures as you import them Launching the Import Pictures Wizard automatically Windows Me and Windows XP can automatically detect compatible cameras and other photo media such as photo CDs This detection should occur when you m Connect a compatible camera to the computer and turn on the camera m Connect a compatible card reader to the computer and insert media m Insert a photo CD DVD or other storage media into a drive on the computer This automatic detection feature 1s only available on Windows Me and Win dows XP and with WIA and USB Mass Storage class devices To set Windows to launch the Import Pictures Wizard automatically 1 Connect your compatible camera or device to the computer and then turn on the camera or device or Insert the storage media into a drive on the computer 2 When Windows detects the picture files Windows will ask you what you want to do with the pictures Click Import pictures using Microsoft Digital Image Import Wizard Check Always do the selected action Click OK Click the device you want to use and then click OK aA Un Bb q Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 14 Chapter 3 Opening and Importing Pictures Starting the Import Pictures Wizard manually If Windows does not automatically detect your device or other media you can start the I
170. lance for each exposure To calculate the white balance the camera assumes the lightest spot in the picture is white and adjusts the other colors If your photo has a accordingly Under most circumstances this automatic function should prevent colored cast from a an off color cast in your photos light source correct the problem with the Digital However in some lighting conditions the camera fails to correctly set the white balance If you re shooting indoors for example incandescent lights give off a yellowish or reddish glow This color is not really visible to the naked eye but often shows up in indoor photos To counteract this problem most digital cameras have preprogrammed color balance settings that compensate for different kinds of light Typical settings include cloudy shade incandescent Image Adjust Tint tool Setting the white balance manually flash fluorescent and sunny These settings compensate for the different colors Some digital cameras of light likely to be present in those conditions and should produce photos that offer manual white require little or no color correction Read your camera s manual to find out balance control This about specific white balance settings it offers feature allows you to set the white balance by focusing on a pure white object such as With film cameras there is no way the camera itself can compensate for dif ferent lighting conditions But there are two ways you can compe
171. lette To open a photo from a Web page 1 Make sure that both Digital Image and your Web browser either Micro soft Internet Explorer or MSN Explorer are open and running on your computer A button for each program appears in the taskbar at the edge of your screen 2 On the Digital Image File menu click New 3 Select a canvas size and then click Done A blank canvas opens in the workspace 4 On the taskbar click the button for your Web browser program 5 In your Web browser locate the Web page that contains the picture you want 6 Right click the picture and then click Copy 7 On the taskbar click the button for Digital Image 8 On the Digital Image Edit menu click Paste The new picture appears on the canvas Once the photo is opened in Digital Image you can edit it as you would any other photo and save it to your computer Watch for copyrights Pictures you see on the Web may be copyrighted so be sure to read the site s legal information before you use an image Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual CHAPTER A Digital Image Basics 4 Digital Image Basics This chapter covers some of the fundamental aspects of Digital Image that you ll need to get started You ll find information on the Startup Window the work area basic image manipulation applying text and Help resources Startup Window The Startup Window is a quick launching point to photos Mini Lab projects the Library rece
172. look the same in a wallet size print But if you enlarge those two photos to 5 x 7 prints the quality of the 320 x 240 photo is very low you can see the individual pixels The 3 megapixel photo still looks sharp at the larger size since its pixels are too small to be seen Resolution is also important because it determines file size High resolution photos contain color information for many more pixels than low resolution photos so the files for high resolution photos can be significantly larger File size becomes an issue if you have limited storage on your camera or hard disk or if you need to send the photos through e mail The following chart gives an estimate of file size and maximum print size for various resolutions The chart lists file sizes for JPEG format which is a com mon but not the only format for photos Approx JPEG file size Dimensions Total pixels with slight compression Maximum print size 320 x 240 76 800 23KB Wallet size 640 x 480 307 200 91 KB 4 x6 1280 x 960 1 228 800 363 KB A 1 2 megapixels 1600 x 1200 1 920 000 576 KB 8 x 10 1 9 megapixels 2 048 x 1 536 3 145 728 970 MB 11 x 14 and larger 3 1 megapixels Compression which is explained in the following section varies by camera so you may find different file size results Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 124 Chapter 12 Taking Great Pictures Megapixel rating One of the main factors in the price of a digital
173. low shutter speed Some cameras offer a shutter priority mode that sets the aperture automatically after you set the shutter speed This can be useful if you re in a situation where shutter speed is more important than aperture like when you re shooting a subject in motion Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 140 ASA versus ISO If you have an older camera the film speed dial might be labeled ASA instead of ISO These film speed ratings are the same and the ratings are interchangeable Avoid sharpening a photo with noise Do not use the sharpen feature in Digital Image on digital photos with noticeable noise sharpening accentuates the inaccurate pixels Chapter 12 Taking Great Pictures ISO Setting or Equivalent When shooting on film you have the opportunity to select different types of film for specific uses Films are available in different speeds that are more sensitive or less sensitive to light The film speed is measured by ISO number A high speed film such as ISO 800 is ideal for low light situations or action photography since the film requires less light to properly expose the photo Slow speed films such as ISO 100 or ISO 200 are good for photographing in bright daylight since they require a lot of light If you plan on using the same roll of film for shooting in multiple settings and light levels ISO 400 film is a good compromise and does relatively well in most situations Faster film
174. lso help to fit an oddly proportioned print to a standard size frame mat consider the colors in your photo If you don t plan to mount a photo in a traditional frame but would like to and the colors of your print and display it use a Digital Image frame instead You can choose from a frame A mat should variety of frame themes to complement the subject of your photo You can even not overpower the add both a mat and a frame to the same photo subject ofthe photo Try selecting a soft colored mat that matches one of the photo s secondary colors Digital Image has a wide variety of mats and frames to finish your favorite photos To add a mat or a frame 1 Select the picture or object to which you want to add a mat or frame 2 On the Effects menu point to Edges and then click Frames and Mats 3 Click a theme click a design and then click Open 4 Drag your photo from the Files palette into the frame or mat and then click Next 5 Move or resize the photo so that it fits within the frame and then click Done Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual CHAPTER 9 Creating Projects 9 Creating Projects A great way to present your pictures and share them with friends and family is to create photo projects Digital Image offers a range of designs that you can use to showcase your pictures Choose from greeting cards calendars business cards and more Creating Photo Cards Use your own photo to personalize
175. m the Files palette onto the layout 10 Click an option for fitting the selected picture to the area and then click Next 11 Preview the page layout and then enter the number of copies you want to print 12 Click Print oa BW Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Chapter 10 Saving and Printing Pictures 101 Selecting Print Quality Most desktop printers are capable of printing in a range of qualities from a low quality draft mode to a high quality setting that requires more time and uses more ink Printer settings for quality and color vary but you may be able to specify your paper type ink type dots per inch required and color manage ment preferences Some printers have simplified printing options such as Good Better and Best Make sure to read your printer s manual to find out how to take advantage of these different settings To select print quality for your printer 1 On the File menu click Print 2 Click Change printer settings Your printer s dialog box opens 3 Adjust your printer s quality settings and then click OK Selecting a Print Size The quality of photo prints is directly related to the number of pixels in the picture A high resolution picture contains a lot of detailed visual information and can be printed at larger sizes For example a picture whose dimensions are 2048 x 1536 pixels 3 1 megapixel would look good even when printed as large as 8 x 10 on m
176. mages immediately recognizable by those familiar with your work For anyone unfamiliar with your work your personal style will distinguish your images from those of other photographers While style admittedly is difficult to explain it is perhaps the one characteristic that ultimately pays the biggest dividends Developing a personal style is one of those things that is easier to write about than it is to create Style can be what you specialize in your characteristic approach to any subject an element that you include in virtually every image a guideline you consistently and successfully break a personal point of view humor juxtapositions a penchant for extreme simplicity a passion for a subject or a stylized darkroom treatment Each suggestion in this article could easily merit its own article However if you have limited time any of these ideas should provide a jump start to make noticeable and positive changes in your photographs Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Chapter 15 The Best of Tips amp Tricks 241 Photo Ops in the Most Unusual Places Alleys and Other Worthwhile Detours Text and photos by Charlotte K Lowrie Hidden from the incessant human need to clean up alleys provide surprising photo opportun ties as nature and emerging artists use the space for artistic endeavors Are you bored going to the same places taking the same monotonous pictures If you are then it s time to swerve off the be
177. mera Gut level you know that photographic nirvana is now within your grasp Now you have the power You can see and correct lousy shots on the spot You can correct the flaws in your digital darkroom You smirk thinking that you ll never again pay for 36 weirdly tinted glossy prints from the local lab Never again will you slink out the door convinced that you are the world s only perpetual walking photographic failure But as images begin rolling off the camera and onto your computer s hard disk the reality fairy appears and nirvana s glow begins to fade Regardless of how you shoot some images have stark white highlight areas On other images the focus lists somewhere to the right of crisp And on others it s clear that you have single handedly invented previously unknown categories of bizarre color tints You become deeply depressed Okay maybe not deeply depressed but at least way frustrated But get a grip The message the reality fairy is trying to get across is that digital cameras like their film counterparts present a unique a set of challenges And nirvana is after all elusive at best The truth is that with a digital camera you do have more power over your Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 220 Chapter 15 The Best of Tips amp Tricks images both when you take them and when you correct them But unless you want to spend long hours at the computer correcting problems it s prudent to modify some of you
178. meras you can increase the ISO equivalent setting in effect making the image sensor more sensitive to the available light which allows you to shoot in low light without a flash Many newer cameras offer low light shooting modes and night flash settings that improve the quality of low light photos If your camera offers these options use them Otherwise always stay within the recommended range of the flash Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Chapter 12 Taking Great Pictures 131 Red Eye Reduction Flash One of the most common problems with flash photos of people and pets is red eye This problem is caused by a flash located very close to the camera lens The light from the flash reflects off the blood vessels in the subject s retina causing the pupils to look red This problem occurs frequently in low light situations when pupils are likely to be dilated There are several things you can do to help avoid red eyes in your photos m Increase the ambient light in the room Turning on lights and opening up the drapes reduces the size of your subjects pupils m Use your camera s red eye reduction setting This feature fires preflash bursts that help reduce the dilation of the pupils before the exposure m If you have an off camera flash move it away from the camera lens Then even if your subjects pupils are dilated the light comes from a different angle and reduces or eliminates the red eye effect Fixing red eye wit
179. mport Pictures Wizard from Digital Image or Digital Image Library To start the Import Pictures Wizard manually 1 On the File menu click Import Pictures 2 Click the device you want to use and then click OK Opening Pictures for Editing With Digital Image you can open pictures for editing from a variety of sources including your computer storage media and most cameras and scanners Using the file browser You can use the file browser to locate your photos and open them for editing The file browser can be used to open photos from m The hard drive on a computer m A digital camera that is a USB Mass Storage Class device A USB Mass Storage Class device works as a virtual drive letting you browse and open photos from the device as you would from a hard disk or floppy disk m A digital photo card reader m A photo CD or DVD m A floppy disk Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Chapter 3 Opening and Importing Pictures This picture identifies the main features of the file browser 1 2 amus zz 7 8 9 10 11 All Files tab Click the All Files tab to view the folder structure on your computer Click a folder to display its contents and subfolders The folder structure includes internal and external drives on your computer including disk drives card readers and USB Mass Storage Class digital cameras Digital Image Library tab Click the Digital Image Library tab to find an
180. mpression This tactic certainly allows you to get more shots on a memory card but it doesn t guarantee that you ll be able to get the quality enlargements you may later want from the images How to avoid it My approach is to set my camera on the highest resolution and to review pictures frequently as I shoot deleting pictures that I m absolutely certain I don t want However if I ve bracketed a series of shots I make a mental note to not delete any of those images Also since the price for memory storage media is declining it makes sense to pick up an extra card or memory stick as the budget allows 5 Flash causes hot spots The flash onboard or external can be either your best friend or your worst enemy The latter is most often the case But because a digital camera offers you unlimited free testing there is no longer any reason to perpetuate this problem Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Chapter 15 The Best of Tips amp Tricks 225 Besides obliterating details you might like to maintain in the picture built in flash units also cause hot spots as shown in the area in front of the puppy that are time consuming and frustrating to fix How to avoid it First find the manual that came with the camera and look up the flash range the manufacturer recommends Then test the flash range to get a personal feel for the recommended distances Instead of subjecting your child or pet to the flash test shots sit a hou
181. n Don t worry if you don t already know the fine points of exposure The answers give you the basic information and at the end of the quiz you ll learn how all Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Chapter 15 The Best of Tips amp Tricks 181 of the elements combine to create good exposures and how you can use them creatively What is ISO a An abbreviation for Industry Standard Optics that determine the resolution of your camera s lens b Iam clueless Should I care c It indicates how sensitive the film is to light Correct answer C ISO and ISO equivalent settings on digital cameras are numbers that indicate the film s or digital image sensor s sensitivity to light In other words the amount of light required to make an accurate exposure The higher the ISO number the more sensitive the film or sensor is to light or the less light will be needed to make a picture The ISO is encoded on film canisters Most cameras automatically read the code and auto matically set the ISO for you The ISO sequence runs as 20 25 32 40 50 64 80 100 125 160 200 250 320 400 and so on up to 6400 although not all of these numbers are currently in use An easy way to think about ISO is to know that ISO 200 film or the equivalent digital setting is twice as sensitive to light as the ISO 100 setting If you use ISO 200 the film or image sensor requires half as much light to make an exposure as ISO 100 film Photogra
182. n changeable fall weather be sure to carry foul weather protection for you and your camera Be creative Try multiple exposure images turn the camera at an uncon ventional angle use a fast film or crank up the ISO on a digital camera and shoot in low light to create images with coarse grain or noise Then try adding a soft focus or warm up filter The most important tip Okay maybe I should have said this first but it works just as well here Before you go out to shoot think about what autumn means to you Knowing what you think how you feel is as important as the camera and gear you use and how much you know about photography Why What you think translates directly Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Chapter 15 The Best of Tips amp Tricks 253 into what and how you take pictures And ultimately what you think is what will be the key that sets this series of fall photographs apart from yet more sweeping landscape shots of red yellow and orange trees Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 254 Chapter 15 The Best of Tips amp Tricks Digital Image Editing 101 Careful correction can make the difference between an image being a throwaway or a keeper Taking the picture is half of the fun of photography The other half of the fun is in the digital darkroom getting that great finished image that you can t wait to show off to everyone who s willing to look at it Yeah right you say
183. n options button There are five selection tools available and each one works well for a specific editing scenario Select the method that best fits your picture and your intended use In addition to the object tool mentioned above the other four selection tools are m Marquee tool m Freehand tool m Edge Finder m Magic Wand Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 64 Chapter 6 Advanced Photo Editing Anti aliasing a selection Anti aliasing means that pixels on the edge of the selection can be partially selected This technique helps to smooth the transition between the selection and the surrounding area Anti aliasing is useful when creating composites Feathering a selection Like anti aliasing feathering a selection helps to smooth its edges But where anti aliasing only affects pixels directly on the selection border you can feather a border of up to 250 pixels around the edge of the selected area Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual The Marquee Tool The marquee tool helps you select part of an object in the shape of a rect angle circle or other shape This tool 1s useful for cropping objects or pictures to a standard shape To make a selection with the marquee tool 1 2 10 11 12 Make sure that the Stack appears in the workspace On the Stack click the object of which you want to make a partial selec tion On the toolbar click the marquee tool button
184. nd or collapse the left pane of the Help window 2 The Back button Click this button to go back to the last Help topic 3 The Options menu This menu has options to print a topic or to set options such as Internet Options where you can change the font size in the Help window 4 The content pane Displays the current Help topic Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Chapter 4 Digital Image Basics 33 5 The close button closes the Help window 6 The Contents tab displays the Help table of contents 7 The Index tab lets you find keywords in the index list 8 The Search tab finds topics that contain words that you enter 9 The Favorites tab lets you save topics for quick access later To access online Help 1 On the Help menu click Microsoft Digital Image Pro Help Using the table of contents You can use the table of contents to locate information by subject The table of contents is a useful way to see all of the features available in each category of features To use the table of contents 1 In the left pane of the Help window click the Contents tab 2 To expand a book in the contents click the plus sign next to it 3 To display a topic in the contents list click the topic title Using the index You can use the index when you are looking for information about a specific term or keyword To use the index 1 In the left pane of the Help window click the Index tab 2 Inthe Type in the keyword to
185. near the monument and the monument can be the back drop in your frame Or use the self timer to capture you and your companion sampling the local fare that you ve bought from the food vendor in front of the monument Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 156 Chapter 12 Taking Great Pictures 7 Bracket The term bracket means to create exposures that are both lighter and darker than the camera or light meter indicates The idea is to second guess the purely mechanical exposure meter so that you get the right exposure If you re taking photos of a sunset a scenic vista or a plant you have the time to bracket With these subjects you re also likely to have a wider range of tones to record than your camera can handle especially if your subject is brightly lit So how do you bracket with an automatic camera Most digital cameras and many automatic cameras have an exposure compensation feature sometimes called the EV setting If you set the exposure compensation for 1 the shot is one stop underexposed darker than normal If you set the camera for 1 the shot is one stop overexposed lighter than normal So you can bracket by tak ing three photos one each at the 1 0 and 1 settings Some cameras offer an automatic feature which takes a range of photos each with a different exposure setting Even if your camera doesn t permit you that much control or if you don t want to take the time to change the exposure settings
186. ness If you re shooting film choose a high speed film In fact this is the perfect time to try out some of the new 1600 ISO films Consider either shoot ing black and white film or switching to black and white mode on your digital camera Because the rusty gate provided enough context could use a tighter framing to isolate the most interesting elements of this scene Think like a photo editor who wants to tell a story in three or four succinct shots This means you ll want to look both for the detail and the overall context the scene provides Before you shoot ask what you want the photo to tell view ers If the telling aspect of the scene is the contrast of the overall location with the art or object shoot from a wider perspective that includes the surroundings in context Then look closely for arresting details that can complete the story for example a single broken door knob overgrown with vines a cat in the window or a stray discarded object that tells of former lives and activity Image editing suggestions Once you have your favorite images on the computer experiment with converting color images to black and white or sepia tone Some images just seem made for this type of treatment Always make a copy of the original picture first and save it in a lossless format such as TIFF Then work on the copy never on the original image In addition try splitting images into sections to emphasize depth or repetition of shape or pat
187. ness and contrast To correct brightness and contrast 1 On the Touchup menu click Brightness and Contrast 2 Click Levels auto fix 3 If you are not satisfied with the result of the levels auto fix click Contrast auto fix 4 If you are not satisfied with the results fine tune the settings with the Brightness and Contrast sliders 5 Click Done The picture on the left is both too dark and too low contrast The Levels auto fix tool was ap plied to the version on the right correcting both the brightness and contrast levels 39 Making a copy to touch up Never edit an original photo Always make a copy and edit only the copy If you aren t satisfied with the results you can always start again by making another copy from the original Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 40 Setting the white balance on a digital camera Many digital cameras allow you to set the white balance for specific types of light such as sunlight incandescent and flash Using this feature can help reduce tint problems in your photos Zooming in to find white Ifthere are no significant areas of white in your photo use the zoom controls to magnify the picture on the screen When you zoom in you may be able to use a very small area of white such as the whites of a person s eyes Chapter 5 Basic Touchup Adjusting Tint When you take photographs the source of the light can create a colored cast in
188. nnnsnnsnunsnnsnnnsnnsnnnsnnsnnnsnnssonssnnsann 169 Setting Screen Resolution iia ed n HI HR REOR e HERD eret e rM EEES 171 Setting Monitor Color Quality nennen anna en nn cus 172 Calibrating for Brightness Contrast and RGB Values cccccesceeseeseeeceeseeeeeeseececseceeeeaeceeeeeenseeneseneenes 174 Controlling Ambient Light aiite sates ecrit atre ana na an en 175 Chapter 15 The Best of Tips amp Tricks cion 177 How Photo Savvy Are You iiie noe aW D RR HE GR ED ua 180 What Makes a Photo Good 4 ctr as 194 Photo challenge Tella StOry 4 ito sheet liada Pax eor err Ed ie Ree REOS 203 Weekend Photo Ideas ede retomar ea 207 Six Easy Ways to Improve Your Photography sess 212 Six Digital Photo Problems zen eei diia sti 219 Winter Camera Care PS ad 227 Tips for Online Auction PhotOS emitida dieta 229 The Fast Track To Better Photos cia ai 235 Photo Opsin the Most Unusual Places iia nn 241 Fall Photos Sharpen Your Eye for Color and Composition eese 246 Digital Image Editing 101 ana an 254 CHAPTER 1 Installation 1 Installation Starting Setup To install Digital Image you must be running Windows 98 Windows Me Windows 2000 or Windows XP or later On Windows 2000 and Windows XP systems you must have administrative privileges For information regarding privileges please refer to the operating system Help On most computers Digital Image setup will begin automatically when
189. ns are the product of the image size multiplied by the resolution For example if you have a picture that is 4 x 6 and its resolution is 300 pixels per inch its pixel dimensions would be 1200 x 1800 Given this relationship if you change one of the three settings one of the other settings will also have to change to keep the mathematical relationship equal So if you enlarged the picture in the previous example from 4 x 6 to 8 x 12 and you kept the pixel dimensions the same then the resolution would decrease from 300 pixels per inch to 150 pixels per inch When you resize a picture it is generally not a good idea to try to increase or decrease the pixel dimensions since this reduces image quality In most cases it s not necessary to adjust the image size since that can be handled automati cally during printing For high quality prints it s generally good to keep the picture s resolution at least 300 pixels per inch But depending on your printer model and the image quality you desire you may be satisfied with prints at only 150 pixels per inch For Web use 72 pixels per inch is usually considered sufficient Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 30 Chapter 4 Digital Image Basics To resize a picture 1 On the Format menu click Resize Image 2 Click one of the following to lock the setting m Image size m Pixel dimensions m Resolution 3 Enter amounts for the settings you want to change 4 Click Done Microso
190. nsate for the colored light a piece of paper and m Use film designed for specific lighting situations Tungsten balanced then locking down the films for example help to neutralize the color of tungsten or halogen white balance before illumination you take the photo m Use a filter on your camera lens For example if you re using daylight balanced film but want to shoot indoors you can use a blue colored filter to absorb the overriding yellows and reds of the indoor incandescent lights Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 142 Chapter 12 Taking Great Pictures Using Automatic Modes on Your Camera Many of the automatic cameras sold today even some of the less expensive models have preprogrammed modes that are designed for special situations Sometimes called program modes these modes automatically adjust your cam era to special settings designed specifically for things like macro photography action shots portraits panoramic mode or picture series If you re a beginning photographer who is not always confident enough to adjust your camera s manual settings use the automatic modes to help you take better photos If your camera does not allow you to adjust settings manually the automatic modes may be the most likely way for you to take successful photos in these situations The following sections describe the most common automatic modes available on many digital and film cameras Since the type and implement
191. nter click a printer click Print on the File 4 To specify printer settings click Change printer settings menu 5 Select the number of copies and then select a print size 6 Click an orientation and then click Print Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 100 Chapter 10 Saving and Printing Pictures Printing Multiple Pictures Digital Image has a wide variety of templates that allow you to print multiple pictures on a page You can print multiple copies of the same picture or multiple When adding a new pictures together at the same time printer make sure that you install all the printer software and drivers If you re installing an older printer you may be able to find updated printer drivers on the manufacturer s Web site Installing printer drivers Printing on a multi photo sheet saves paper and is a convenient way to create prints to give to family and friends To print multiple photos on the same page 1 Make sure your printer is turned on and connected to your computer 2 Open all the pictures that you want to print so that they are on the Files palette On the File menu click Print Under You can also click Print multiple pictures or special paper Under Select a printer click a printer To specify printer settings click Change printer settings Select a category of page layout and then click an orientation Click a layout in the right pane and then click Next Drag pictures fro
192. nter settings printing inks paper manufacturer and surface or printing resolution since all of these variables can affect your printing output Also note the changes for each combination of variables Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Chapter 14 Optimizing Your Monitor for Photos 175 The simple monitor calibration described above assumes that the printer is calibrated correctly This assumption is fine if you always view your pictures on the same monitor and print on the same printer But when you upload your pictures to a Web site for printing or if you send your pictures to be viewed or printed on other computers you may find that the colors are not as accurate For greater color accuracy you may want to invest in specialized calibration instruments and software Available in camera shops and on the Web calibra tion tools help you get precise calibration for your monitor so you can generate pictures that look equally good on other systems Controlling Ambient Light After you ve gone through the trouble of calibrating your monitor you can also regulate the lighting in the room where you use your computer Without a consistent lighting system the same picture on the same monitor looks different in different lighting conditions Sunlight fluorescent light and incandescent light all affect how your eyes perceive the light coming from the monitor To get the most consistent results ensure that you have the same amount
193. ntly opened files and Help By default the Startup Window opens every time you start Digital Image After closing the Startup Window you can open it at any time from the main work area by clicking the Startup Window button in the Common Tasks list This diagram points out the main features of the Startup Window kn ans ride Canin Fu ani EJ Vae a Tm E bnhan hemd dr Rh Open Click the Open button to open the file browser where you can open photos from your hard drive a network drive a digital photo card reader a CD or DVD or a floppy disk 2 Open from Camera Click this button to launch the digital camera task so you can open photos from a digital camera using Digital Image or your camera s software 3 Scan a Picture Click this button to launch the Scan Picture task where you can scan a picture directly into Digital Image 4 Edit Multiple Pictures Click this button to open the Mini Lab The Mini Lab helps you perform routine editing task such as rotating levels auto fix cropping and saving on multiple pictures at the same time Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 26 Chapter 4 Digital Image Basics CA a N oo o 1 Ea Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Create a Project Click this button to pick a project design You ll find a variety of projects such as calendars greeting cards and album pages designed to work with your photos Projects are organized by type and by
194. nual Chapter 15 The Best of Tips amp Tricks 239 3 Just don t say cheese If there is a universal photo convention it must be having photo subjects say cheese to get them to smile for a picture While smiling is a good thing to have subjects do for say a family portrait almost all adults and children past the age of crawling have perfected a cheesy camera smile that satisfies the photographer but that lists far to right of genuine If you photograph people try not to ask them to smile Instead photograph them with natural expressions Emphasizing natural of course means that you ll need to spend some time putting them at ease first Tip Natural expressions are fleeting If you re not prepared to shoot and you say wait don t move your subject may become self conscious trying to hold an expression or pose Instead just shoot whether you re ready or not and keep shooting as you make the necessary camera adjustments It s much easier to delete a bad digital picture or throw away a film print than it is to recapture spontaneity and keep the subject engaged 4 Avoid clich s Clich means a trite or overused expression or idea and in this case a been there seen that photo This means you have to ditch the I want to take a picture just like that mentality and break new visual ground both in the way you look at scenes and in the way you use your photo gear EA Er 4 I m eig T Ta
195. o find out the recommended range for your flash Most on camera flashes are designed to illuminate a subject that is 10 to 15 feet from the camera If the flash is too close your subject may look too bright or washed out in the photo If you re too far away the flash doesn t provide enough light Chapter 12 Taking Great Pictures Using the Flash Learning to use the flash is one of the easiest ways to get better photos both indoors and outdoors Especially when you re photographing people overpow ering light from the flash can ruin the shot often in ways that are difficult to correct with photo editing software Most inexpensive and moderately priced cameras come equipped with a built in flash The flash may be programmed to go off automatically when the camera senses that the flash is needed But relying on the camera s judgment will not always give you the best results Built in flashes can create harsh shadows overexposed areas and unnatural looking light Read your camera s manual to learn what the recommended flash range is and to find out how to adjust different flash settings Three of the most common flash settings are outlined in the following sections Automatic Flash Contrary to what you might think you may be better off without your flash in many situations If you think the scene is too dark to take without a flash try increasing the ambient light by turning on lamps and opening the drapes On most digital ca
196. o objects special effects blending 74 distorting 75 gradient color sampling 73 texture sampling 73 preserving monitor settings 175 preserving object groups 61 preserving object layers 62 previewing scanned images 168 printers color management 101 drivers 100 options 102 quality settings 101 printing pictures alignment on page 99 cropping 43 lifespan ratings 102 maximum sizes 123 multiple images 100 paper options 102 quality settings 101 resolution 123 single image 99 size 101 Digital Image 99 prints ordering 103 product tours 34 program modes See automatic camera modes projects creating photo 89 proportional cropping 43 proportional resizing 59 PSD files 16 Index 273 Q quality enhancements See editing pictures quality ranges printer 101 quarter fold cards 89 R RAM 164 ratings grouping by 114 RAW mode 221 real life photography 209 rearranging objects 28 rechargeable batteries 129 rectangles 64 reducing photo size 125 red eye 41 131 red values 174 reinstalling Digital Image 5 reminders archive interval 116 removable media 128 removing blemishes 50 Digital Image 5 picture features 66 scanner dust and scratches 162 spots 50 wrinkles 51 renaming batches 118 reordering objects 57 repetitive patterns 225 resizing batches 118 Digital Image workspace 171 picture cropping 43 picture features 59 picture size 29 thumbnails 112 resolution adjusting 171 Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual
197. o throw photos away even ifthey re imperfect You probably have a large box or two filled with envelopes of old negatives and photographic prints Keeping track of all of your old prints and negatives can be a formidable task Fortunately digital photography makes saving storing and organizing photos much easier However there are some important things you should know about saving your photos to make sure they ll be in good condition whenever you want to enjoy them Saving Multiple Versions Once you ve downloaded a photo to your computer and erased it from your camera your computer s hard disk contains the only copy of that photo This original version should be treated like a film negative You don t want to do anything to it that will alter the original content Except rotation to correct orientation or renaming the file the original version should be left alone When you want to edit a photo or add it to a project you should always make a copy of the original and work with the copy That way if you make some edit ing changes that you regret later you can always go back to the original make a new copy and start over To make a copy of a photo 1 Open the picture 2 On the File menu click Save As The Save As dialog box opens 3 Click the folder where you want to save the copy of the original 4 In the File name box enter a name for the copy 5 Click Save The Save As dialog box closes with the new copy of the p
198. ocal point A wide aperture will give you a short depth of field as illustrated in the photo on the left where only the eagle is in focus The photo on the right was taken with a small aperture so almost everything is in focus For portrait photography a wide aperture helps to limit the focus Your subject s face is clear and sharp but objects in the background are blurred But if you re shooting a vacation photo of someone posing in front of a monument a narrow aperture may be in order With the narrow aperture both the person and Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Chapter 12 Taking Great Pictures 137 the monument can be in focus in the same photo Of course adjusting the aperture also affects how much light is let into the camera But if a specific depth of field is important for your shot you can switch to manual mode set the aperture and then set the shutter speed to get the correct exposure level Some cameras also offer an aperture priority mode that automatically selects the correct shutter speed to produce the correct exposure for the aperture you select Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 138 Shutterless cameras Many digital cameras do not even have a true shutter Instead the image sensor is programmed to control the exposure time The effect of shutter speed control is the same as a physical shutter Chapter 12 Taking Great Pictures Shutter Speed In most cameras the shutte
199. olders 111 grouping pictures 114 keywords 110 112 opening 107 overview 107 photo editors 117 printing pictures 99 Selection Preview pane 115 Thumbnail pane 113 viewing pictures 111 Digital Image Tour 34 digital photo card readers 14 digital zoom 127 digitizing prints See scanners discolored prints 102 displaying See viewing display adapters 174 distortion brush 75 dpi dots per inch 164 drawing artwork effect 69 drivers 100 DRW files 16 dust 50 162 DVDs importing to Digital Image Library 108 opening pictures from 14 DXF files 16 dynamic range 166 E e mailed pictures 20 98 164 edge effects 85 Edge Finder 66 editing pictures See also objects special effects blending 74 brightness 39 contrast 39 cropping 43 distorting 75 erasing 49 gradient colors 73 histograms 45 image editing programs 233 Mini Lab 79 118 opening 13 photo editor 117 red eye 41 selection tools 63 text 31 textures 73 tint 40 touchup tools 39 workspace area 27 171 editing picture information 115 Edit Multiple Pictures button 25 emboss filter 69 EMF files 16 enhanced resolution feature 127 enlargements ordering 103 enlarging picture features 75 EPS files 16 erasing picture features 49 evaluating photo quality 194 EV setting 156 expanding screen viewable area 172 exposure bracketing 251 Index 269 meter readings 252 multiple 252 exposures 52 133 151 189 197 exposure compensation 135 151 156 eye
200. ones with very few pixels at the lighter end of the range An image with a histogram like this would look very dark and have poor contrast bo For most photos it s best to have a fairly even distribution across the tonal range so there is contrast between the light and dark areas The following histogram example has the tones much more evenly distributed If you are not satisfied with the results of the manual brightness and contrast controls use the manual sliders in the adjust levels tool for more precise control This photo is a good candidate for using the adjust levels tool Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 46 Chapter 5 Basic Touchup When you look at the histogram you can see that the graph falls off on each end of the range well before the Shadows and Highlights bars This means that there are neither any very dark pixels nor very light pixels in the photo By adjusting the levels you can broaden the tonal range to make the photo more dynamic This is accomplished by dragging the Shadows and Highlights sliders to the first vertical rises in the graph Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Chapter 5 Basic Touchup 47 ah These adjustments add greater contrast to the image by using a greater percent age of the 256 available tones The Midtones slider is also available to fine tune the brightness and contrast of the midtones You can make the midtones brighter by dragging the midtones sl
201. op motion set the shutter speed to 1 125th of a second or faster To show motion as a blur try 1 4 sec or slower and be sure to mount the camera on a tripod Equivalent exposures Film or digital image sensors require a certain amount of light to make a good exposure As we ve seen two factors determine the amount of light that makes the exposure the size of the lens opening aperture or f stop and the shutter speed Set a wide aperture and you can use a fast shutter speed Enough light will reach the film or image sensor to expose the image But switch to a small aperture f stop and you must use a slower shutter speed to get a good exposure Many combinations of aperture f stop and shutter speed produce exactly the same exposure in other words the same amount of light will expose the image For example an exposure setting of f 22 at 1 4th second is equivalent to f 16 at 1 8th second f 11 at 1 15 f 8 at 1 30th of a second and so on That s because Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 190 Chapter 15 The Best of Tips amp Tricks you are decreasing the amount of exposure time as you change to a larger aperture Although this photo was taken at midday the shaded area allowed me to reduce the shutter speed enough to show the motion of the water as a blur Photo taken at 1 30 sec f 5 zoom lens set to 200mm on a digital camera If you use a fully manual camera or operating mode you must change the shut ter sp
202. or Photos 14 Optimizing Your Monitor for Photos When working with digital photos on your computer you rely on the monitor to accurately display a photo s colors brightness and contrast But just how accurate is your monitor Unless you have recently calibrated your monitor that is configured the monitor to display colors correctly in ambient light it may not be performing at its best Even though the monitor can display digital information it is ultimately an analog that is nondigital device and occasion ally needs adjustment Ifthe monitor is not properly adjusted edits could actually make a photo look worse Imagine a monitor that is too dim When you view a perfectly corrected photo on that monitor the brightness level appears too low You could use Digital Image or other software to manually adjust the photo s brightness to a level that looks good to your eye But when you print that photo or send it to a friend to view on another computer the image appears too bright since your adjustments compensated for the inaccuracies of your monitor To avoid this problem adjust and calibrate your monitor so that it is accurate and optimized for photo view ing and printing Setting Screen Resolution Screen resolution is the setting that determines the level of detail displayed on your monitor A screen resolution of 800 by 600 pixels is usually the lowest resolution available on a monitor But you can adjust screen resolution to
203. ost printers A low resolution picture has less detailed visual information and therefore can not be printed in larger sizes A picture with pixel dimensions of 1280 x 960 for example lacks the detail needed to fill an 8 x 10 print The result would be a grainy pixelated image But printing this picture at a smaller size such as 4 x 6 would give you a sharp detailed print Turning on color management Check your printer s manual to see if it offers color management Color management can help your printer to produce colors that match the ones on your monitor If your printer offers color management click Change picture settings while performing the Print task Your printer s dialog box will open and you can adjust the settings for color management Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 102 Chapter 10 Saving and Printing Pictures Choosing Photo Paper If you want your images to look like traditional photographs choose paper that 1s clearly labeled as photo paper Photo paper comes in a range of thicknesses and textures Paper weight ranges from ordinary office document weight to fairly heavy watercolor paper If you choose a heavyweight paper check your printer s manual to make sure that your printer can handle it The quality of the image will be affected by the kind of paper stock you choose As a rule you ll see the widest range of colors and get the deepest blacks from paper that has been speciall
204. ourself to take original photos that convey unique perspec tives Rather than just pressing your shutter button as soon as you have the urge to capture a scene take some time to assess your shooting angle proximity to your subject and background elements You may transform your composition by taking one or more of the following simple steps m Get closer to your subject to show more detail and eliminate distractions in the background Include just a portion of your subject in the frame Take your original subject and place it in the background Find a new subject that adds context to the object in the background m Get lower to the ground and point the camera up toward your subject m Move to a higher location above your subject so you are pointing down when you take the photo For example if you are traveling your natural instinct might be to take straightforward photos of local monuments But with this approach you might wind up with the same lackluster photos taken by scores of other tourists before you And there would be a good chance that a nearby souvenir shop would sell superior professionally photographed prints and slides of the same monuments For that matter you could have just stayed home and ordered the professional photos from a catalog Use your imagination to compose some original creative photos that you won t find anywhere else Capture some of the local color by photographing a lively food vendor stationed
205. p Tricks 249 Color and light Many typical fall photographs are shot in bright or moderately bright sunlight This type of light produces images that closely match the way we remember seeing the scene That is part of the reason we respond to them with a positive sense of familiarity However fall colors photographed in the cooler range of light at twilight or in overcast conditions or in the warmer light of sunrise and sunset offer a new perspective on familiar colors and subjects and provide a more creative back drop for photographs Overcast and post rain conditions in particular produce richer more saturated colors For example the same red leaves photographed against a twilight backdrop create a more moody interpretation that suggests a sense of mystery or drama Fading afternoon light provides just enough frontal lighting for the leaves Color and composition Looking at the spectacular array of fall colors it s often difficult to isolate elements for a composition And that s where some fall pictures fail As a textbook rule using more than two bright colors in a composition creates visual confusion Okay so no one tipped off Mother Nature to this rule While grand panoramic shots of colorful scenes may seem obligatory for fall photo collections images can be much more effective if you choose a single color as the focal point Of course this approach requires more time and study amid the multitude of colo
206. pec tive whatever it is that makes the image appealing Then branch out and create a similar composition of your own Whether you re photographing mushrooms from the grocery store or a slice of life story just taking pictures continually and consistently pays huge dividends not the least of which is to help you define your style and voice as a photographer Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 212 Chapter 15 The Best of Tips amp Tricks Six Easy Ways to Improve Your Photography Fixing What New Gear Can t Text and photos by Charlotte K Lowrie Spending time figuring out what it takes to get better pictures can make a noticeable differ ence in the quality of your photography In photography there are two basic kinds of stuff thinking stuff the way you take your photographs planning composing and shooting and gear stuff cameras and accessories While either kind of stuff can improve your photography most people like to think that new gear will be the magic bullet that turns ho hum shots into blue ribbon winners You know the kind of rationale I m talking about Get the latest and highest megapixel camera or scanner and you ll get better pictures That reasoning may work for truly antiquated equipment but new gear won t fix how you take photographs I speak from experience I just bought new gear stuff and sure enough the image quality the resolution jumped to astounding heights
207. phers refer to film or settings as being slow under ISO 200 fast ISO 400 to 800 and very fast over ISO 800 Films in the ISO 50 to 100 range are very slow or they are the least sensitive to light Hence they require a long exposure or a slow shutter speed to produce a well exposed image For example on a gray overcast day using ISO 50 film you may need to use a 1 8 sec shutter speed to photograph a landscape at f 16 Examples of very fast film include those with an ISO of 1600 and 3200 Because these films and settings are very sensitive to light they require shorter exposure times or a faster shutter speed On the same overcast day you could switch to ISO 1600 film and take the same landscape picture at f 16 with a Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 182 Chapter 15 The Best of Tips amp Tricks shutter speed of 1 250th sec Trivia The ISO numeric rating scale was established by the International Organization for Standardization which combined the older DIN ASA ANSI systems for international use When you re shooting with a fast film you or the camera can select fast shutter speeds that reduce the risk of a blurred image caused by subject motion This also allows you to make sharp pictures in low light situations while hand hold ing the camera During the short exposure time blur from movement does not have time to register in the image On manual cameras you set the ISO using a ring or dial on
208. pictures 31 texture sampling 73 TGA files 16 thumbnails Files palette 28 objects 57 rearranging order 28 resizing 112 viewing options 113 Thumbnail pane grouping pictures 114 hiding showing items 114 Selection Preview pane 115 view options 113 thumbnail slider 112 TIF files 16 96 tiles view 113 time archive intervals 116 monitor calibrations 174 print lifespan ratings 102 shutter lags 144 viewing pictures by 111 tint adjustments 40 tonal range 45 toolbar 27 31 touching up pictures See editing pictures touchup tools 39 tracking information See Digital Image Library transferring files archiving 116 importing 13 transparency adapters 161 tripod substitutes 149 tutorials 35 TWAIN 17 twilight 249 two dimensional scanning 161 U underexposure 133 ungrouping objects 61 unlocking objects 58 unprintable card areas 89 upgrading Digital Image 5 USB connectivity 166 USB Mass Storage Class devices 14 V vertical formats 250 video adapters 174 Video player 35 viewable area screen 172 viewfinder 251 viewing pictures by dates 111 Index 275 folders 111 keywords 112 overview 111 thumbnails 113 viewing picture information 115 viewing thumbnails 113 virtual drives 14 VRAM Video RAM 173 WwW water glass analogy 134 weatherproofing camera gear 227 Web pages opening pictures from 21 Web quality resolutions 98 164 Web site photography articles 179 weight ranges paper 102 Welcome to Dig
209. ping your fingers warm gloves will prevent your fingers from sticking to the camera lens or tripod monopod legs in very cold temperatures You can layer gloves with a thin glove or glove liner as the inner layer with heavier mitts over the liners I sometimes wear fingerless leather workout gloves as an inner glove in moderately cold conditions Also consider checking sporting goods stores for gloves that feature fold back fingertips Buy or make a weather proof cover for your camera Winter weather conditions can range from fog rain and sleet to blowing snow whether it s wet or dry snow Various companies including Domke make weath erproof covers for cameras They are large enough to accommodate the large SLRs and lenses and they have an opening for the lens with a pull tie to secure the cover If you don t want to invest in a ready made cover you can fashion one from a heavy guage plastic freezer bag To secure the bag or bags around the camera and lens you can use Velcro straps sold at many grocery stores or rubber bands Between shooting sessions protect and warm your camera by putting it inside your coat or gear bag If you have a lens hood use it in blowing sleet or snow to help protect the lens Protecting film In low humidity conditions around 45 percent relative humidity static electricity can build up on the camera s pressure plate and discharge when you advance the film Film can be streaked or fogged in these cases To avo
210. place at the right time So to be ready to take that once in a lifetime shot know how to use your gear have your equipment handy and be on the lookout for great photo material Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual A quick check with the LCD One of the benefits of digital photography is that you can get a look at your photos on the LCD preview screen right after you ve taken the shot This feature is great for a quick analysis of the photo s composition exposure and color tone Just be aware that since the preview screen is so small it often does not reveal problems with focus 157 158 Chapter 12 Taking Great Pictures 10 Show Your Photos to Other People Even when you are making great progress with your photography skills it s easy to overlook the shortcomings in your own work To continue improving your abilities show your photos to other people Getting others opinions is an invaluable learning experience Good photos should be visually exciting to people eliciting a Wow this is great response If you find that people are not very excited by your photos ask them what they think is missing and what you could do to make them better You ll be surprised what some people like and do not like about your photos Find other photographers in your community You can look at each others work and give feedback This kind of mutually beneficial arrangement also helps you to develop your critical ey
211. presents the shutter speed leaving it open longer lets more water into the glass To fill the glass to exactly the right level the rate of flow must be set according to the time the tap is open The third factor ISO rating can be equated to the size of the water glass A smaller glass representing a faster ISO rating fills up more quickly than a larger glass representing a slow ISO Understanding automatic exposure As a photographer you will come across a wide range of lighting conditions and each condition requires that you adjust your camera to different exposure settings For example shooting a photo on a beach on a sunny day calls for different exposure settings than shooting on the same beach on a cloudy day For many conditions the camera s automatic exposure setting gives you good or even excellent results But for some situations the automatic exposure does not perform as well Automatic exposure assumes that the scene you are photographing has a few bright spots many midtones and a few dark areas As the camera s meter reads the available light in your scene it averages the light in the bright middle and dark areas and then calculates the exposure necessary to bring the average level to a tone of medium brightness called middle gray Automatic exposure does not work well if your scene is dominated by large sections of very light or very dark colors A bright field of snow for example has so much bright light that
212. programs sharpening increases the contrast of pixels around the edges of objects to increase the image definition or sharpness You must be very careful not to overdo sharpening Oversharpening produces a white or light colored halo along highly contrast ing edges resulting in a look that is harsh and unnatural Since tasks such as cloning objects into an image affect the edges in the final image sharpening is best done as a last step More important the original sharpness of an image 1s likely to diminish when the image is resized because the program has to guess at which pixels to add or delete So it s best to sharpen the image after all the retouching and scaling have been done An unsharpened image Sharpening improves the image Also the results of sharpening can vary between printed images and screen display Experiment with your image editing program to see what amount of sharpening works best for printed images and on screen images If you are going to print or output the same image to different destinations make sure the sharpened image is a copy of the original that has been scaled to the final output size Remember never sharpen the original image How a histogram can help If your scanner or digital camera offers the option of viewing an image s histogram a snapshot of the tonal range of an image you can tell from the histogram whether the image has enough detail in a given area to make com puter corrections
213. r 15 The Best of Tips amp Tricks 201 Creative techniques and subjects can range from bringing abstract ideas into a visual form taking a concrete idea and making it abstract relating or associat ing unrelated concepts into a visual space or in short taking a fresh look at and lending the photographer s unique thinking and vision about any subject When evaluating the creativity of a photo ask yourself m Does the photo disclose more about the subject or show it in unexpected ways m Does the photo relate visual elements in unusual and intriguing ways m Is the photo interesting and fresh or is it just too weird for words A creative approach reveals the subject in uncommon ways Depending on the day and depending on the photo I may add other criteria to my evaluation checklist but I seldom delete one of these basic six points In the real world I also know that if 10 people look at the same photo approximately five may give it good marks and five may give it low marks Photography is of course as subjective as individual taste But when everyone has had their say the bottom line is that you now have evaluation criteria so that you can evaluate your own work If an image is your best so far enjoy the image and your achievement Then go back in a month or two and evaluate the image against the six basic criteria again If it still passes the test frame it and hang it on the wall and then go out and shoot a better pict
214. r Photos 169 Chapter 15 The Best of Tips amp Tricks 177 Table of Contents Chapter 1 Installation 1 Starting Setup iii aaa 3 Completing the Installation Wizatd iecit nee en 4 Installation Folder Dialog Box cada il iia a ade iii 4 Installation Options Dialog Box sanken nie 4 Special Cireumst nces on e ee rtr ad der d t Patas 5 Upgrading from a Different Digital Image Product 5 Reinstalling or Removing Digital Im ge nai ita neuen ann 5 Chapter 2 Welcome to Digital Image Suite scrssonsssnsssonssnnnsnnnssnnnennnnsonnennnnsnnnsnnnnennnsnnnnsnnnssnnsssnnssnnnssnne 7 What You ll Find in This Book iii ii 9 Other Helpful RESQUIC S an anna ae a aan 9 Chapter 3 Opening and Importing Pictures ssursosssussnssnnsonssonsonssnnsnunsnnsnnnsnnsnnnsnnsnnnsnnsnnnssnsnnnsnnssonssnnsann 11 Importing Pictures ener tai ada 13 Launching the Import Pictures Wizard automatically sse 13 Starting the Import Pictures Wizard manually esee 14 Opening Pictures for Editing marta a a 14 Usine the file browser 2 422200 2 iii 14 Opening pictures from other cameras niet rete e HER HERR EUER RESPETAR 17 Troubleshooting tips for opening pictures from a camera 18 Opening from d Scanner om ei eite ird ca e P ge d eie eria 19 Opening a Photo Sent Through E mail u a desee e
215. r computer On the File menu click Open Click the All Files tab In the Look in list click the drive folder or network location that contains the picture you want to open In the folder list locate and open the folder or location that contains the pictures Thumbnails of pictures in that folder appear in the right pane Select the picture you want to open To select multiple pictures press CTRL as you click the thumbnails Click Open GIF gif Home Publishing php JPEG jpg m Kodak Photo CD ped m Macintosh PICT pct m Micrografx Designer drw m PC Paintbrush pcx m Picture It Digital Image png php mix fpx PNG png TIFF tif Targa tga Windows Bitmap bmp m Windows Metafile wmf Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Chapter 3 Opening and Importing Pictures 17 Opening pictures from other cameras If your camera does not show up as a drive in the file browser it is probably designed to work using TWAIN or WIA support For many cameras Digital Image works with TWAIN and WIA and your camera s software so that you can open photos directly into Digital Image To open photos from a camera that uses WIA support 1 Make sure that you have installed all the drivers and software that came with your camera Connect your digital camera to your computer and then turn on the camera On the File menu point to Get Picture From and then click Digita
216. r eyes and look at each image more objectively We discuss all aspects of our images such as different ways an image might be cropped for more impact or how a different aperture would better convey the message This instinctive shot became one of my favorites Decide whom to ask If you have friends who enjoy photography arrange a time when you can go through a stack of each other s photos and give honest feedback and ideas Or just ask around Anyone with an eye for design com position and style can give you valuable feedback Even untrained friends and family will see elements in your photos that you may not have noticed Almost all feedback provides valuable insight and ideas Has this self evaluation made a difference for me It has even in the short term And I expect it will make a more noticeable change in the long term You may not want to spend vacation time like I did analyzing your photos but these ideas can be tried in an evening or a weekend Whatever time you have invest it in your photography I think you ll find that it s well worth the time Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Chapter 15 The Best of Tips Tricks 219 Six Digital Photo Problems And How to Avoid Them Text and photos by Charlotte K Lowrie Learning the peculiarities of a digital camera such as setting the white balance correctly can save lots of computer time when you try to correct an image later You finally got a digital ca
217. r is the curtain 1n front of the film or image sensor that 1s retracted for a precise amount of time to let light into the camera Shutter speed can be adjusted to let light into the camera for a longer or shorter amount of time When determining the correct exposure for a photo both shutter speed and aperture must be considered in relation to each other An increase in shutter speed which lessens the time the film is exposed to light requires that you widen the aperture to let in more light Shutter speeds are measured in fractions of seconds In automatic mode many cameras will use a shutter speed of about 1 125 of a second For action photography a very fast shutter speed like 1 500 of a second can help to stop action and reduce blurring caused by movement of your subject A fast shutter speed like 1 250 of a second can help you freeze action On the other extreme you might set the shutter to stay open for four seconds or even more for low light night photography without a flash But shutter speeds slower than 1 30 of a second increase the likelihood that slight movements in your hand while you take the shot will cause a blurred photo To avoid camera shake mount your camera on a tripod or other firm surface for slow shutter speeds Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Chapter 12 Taking Great Pictures 139 To accommodate the low light of this twilight scene the camera was mounted on a tripod and set to a s
218. r shooting techniques for digital images Here are a few of the characteristic problems associated with digital cameras and tips on how to avoid them Getting to know the peculiarities of your digital camera is the key to getting the best digital images 1 Bizarre colors happen Too green too yellow or too blue images most often mean that you didn t set the white balance before you took the picture What you may still be asking is a white balance setting The white balance setting tells the camera the type specifically the color temperature of the light you re shooting in In turn the camera looks at the setting you chose and adjusts colors so that white objects appear white in the final image White balance settings are the digital equivalent of choosing daylight versus tungsten film or using color compensa tion filters For example if you take a picture under fluorescent lights and you neglect to set the white balance to fluorescent the picture will have an unattractive green cast If you take a picture under common household tungsten or other incandescent light the picture will have an equally unattractive yellow cast Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Chapter 15 The Best of Tips amp Tricks 221 In this picture the white balance was set to tungsten and the color balance in the image is accurate Photo taken with an Olympus Camedia D 230 How to avoid it Many cameras have white balance sett
219. re m To record small fine details put the camera on a copy stand sold at photo stores or on a tripod and be sure to switch to macro mode Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Chapter 15 The Best of Tips Tricks 233 Ifyou don t set the white balance appropriately on a digital camera or use film or a filter ap propriate for the light the image may have an unnatural color tint This photo was taken under household light with the white balance set to shade Image editing To edit the images in an image editing program such as Microsoft Digital Image Pro begin by adjusting the overall tone and contrast If the image has an unwanted color tint you can correct it in any of several ways If you used a white backdrop setting the white point on the lightest area of the white background can sometimes correct the color instantly For example in Digital Image Pro choose Adjust Tint from the Touchup menu Click an area in the picture that should be white and then click the lightest or brightest white area in the image Then click Done Or you can use the Tint Auto Fix option in Digital Image Pro In this photo the white balance was set to incandescent to match the light Minor color adjust ments were made in Digital Image Pro Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 234 Chapter 15 The Best of Tips amp Tricks If your image editing program offers Level or Curves adjustment tools and a brightness and contr
220. reate distracting reflections as the light from the flash bounces back to the lens If possible use natural or household lights to light the object Ensure tack sharp focus The advantages of sharp focus are obvious yet many auction photos are blurry enough that it s hard to tell what the item really looks like To get tack sharp photos the most important thing to know is the focusing range of your camera Be sure to read the manual before you begin shooting to learn the focusing range and then stay within the camera s focusing range when you take the photos If the range doesn t allow you to get close enough switch to the close up mode on the camera and then move in as close as the focusing range allows To ensure crisp focus stay within the focusing range of your camera Remember that the photos will be displayed on a low resolution computer monitor That means you crop the image to make it larger using your image editing program and the loss of resolution won t be noticeable Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 232 Chapter 15 The Best of Tips amp Tricks Note Many companies offer accessory lenses for digital cameras If you often sell ttems especially small items such as stamps or coins on auction sites you may want to invest in a close up accessory lens The lenses typically require an inexpensive adapter ring that fits onto the camera s built in lens and then the close up lens attaches to the adapter rin
221. red before When you look at the results of your second round of photos you may find that you got excellent results or you may find that one of your adjustments disrupted something else in the photo Or maybe the different lighting conditions of the different day made it more difficult to nail the exposure To continue the exercise shoot the same subject or scene on a regular basis You must always compensate for the differences in lighting each day but you can try new approaches to the composition Learning to shoot the same subject under different conditions or with a different approach gives you valuable experience and ideas when you encounter new situations 9 Shoot Every Single Day To become a talented and confident photographer make photography part of your daily routine Fortunately digital cameras have made it much more conve nient and inexpensive to shoot lots and lots of photos Once you ve purchased your digital camera you can take as many photos as you want The only cost is for batteries and storage for your photos The more you practice the more confident you ll become in your skills and in your equipment You ll also develop the habit of keeping your camera close by and having it ready for photo opportunities Train yourself to look for these opportunities and take advantage of them when they come to you Some of the world s most memorable photos were taken by amateur photographers who happened to be in the right
222. res Panoramic Mode For landscapes large groups of people and other long horizontal shots a camera s panoramic mode helps you compose the photo without too much sky or ground in the photo Panoramic shots have a different aspect ratio than standard shots meaning the width of the frame is proportionally much greater than in a photo with a standard aspect ratio Some panoramic cameras take photos with an aspect ratio of 4 11 four units tall by 11 units wide compared to the aspect ratio of 3 4 for standard shots on most digital cameras As with the shape of a movie theater screen versus a television screen the wider frame gives you some new creative territory when composing your photo Switching your camera to panoramic mode gives you new compositional possibilities True panoramic cameras use a wide angle lens to let you capture more width of the scene by staying in the same position Many cameras including digital cameras and APS cameras offer a panoramic mode without a wide angle lens Instead the panoramic effect is achieved by simply cropping off the top and bottom of the frame This type of panoramic shot does give you a wider aspect ratio but not a wider angle On some digital cameras using the panoramic mode means that each photo has fewer pixels since the top and bottom are cropped so each panoramic shot takes up less space on your storage media Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Chapter 12 Taking Great P
223. res go out and take a variety of photos using the different settings Take some photos outdoors and indoors with the flash and without the flash with automatic settings and with manual settings As you shoot take notes to record the settings used for each shot Later look at your photos on your computer and take note of both the settings that worked well and the settings that produced poor results Missing a great photo because you get hung up on technical issues is frustrat ing Spend time getting to know your gear and prepare for great photo opportunities Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Chapter 12 Taking Great Pictures 151 2 Nail the Exposure In a finished photo exposure is something that you usually only notice when it is out of adjustment A perfect exposure is not something that jumps out at you from a photo but a problem exposure definitely stands out In an overexposed photo caused by too much light the shadow areas are light and the highlighted areas are almost entirely white In an underexposed photo too little light has been let into the camera creating a photo that lacks detail with filled in shadow areas and dull highlighted areas Special lighting situations can fool the built in light meter in your camera If you want to start with the camera s automatic exposure use exposure compen sation to fine tune the exposure The following list describes some common lighting problems and the recommende
224. rks on abandoned structures and objects to create photo opportunities that are far less predictable than you d get taking photographs in an arboretum or park More often than not however nature does not work alone in alleys For aspiring artists alley walls provide expansive and affordable canvases And predictably alleys have that underground appeal that nourishes the iconoclast s creative expression It s a sort of 21st century twist on Michelangelo s Sistine Chapel that today s impassioned artists spend quiet tireless predawn hours transform ing dingy brick walls into memorable and photogenic compositions And if you re fortunate enough to find an alley where nature artists and impassioned idealists have been very busy expressing themselves consider your detour to be a real find Location tips and notes Depending on the city you may more readily find this type of photo opportunity at highway underpasses or along the walls of failing areas within large downtown cities Exercise caution and good judgment Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Chapter 15 The Best of Tips amp Tricks 243 when entering alleys and other potentially unsafe locations If you choose to photograph the location stay alert to activity around you and always have your cell phone handy Shooting tips and notes Because the lighting is often poor in alleys and other out of the way locations use either your tripod or flash to ensure crisp sharp
225. rouble finding photo subjects Try borrowing flower arrangements from your manager as sometimes do or try some of the ideas in this article When it comes to photos there s a pecking order in our group at the office Those with children especially young children are at the top of the photo peck ing order Why you might ask The answer is that this group is the enviable enclave with live in photography subjects Next in the hierarchy are people with pets preferably docile pets trained or caged pets or pets with interesting personalities or habits in other words pets that give you half a chance to get a few good shots On the third rung in the hierarchy are people involved in interesting sports With some sports volleyball and baseball for instance 1t s hard to partici pate and take pictures simultaneously but the result can be exciting images The downside especially with slower paced sports such as golf is that pictures can be dull and predictably repetitive But any sport is better than having no photo subjects at all The rest of us in the group sink ignominiously to the bottom of the heap We re the ones who often drift aimlessly through the hallways in search of something interesting to shoot Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 208 Chapter 15 The Best of Tips amp Tricks The search for subjects Finding photography subjects is a big challenge In repeated attempts to cope with this challenge I have
226. rs If the single color is not immediately obvious walk around the area for a while to study the colors and shapes Soon you ll be able to identify the most striking and interesting aspects of the scene that you can then use as the primary compositional element in the image Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 250 Chapter 15 The Best of Tips amp Tricks As you study a scene progressively focus on the smaller details Look for what I call designs within the design These smaller designs or arrangements are microcosms of the overall scene and they can provide endless shooting opportunities As you walk around remember that when you emphasize color as a focal point the overall composition should be simple Find an area or subject where you can eliminate competing and distracting elements from the composition by zooming in and consequently compressing perspective reducing depth of field by choosing a wider aperture a smaller f number or changing your shooting position The repetition of red in this photo helps unify the composition After you have a good sense of the composition you want experiment with different angles focal lengths and positions until you find the framing and perspective that is most effective Then as you settle on a final composition observe how the primary color is distributed or repeated throughout the entire frame Try to find an angle and framing that allows color repetition to become th
227. s The cluttered background is distracting It draws the viewer s attention away from the subject One of the best tools for fixing flaws by hand is the cloning tool It allows you to paint one part of the picture into another part of the picture or paint from one picture to another For example you can paint over unwanted elements such as light poles or add elements such as trees or people To use cloning in Digital Image Pro on the Touchup menu click Clone brush Select the brush size you want and then click the starting area or the area you want to paint into another part of the picture Each time you want to begin using a different starting area make sure to click Set new start position Tip When you use a cloning tool take care to produce natural looking results Use short paint strokes and click a new starting position often When you repeat the same starting point multiple times within an image you are likely to create a very artificial looking pattern Other guidelines include matching the angle of light and the proportions for cloned and original objects In other words don t paint a shrub from a shad owed area into a bright area of the image and don t clone a foreground area into smaller background shrubbery Crop and size the image 6 Crop the image The upside of cropping is that you can discard portions of the image that you don t want or that do not contribute to the image You can also center attention on the su
228. s are separate you can edit each one individually However sometimes you may want to edit two or more objects at the same time There are three methods to join objects so that you can edit them together From least perma nent to most permanent the three methods for combining objects are multiple selection grouping and flattening Multiple Selection Multiple selection links objects temporarily For example if you wanted to move three objects the same amount to the left you could select the objects and then drag them together on the canvas Then as soon as you select a different object to work on the multiple selected objects are no longer connected e x En Q EE These three objects are a multiple selection so they can be edited as a set and then separated later To multiple select objects Make sure that the Stack is showing 2 Pressing CTRL click each thumbnail on the Stack The objects become multiple selected 3 To cancel the multiple selection click any single object in the Stack Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Chapter 6 Advanced Photo Editing 61 Grouping Objects Grouping objects allows you to edit multiple objects and then maintain the grouped relationship while you do other tasks The grouping relationship is even preserved when you close a picture file saved in PNG Plus format Grouped objects can later be ungrouped and edited individually e Burm RR mM m m pea a fe menm
229. s follow the rule of thirds when composing the space inside a picture frame The rule of thirds divides the frame into thirds both horizontally and vertically and places the point of interest on one of the four spots where these dividing lines intersect The rule of thirds is used throughout the graphic design world because it helps to create balance between the subject and the background To apply the rule of thirds divide your scene into three sections horizontally and vertically Place the focal point of your photo on one of the intersections of the dividing lines Following the rule of thirds the bicycle in this photo lies right on the of the points where the dividing lines intersect The top of the dock also roughly follows the horizontal line that runs one third down from the top of the frame Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Chapter 12 Taking Great Pictures 155 If you have a person or animal in your photo you can place the subject s face on one of the four points looking toward the center of the scene If the horizon is in a photo it should run about one third from the top or one third from the bottom depending on whether the terrain or the sky is the center of focus The rule of thirds is not an absolute law and there have been many great photographs taken that don t abide by it But the rule can be a great way to add balance and interest to your photos 6 Find a Unique Perspective You can challenge y
230. s generally produce grainier photos than lower speed films Some of the newer varieties of professional grade high speed films produce a finer grain structure which is less noticeable Since digital cameras use an image sensor instead of film there is no way to actually change the film speed However many digital cameras provide the digital equivalent of an ISO Sometimes called the sensitivity setting this feature allows you in effect to change the ISO setting For example if you are shooting in a low light situation you can switch from ISO 100 to ISO 400 With most digital cameras setting the digital equivalent of the ISO setting to a faster speed can introduce noise to the photo Similar to the graininess from high ISO film noise is random pixels in the photo that are slightly off color or too bright Cameras vary widely so it is worthwhile to experiment with your digital camera s ISO settings and examine the results In low light situations consider turning off the flash and setting the camera to a faster ISO setting This may produce some noise in the photo But that result might be preferable to what you d get by taking the photo at slower ISO setting with the harsh lighting of the on camera flash Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Chapter 12 Taking Great Pictures 141 Setting the White Balance N Correcting tint in Most digital cameras are automatically programmed to calculate the proper Digital Image white ba
231. s the image memorable Try asking these questions as you evaluate images to decide if the image tells a story m Ata minimum does the photo make a statement that you can articulate Does the photo elicit an emotion In other words can you relate to the subject or the situation m What could be changed in the image to give it a stronger story or mes sage Photos that tell a story are always strongest even if they fail to meet some of the other criteria Does the lighting enhance the subject and message Like the composition lighting is a subject that is worthy of book length discussions Whether in shooting or evaluating photos light should be used to its maximum potential to reveal what s important in the image and to set the overall tone of the photo In masterful hands lighting is used selectively to focus attention on specific areas of the subject while simultaneously de emphasizing less important areas Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 200 Chapter 15 The Best of Tips amp Tricks to guide leading the eye through the composition and to establish the overall mood and tone of the image by taking advantage of the different temperatures colors of light Light is another design tool that can be used to enhance the overall mood and intent of the image and subject For example when taking a portrait of a man a strong unfiltered white side light may be appropriate because it emphasizes the man s rugged
232. s to set the white point Setting the white point maps the lightest pixels in the image to white Some image editing programs allow you to set both white and black points Setting the black point maps the darkest pixels to black When you set a white and or black point the program adjusts the intermediate levels proportionally In Digital Image Pro you set the white point by clicking Adjust Tint on the Touchup menu Then click a place in the photo that is white If there is no white in the picture try the Tint auto fix button or adjust the Color and Amount sliders 3 Adjust color balance In most image editing programs making a single adjustment to a color in the image will affect all of the colors in the image With a color wheel you can predict how a color adjustment will affect the other color in the picture Also you can increase the amount of a color by decreasing the amount of the opposite color on the color wheel and vice versa For example to decrease a reddish cast in a picture try increasing the amount of green To make the sky more blue decrease yellow its opposite color Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 260 Chapter 15 The Best of Tips amp Tricks Setting the white point was the starting point for making tonal corrections to this image Be sure to click the lightest white in the picture when you set the white point For general purposes remember that the opposite of red is cyan green blue the oppo
233. s with manual controls for focusing aperture shutter speed and film speed On the other end of the spectrum were fully automatic cameras with very limited controls possibly only a shutter button For serious camera users the manual SLR cameras were usually the best option since they offered so much control The creative process was not left to the automatic settings of a camera Automatic point and shoot cameras were good for novice photographers who didn t want to worry about setting the cam era controls Many automatic cameras could produce adequate or even excellent photos without requiring knowledge of advanced photography concepts While you can still find fully automatic and fully manual cameras many of today s cameras offer different modes for different degrees of automatic and manual control For example some SLR film cameras let you switch to an auto matic mode where the camera determines everything from focusing to setting the aperture Many compact digital cameras are designed to be used primarily in automatic mode but also allow you to switch to program and manual modes to control exposure settings like shutter speed and aperture With digital cameras the adjustments that you make are often digital approxi mations of the equivalent function in film cameras as with shutter speed or ISO But the photographic result is the same The following sections provide an overview of the most important manual camera settings and concepts
234. se a relatively wide aperture creating a shallow depth of field With only your subject in focus objects in the background are less distracting and your subject dominates the frame With a shallow depth of field it s crucial that you get your subject in sharp focus If your depth of field is so short that you can t focus on every part of your subject at the same time focus on the subject s eyes and let hands and feet be less in focus For this portrait the Diffuse Glow filter was applied in Digital Image to soften the focus For successful portraits remember to fill the frame and use a slightly telephoto lens such as a 105mm or a slight zoom setting Keep the background very simple unless you are using objects in the background as context for your sub ject If shooting indoors an off camera flash or other light source works best Reduces wrinkles and blemishes The Diffuse Glow filter available in Digital Image works well when applied to portrait photographs The filter simulates the effect of using a soft diffusion filter on your camera softening the photo and minimizing wrinkles or blemishes Relaxing your subject An important aspect of portrait photography is to get your subject relaxed and comfortable for the pose Try using conversation or other pleasant distractions to get your subject s mind away from the camera Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 148 Chapter 12 Taking Great Pictu
235. sehold object like a pillow or a basket on a chair turn on the flash and then take test shots standing at different distances from the subject If images are too light note how close you were to the subject and step back If the images have dark outer edges or flash fall off step in closer to the sub ject Also look for obvious hot spots and determine whether you need to dial down the flash unit s power if your camera offers this option or use a diffuser either homemade or commercial on the flash unit 6 Eerie patterns emerge Moir pronounced mwah RAY is a pattern of wavy or rippled lines created when repetitive elements intersect You can see this effect by looking through two wire screens and then rotating one slightly You also can sometimes see a moire in newspaper photographs when the printer s halftone screen intersects at an angle that creates an eerie pattern The image sensors in most digital cameras are composed of a grid of light sen sitive cells When you photograph repetitive patterns bars stripes plaids and so on an interference pattern or moir can result In addition most autofocus systems do not perform well with repetitive subjects What to do The most important step is to be aware that this can happen when you take pictures of subjects that include repetitive patterns You can vary the focal length zoom in and out and vary the angle from which you re shooting If you still get moire in
236. shoot from vantage points that 1 wouldn t have had access to otherwise Furthermore I found that while I took the same number of pictures I concentrated on fewer locations and got better results Bern A Training myself to shoot quickly is still work in progress but instinct produced this shot of girls playing in the surf Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Chapter 15 The Best of Tips amp Tricks 217 4 Shoot instinctively and quickly Point and shoot now Although this seems to contradict my previous guideline I think of it as the complementary flip side of waiting to shoot In any scene there are shots that I see in an instant from the corner of my eye or over my shoulder as I walk away There are also those just right shots that demand no hesitation shooting Shoot quickly Quick instinctive shots are bread and butter images for news and sports photographers but instinctive shooting doesn t come naturally to me To capture the spontaneous moments I realized that I had to teach myself to literally point and shoot doing the best I could with settings and composition without missing the shot The results of my first instinctive shots were a mixed bag Certainly the images needed more work on the computer than my other images To get good quick shots I have to know the camera controls inside and out backward and forward While I m still not good with quick shots I am practicing at home with a puppy who offers
237. site of green is magenta bright pink and the opposite of blue is yellow Typically very small adjustments can make a big difference Watch the picture to see how the adjustment is affecting the entire image as you work Depending on the image editing program that you use there can be one or many ways to adjust color balance For example Digital Image Pro uses the Hue and Saturation and Brightness and Contrast tasks on the Touchup menu to change the overall color balance Although vivid colors are good you can Although it may be difficult to see go too far For example this image is at this size adjusting the color balance unnaturally blue creates more realistic color casts for both the sky and the water Tip The hue saturation and brightness options are especially useful in restor ing faded colors in old family photographs you ve scanned If your image editing program allows you to make color adjustments by indi vidual channel you can fine tune color corrections by channel a method many Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Chapter 15 The Best of Tips amp Tricks 261 professionals swear by Or if your program offers an automatic color balance option you can try that Keep in mind though that the automatic adjustment changes all colors in the image not just the ones you want to change In other words you may get more change than you wanted if you use the automatic option 4 Dodge and burn In traditional
238. so a favorite When shooting with transparency film exposure latitude is tight so be sure to bracket your exposures If you shoot negative film many recommend Kodak Royal Gold and Kodak s VC rated negative films rated at ISO 50 or 100 m Make adjustments for digital Choose a slow low ISO value to mini mize noise the appearance of grain and to ensure sharpness and color saturation Also always set the white balance to match the conditions For example if you re shooting in shade or overcast light set the white balance accordingly m Take advantage of filters To eliminate reflections from water and glass saturate colors and cut through haze use a polarizing filter For land scapes with a bright sky and much darker terrain use a graduated density filter to bring the sky exposure closer to the exposure of the terrain Try an enhancing filter to increase the intensity of reds and yellows in a scene Enhancing filters unlike polarizing filters cause an overall warm color shift throughout the scene Try an 81A 81B or 81C warming filter Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 252 Chapter 15 The Best of Tips amp Tricks to enhance warm fall colors and to counteract the blue tint of overcast or shaded lighting conditions Provide depth scale and distance For landscape shots as well as other shots include one or more elements that provide a sense of depth scale or distance This may be as simple as including a rock
239. stractions and by using a wider aperture smaller f stop to blur the background It s a good practice to review the entire scene and when possible eliminate or rearrange as many distracting background elements m Keep it simple The fewer the elements in a photo the stronger the statement the image makes Simplicity also helps prevent the viewer s eye from being distracted To evaluate the composition of your images try asking these questions m Is there a sense of order and balance in the image that helps lead the eye through the composition m Are elements included that do not contribute to the subject of the image m Are elements excluded that if included would have enhanced the subject of the image m Do the depth of field focal length lens or zoom setting lighting angle and perspective enhance the composition m Does the crop enhance the composition Is the focus crisp and is the exposure appropriate With the exception of photos that either intentionally show motion or are taken as soft focus images such as a portrait tack sharp focus is one of the first things that everyone notices first about an image Going a step further the center of focus should be on the center of interest of the subject In other words if the picture is of a person the focus should be on the person s eyes The sharp est point of the picture should pinpoint what the photographer sees as the most important aspect of the image The exposur
240. t can help you evaluate whether focus and exposure settings are appropriate for an image include m Is the sharpest point in the image on the center of interest of the subject of the photo m Does the depth of field enhance the subject mood or look of the image or does it distract from it m Does the focal length or zoom setting enhance the subject and message Does the image have good overall contrast for the type image the photog rapher intended m Does the color appear natural and or does it help set the mood of the image m Ifthe image is in color would it be stronger in black and white or vice versa The sharpest focus should be on the most important aspect of the subject For pictures of people the sharpest focus point should be on the subject s eyes Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Chapter 15 The Best of Tips amp Tricks 199 Does the photo tell a story Most often the difference between a photo you remember and one that you quickly forget depends on whether the photo tells a story As a viewer I want to see the story and this is one of the most important evaluation points I look for in other photographer s images It is also the element that I always try to include in my images In strong photos the story is revealed at first glance and it is self contained In the best images the story evokes an emotional response from the viewer I believe it s that emotional response that ultimately make
241. t on a Web site try apply ing one of the highlighted edges The photo on the left has highlighted edges applied which work great for photos on the Web and in e mail The photo on the right has been enhanced with soft edges To add an edge effect 1 On the Stack click the layer to which you want to add the edge effect 2 On the Effects menu point to Edges and then click an edge effect or border 3 If available click a specific edge or border 4 Follow the instructions on the screen to customize the size or color of the edge or border 5 Click Done Shrinking a picture to show the edge effect Some edge effects appear only behind and outside the picture So if your picture reaches the edge of the canvas you might not be able to see the edge effect when you print it or save it to the Web To make sure you can see an edge you ve added make sure the object is not locked to the canvas and then the press the CTRL key while you drag in one of the photo s corner resize handles This will shrink the photo proportionally on the canvas so that the border lies within the printable area Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 86 Chapter 8 Adding Edges Mats and Frames Choosing the right Mats and Frames mat If you plan to put a photo in a traditional photo frame you can add a Digital Image mat to your photo before you print it Mats create an elegant effect and When choosing a can a
242. ten seen seins einst ia RSS nn ons nn 83 Edge Eug c 85 MES sao ditis AO 86 Chapter 9 Creating Proje Cts me M 87 Creating Photo Catds cnet ert ter ra Pe RERO dia ote 89 Creatine Calendars coa mete lee Dod Te ode modele Cosimo del ure lid dai 9 Chapter 10 Saving and Printing Pictures sessorsosssussnssnssonssonsonssnnsnunsnnsnnnsnnsnunsnnsnnnsnnsnnnsnnssnnsonnsonssnnsanne 93 Savine ir Em 95 Saving Multiple Versions ico e EHE HERR ETE ERR EHE TEE EORR MEYER SERERE TNT 95 Choosing a File fo wer 96 Setting PNG Plus OpUons ein a dba 97 Saving for E mail and the Web eerie eee iia 98 O eC c ee EU I tesi TREE EYED Eee Aes 99 Printing Sm le Pictures ecrire tec lid aeara e a ane iaa 99 Printing Multiple Pictures E 100 Selecting Print Quality cider i t e eee ta e unsere 101 Selecting a Print S1Ze enean sede dai daa 101 Choosing Photo Paper hehe danach 102 Creating Long lasting Prints ii nii ua 102 Ordering Prints and Gifts on MSN Photos iissa enne nennen nnns 103 Chapter 11 Organizing and Archiving in Digital Image Library eerie eee tnnnn 105 Opening Digital Image Libri a ads 107 Adding Pictures to Digital Image Library 20r20440420000nnnnsonsonnononnnnnnnnnnnnnonnnnnnnnonnnnnnnonnnnonnen 108
243. ter 9 Creating Projects 91 Creating Calendars Calendars are a great way to showcase your favorite photos Calendar projects are available in the following formats A one week calendar A one year calendar D The first three months of a 12 month calendar Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 92 Chapter 9 Creating Projects To create a calendar project Du A Ut F2 8 On the File menu click Create a Project Click Calendars Click a calendar type Click a theme click a design and then click Open Set the start date for the calendar and then click Next Follow the instructions on the screen to add a photo to your calendar and then click Next Move or resize your photo on the calendar Use the corner resize handles to resize the photo proportionally Click Done When you create a 12 month calendar you can add different photos to each of the 12 month pages To complete a 12 month calendar 1 2 3 4 Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Complete the instructions above to create a 12 month calendar Open the photos you want so that they appear in the Files palette Use the multi page palette to switch between pages in the project Drag photos from the Files palette into each of the 12 month pages CHAPTER 10 Saving and Printing Pictures 10 Saving and Printing Pictures Saving Pictures If you re like most people you can t stand t
244. tern or to simulate a panoramic perspective Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 244 Chapter 15 The Best of Tips amp Tricks Relics and old stuff Cities and towns choose to keep old stuff in both predictable and unpredictable places For example old farm implements may be unceremoniously parked in parking lots or abandoned cars by the roadside Look for those places and think of them as opportunities to create photos reminiscent of bygone eras A predictably great place to find relics is in antique shops Abandoned farms run down gasoline stations and historical sites are usually good choices But always ask permission before you photograph in any store or on anyone s private property Strong side lighting from a nearby window created the warm atmosphere that wanted for this image Once you find the location spend a few minutes walking around thinking about the time and place associated with the object who might have owned 1t and how the object was used what made it special or prized Then look for ways to translate your imaginings about the object into the image Antique stores often group objects from approximately the same period together Consider using nearby objects to convey a sense of time and context Shooting tips and notes The light you use to photograph antiques and relics can help convey the sense of antiquity and enhance the atmosphere you re try ing to create You will likely have three lighting
245. the Installation folder box m Click Change select a folder in the Change Installation Folder dialog box and then click OK Note that some files will be installed to the Program Files drive even if you choose to install the program to a different drive Installation Options Dialog Box The Installation Options dialog box allows you to choose between Typical installation and Full installation m Typical installation takes up less space on your hard drive and is recom mended for most users With Typical installation you will have to insert the Digital Image CD in your CD ROM drive to use some of the projects and clip art while you are using the program m Full installation copies all of the Digital Image projects and clip art to your hard drive so you will not have to reinsert a Digital Image CD while you are using the program Look under Description for the disk space required for this option Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Special Circumstances Upgrading from a Different Digital Image Product If you already have a Digital Image product installed on your machine any of several scenarios may occur when you try to install another Digital Image product m Previous versions If you have a Digital Image product previous to version 9 already installed installing a version 9 product will make both programs available on your computer Upgrade from another version 9 product You can install a Digital Image version 9 prod
246. the background to draw in the viewer and the subject often looks impatient or uncomfortable When you are the photographer you can strive to capture people events and places that tell a story In addition to having your subject look natural and not posed details in front of the subject or in the background can stimulate the imagination to re create the story of the photo This photo captures the destruction of an earthquake just hours after the event Since the photo was taken before the rubble was cleared away the photographer was able to capture the many details of the scene that tell the story With enough of these details and a strong relationship between your subject and the other elements the photo can suggest ideas that are not even in the frame You can take the old clich A picture is worth a thousand words and make it your goal to paint more than a thousand words with your photographs Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Chapter 12 Taking Great Pictures 153 4 Look for the Light Many of the best photographs are taken early in the morning late in the after noon and at twilight At these times the lighting is most dramatic Many photographs are shot in bright or moderately bright sunlight This type of light produces photos that closely match the way we remember seeing the scene That is part of the reason we respond to them with a positive sense of familiarity However colors photographed in the
247. the image try using the blur tool in Digital Image Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 226 Chapter 15 The Best of Tips amp Tricks While these tips may not instantly transport you to digital photography nirvana chances are good that you ll be closer than you were before Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Chapter 15 The Best of Tips amp Tricks 227 Winter Camera Care Tips Text by Charlotte K Lowrie For anyone who braves the frigid temperatures of winter to photograph some of Nature s spectacular winter scenes it pays to ensure that you have adequate protection for both you and your camera Here are a few tips to help you prepare for a winter photo session The care and feeding of batteries Cold weather can shorten the life of batteries anywhere from a barely noticeable reduction in power to a sharply shorter life Lithium batteries and the rechargeable Ni MH cells last longest in cold temperatures Be sure to carry spare batteries and keep them warm by stowing them in a warm inside coat pocket If you opt to carry a chemical warmer be aware that the warmers can reach temperatures as high as 150 degrees Fahrenheit far too high a tempera ture for virtually all film and camera gear Dress in layers with a roomy warm weather proof coat as the outer layer A roomy coat is a bonus because it allows you to tuck the camera inside your coat as you move from one location to another Wear gloves Besides kee
248. the photo We tend to think of light being white but nearly every light source has its own unique color For example natural sunlight has more blue in it while incandescent tungsten lights including most household light bulbs give off a reddish or yellowish cast When taking a photo you can compensate for these different colors of light by setting the white balance with a digital camera or using special filters on a film camera But if you still end up with a cast in your photos use the adjust tint task to correct the balance of colors to make the lighting look more natural In this task you locate a point that should be white and then Digital Image balances all of the colors in the picture based on the white point you set If you have already used the Levels auto fix tool the tint problems in the picture may already be corrected Use the adjust tint task to make additional adjust ments to the tint To adjust tint 1 On the Touchup menu click Adjust Tint The mouse pointer becomes an eyedropper 2 With the eyedropper click an area in the picture that should be white Digital Image automatically corrects the colors 3 If you are not satisfied with the results use the sliders for fine tuning Set the Color slider to the color of the cast in the photo and then use the Amount slider to lower the amount of that color in the photo 4 Click Done Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Chapter 5 Basic Touchup 4
249. theme Digital Image Library Click this button to open the Library where you can find and organize your pictures Show on startup Check this box to have the Startup Window open every time you start Digital Image Help links Click these links to go directly to resources that can help you get the most out of Digital Image and digital imaging m Take a Tour launches the product Tour m Instructional Videos displays links to the different videos available Help opens the online Help window Online Photo Tips links you directly to the Tips amp Tricks section of the MSN Photos Web site m Register Online links you to the registration page of the Microsoft Web site Recent Files See thumbnails of the last four pictures that you have edited Click on one of the thumbnails to open that file More Files Click More Files to open the file browser where you can open photos from your hard drive a network drive a digital photo card reader a CD or DVD or a floppy disk Close Click to close the Startup Window and go to the main work area Chapter 4 Digital Image Basics 27 Examining the Work Area Most of the photo editing tasks you perform in Digital Image will be in the main work area When you open Digital Image and close the Startup Window you see the main work area The picture below identifies the key elements of the Digital Image work area WwW Menus Menus provide access to all of the Digital Image features The Help
250. ting had a sense of the everyday activity of the market including this routine of throwing ice on the fish throughout the day 3 Wait a long time before you start shooting Understand why it s good to wait The idea of waiting to shoot is something Pve known but haven t practiced regularly as was clear in some of my photos Taking time to get to know the subject whether it is a location or a person almost always produces better photos than pointing and snapping a picture of the first subject that crosses the viewfinder Be patient To break my pattern of taking obvious shots I went to Pike Place Market in Seattle one morning Although I had the camera ready I forced myself to walk around and sit in various areas of the market and watch the activity I chatted with market vendors munched a bagel and drank coffee and watched some more By lunchtime I had a sense of the market activity and flow not to mention that to my delight the light had changed from dull gray to moderately sunny met people who allowed me to shoot from vantage points that wouldn t have had access to otherwise Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 216 Chapter 15 The Best of Tips amp Tricks Instead of randomly shooting as I learned the scene or subject waiting to shoot gave me a clear sense of where and what the best pictures were During the getting to know you time in Pike Place Market I made new acquaintances who were willing to let me
251. trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and or other countries This product contains images from PhotoDisc Getty Images Inc Tony Chor Eric Hansen Tim Hedlund Charlotte Lowrie David Parlin Tom Simmons and Faith Szafranski This software is based in part on the work of the independent JPEG Group GIF decompression code copyright 1990 David Koblas Portions of graphic filter software used with the permission of Eastman Kodak Company Copyright O 1996 Eastman Kodak Company ImageStream Graphics amp Presentation Filters Copyright O 1991 1996 ImageMark Software Labs Inc All Rights Reserved Graphic filters licensed from Access Softek Inc Copyright O 1996 Access Softek Inc This product contains Macromedia Flash Player software by Macromedia Inc Copyright 1996 2002 Macromedia Inc All rights reserved Macromedia Flash and the Flash Player logo are trademarks of Macromedia Inc Portions of this product were created using LEADTOOLS Copyright O 1991 2000 LEAD Technologies Inc O 2000 Gina B Designs Inc O Adjoa J Burrowes EthnoGraphics O Alice Briggs Illustration O Allport Editions O Amberley Greeting Card Company O Antoinette Simmons Hodges EthnoGraphics O Athena Hampton EthnoGraphics O Betty Biggs EthnoGraphics O Bonnie Zuponcic O Carla Golembe EthnoGraphics O Cathy L Schubert EthnoGraphics O Colors By Design O Emma Raley O Fish 8 Webster O Fravessi Greetings Inc O Gary Craig O Geor
252. trols to magnify or reduce the canvas so that it covers more or less of the workspace Zoom controls The zoom controls magnify or reduce your photo so that you can see it in more or less detail Stack The Stack displays a thumbnail of each object in your picture You can rearrange the order of the objects by dragging a thumbnail up or down within the Stack Files palette The Files palette displays a thumbnail of all of the currently open pictures You can switch your active picture by clicking a thumbnail in the Files palette You can also add a picture to the one you re working on by dragging the thumbnail from the Files palette to the canvas Chapter 4 Digital Image Basics 29 Image Formatting When you have a picture open on the canvas there are a number of ways to re size it Changing picture size When you open an image onto the canvas the image is automatically sized so that it fills the workspace As a result a high resolution image such as 1600 x 1200 pixels will look as large as a low resolution image that s only 640 x 480 pixels For this reason viewing a picture on the canvas is not a reliable way of judging an image s resolution Whenever you resize an image consider these three factors m mage size which is the size of the printed image m Pixel dimensions which is how many colored dots pixels make up the picture m Resolution which is the density of the pixels in the picture The pixel dimensio
253. u Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 116 Chapter 11 Organizing and Archiving in Digial Image Library Archiving Pictures One of Digital Image Library s most powerful features is the Archive Pictures Wizard Whether you take a lot of pictures or just a few archiving your picture files can prevent the files from being lost in the event of problems or damage to your computer s hard drive If you have limited hard drive space archiving allows you to make more room on the hard drive by transferring pictures to CDs or other media Within Digital Image Library you can set up reminders to archive your pictures You can set this reminder to occur on a regular basis such as every month or to occur after you have added a certain volume of image files To set the archive reminder interval 1 On the Tools menu click Options 2 Click the Archive Settings tab 3 Under Display the archive reminder click a reminder setting You can begin the Archive Pictures Wizard by clicking Archive when you see the Archive Reminder Or start the wizard at any time by clicking the Archive button on the Digital Image Library toolbar Once the Archive Pictures Wizard begins you can choose from four archiving options m Pictures added since the last archive and any modifications not archived m Pictures added since the last archive modified pictures will not be archived m Pictures selected when you entered the Archive Pictures Wizard
254. u may have dozens or more photos to download at once to your hard disk Some of these photos may be excellent keepers that you will want to spend some time editing carefully later on But many of the photos only need a few quick edits changes such as rotation and removal of red eye Opening each photo individually performing basic edits and then saving each one could take a lot of time Mini Lab lets you perform these routine editing tasks to many photos at once Mini Lab lets you select multiple photos to perform the following tasks Levels auto fix Contrast auto fix Tint auto fix Rotate Crop Brightness and contrast Fix red eye Save as to save copies of the originals change file format and rename files m Print Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 80 Chapter 7 Batch Editing in Mini Lab Mini Lab displays all of your open photos and includes a list of editing options that you can perform on multiple photos This diagram identifies the main features of Mini Lab 123 4 UJ CA a The Open more files button opens the file browser to let you find more pictures to edit The editing options list shows all of the tasks available for batch editing File options let you save or print multiple photos The Workspace in Mini Lab contains thumbnails of all of your opened pictures The Done button closes Mini Lab keeping the photos open and maintain ing the changes you have made To save photos before
255. uct that has more features than a version 9 product already installed The version of Digital Image with fewer features will be uninstalled automatically before the new installation begins Your pictures and projects will not be deleted m Blocked downgrade If you have a Digital Image version 9 product installed you will not be able to automatically install a version 9 product with fewer features To install the version with fewer features you must first uninstall the version with more features Reinstalling or Removing Digital Image If you are having problems running Digital Image reinstalling the program may help it to run better on your computer Digital Image Suite is made of two separate programs the image editor and the Digital Image Library These programs must be reinstalled or removed separately You should not attempt to remove Digital Image by deleting the program files from your hard disk Instead use the Digital Image Installation Wizard to properly uninstall the program Chapter 1 Installation 5 Other Digital Image Products The family of Digital Image products includes programs with the following brands Digital Image Greetings Greetings Workshop Home Publishing Picture It Picture It Express Picture It Photo Picture It Publishing Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 6 Chapter 1 Installation To remove or reinstall Digital Image from Windows XP 1 2 3 4 Log on to the computer as
256. ul ways to organize and later locate your pictures You create your own keywords to identify the subjects of your pictures You can add multiple keywords to one picture and add the same keyword to multiple pictures The Keyword Painter is a fast way to add multiple keywords to pictures in Digital Image Library Applying keywords with the Keyword Painter 1 On the Tools menu click Keyword Painter 2 If desired add a new keyword to the list by clicking lt click here to add keyword gt 3 Click the keyword or keywords you want apply to pictures 4 Click the pictures you want to assign those keywords to 5 To close the Keyword Painter click the close button on the Keyword Painter title bar Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Chapter 11 Organizing and Archiving in Digial Image Library 111 Viewing Your Photos Once you have added your pictures to Digital Image Library you can custom ize the way you view the pictures The left pane of Digital Image Library is called the View By pane The View By pane allows you to filter the pictures displayed in the Thumbnail pane Using the View By pane is helpful if you have a large number of pictures in Digital Image Library If you are viewing by date or by folder you can click the All Pictures View so that all of your pictures show up in the Thumbnail pane Viewing by Folder Viewing by folder allows you to filter your pictures based on where the pictures are stored Rememb
257. ure Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 202 Chapter 15 The Best of Tips amp Tricks Photo opportunities can pop up anytime and anywhere If you have your camera with you you can take advantage of scenes such as this Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual Chapter 15 The Best of Tips amp Tricks Photo Challenge Tell a Story Take a Picture That s Worth a Thousand Words Text and photos by Charlotte K Lowrie The toughest challenge in photography is to tell a story in a single image In Beyond Pretty Pictures an article that we ran earlier this year profes sional photographer Paul Liebhardt describes what makes pictures truly great According to Liebhardt if a picture doesn t have meaning if it doesn t tell a story the image is just another pretty picture And to tell a story you must know the subject well For Liebhardt this means spending time with the people and places he photographs You have to give the viewer something that he sees that makes him understand it all he explains Even little things no matter where they are can set the picture off Liebhardt says Photographs are a powerful way to tell a story Last week I chatted with Leslie Fratkin a professional photographer based in New York City who echoed Liebhardt s sentiments Recently for Fratkin telling the story has meant helping those who know the subject best tell their story 203 Microsoft Digital Image Suite
258. ure is not the same proportion as the print size some of the picture may be trimmed during printing to fit into the printable area of the page Using the rule of thirds When composing a photograph many beginning photographers consistently center their subject directly in the middle of the frame While this technique may be the easiest way to get the subject in focus with a point and shoot camera it is not always the most interesting way to present the subject Most advanced photographers follow the rule of thirds when composing the space inside a picture frame The rule of thirds is used throughout the graphic design world because it helps to create balance between the subject and the background When you compose a picture according to the rule of thirds you Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 44 Chapter 5 Basic Touchup mentally divide the frame into thirds both horizontally and vertically imagine a tic tac toe grid and place the point of interest on one of the four spots where the lines intersect If the photo includes a person or animal you can place the face on one of the four points looking toward the center of the scene If the photo includes the horizon it should run about one third from the top or one third from the bot tom depending on whether the terrain or the sky is the center of focus The cropped picture is a more interesting composition because it follows the rule of thirds To crop a photo usin
259. ut exploring alternatives that could give the image more impact and interest Other patterns I noticed included m Obvious floundering with mixed lighting scenes and scenes that com bined extreme lighting very dark and very light areas in the scene m Pushing the limit on hand holding the camera at slower shutter speeds and what s worse routinely trying to rescue marginally sharp images on the computer Dumb really dumb since I own an adequate though heavy and cumbersome tripod m Managing to either botch in camera cropping sort of the same thing as not seeing the real picture or focus to one side or the other of where the focus should have been I hate it when that happens especially when it happens on a regular basis Solve the problem I did some research on how to solve problems such as mixed lighting and extreme lighting differences I made a list of my problem patterns on an index card and then I put the index card on top of my camera in my camera bag I hate having little pieces of paper floating around so I Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 214 Chapter 15 The Best of Tips amp Tricks knew this card would irritate me which would force me to handle it and read it before I began using the camera Now try to see things in ways that give the viewer a sense of the subject or experience 2 Compare your shots to those you wish you d taken Compare work with other photos The next afternoon I went t
260. with Digital Image but eliminating the contaminants before scanning is much faster and more effective You should regularly clean a flatbed scanner s plate with an antistatic cloth which neutralizes static electricity that attracts tiny particles Dedicated film scanners are more complex and can be difficult to clean so follow the manufacturer s suggestions before you try cleaning the inside of a film scanner Make sure that your original image is also spotless You should clean prints slides and negatives with an antistatic brush which is specially treated to repel dust and dirt You can find antistatic products at a well stocked camera store or by searching the Web Antistatic accessories are far more effective at removing dust than other products are Cleaning with compressed air for example may remove all visible dust but leave behind small particles that might show up in the digital image Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 164 Chapter 13 Successful Scanning Setting Resolution and Bit Depth When scanning a photo or other artwork consider what you want to do with the image file As with taking photos with a digital camera you ll need to weigh the benefits of image quality versus file size Resolution usually expressed in dpi dots per inch with scanners is the main factor to consider For superior images that will make large exhibition quality prints consider scanning at 1200 or even 1600 dpi However s
261. words dates ratings and more to help you locate just the pic tures you want from your entire collection Digital Image has advanced editing features such as selection tools Smart Erase and the blending brush to help you get professional editing results quickly and easily When you ve finished editing your photos it s a simple process to create prints or share photos through e mail or the Web You can even use your photos in one of the professionally designed templates for letterhead business cards Web photo albums and more What You ll Find in This Book The Digital Image User s Manual introduces you to some important features in Digital Image Suite how to get images into the program edit images add effects and borders create projects and print You ll also learn the basics of using Digital Image Library adding keywords to pictures organizing pictures and archiving This book also provides an overview of some of the most important concepts of digital imaging You ll find practical information about using digital cameras and scanners and optimizing your monitor to work with photos The final section of this book offers a selection of articles from MSN Photos Tips amp Tricks where you ll find plenty of sound advice from professional photographers Other Helpful Resources This User s Manual is not an exhaustive resource for everything you can do in Digital Image Suite For step by step instructions about all of the program s
262. y coated to accept inkjet inks The range of colors appears to be widest on the whitest papers Glossy surfaces also create the illusion of deeper blacks However if you re going to display your prints glossy surfaces can cheapen the look of the work and surface glare can make the images more difficult to view Paper formulations also contribute greatly to resisting fading and color shifting If you re using fade resistant or archival inks look for coated acid free papers that are also advertised as fade resistant or archival Creating Long lasting Prints How long can you expect a print to last With some inkjet prints you can only expect a fade free lifespan of two months to two years All of the major printer manufacturers are beginning to advertise greater image stability for the output of certain printer ink combinations but few of these manufacturers claim that prints will last more than about four years When buying supplies for your printer check which types of ink and paper are recommended by the manufacturer of your printer and find out about the ink s lifespan rating Some six color printers use inks specially formulated for long life When printed on high quality heavy weight matte paper photos from these printers can last approximately 40 years before perceptible fading occurs Fade ratings are given as the amount of time before any color shift in the print can be seen by the naked eye The actual time it would t
263. y picture you have cataloged in the Library You can also use the Library s View By and Group By features to filter and group your pictures making it easier to find the pictures you want MSN Groups tab Click the MSN Groups tab to open pictures that you have stored on MSN Groups Look in box Displays the name of the current folder selected on the All Files tab View menu Use this menu to change the way the image files are displayed Thumbnail size slider Move the slider to change the size of the thumb nails File name box Displays the file name of a selected thumbnail Files of type menu Use this menu to change the types of image files to be displayed Thumbnails Small versions of your photos stored in the current folder OK Opens the selected thumbnails Cancel Closes the file browser without opening any photos 15 Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 16 Chapter 3 Opening and Importing Pictures To open pictures with the file browser File formats compatible with Digital Image Digital Image can open photo files in any of the following formats 1 3 m Adobe Photoshop 4 psd m AutoCAD dxf 5 m CorelDraw cdr Enhanced Metafile emf 6 EPS eps FlashPix fpx If opening pictures from a USB Mass Storage Class camera read your camera s documentation and make sure that you have installed the camera s software and drivers properly Make sure your camera is turned on and connected to you
264. you insert the Digital Image CD into your disk drive To begin automatic setup Turn off any antivirus software that you re using and close any programs that are running 2 Insert the Digital Image CD into your disk drive The Installation Wizard begins automatically If the above procedure does not start the setup process you can start it manually To begin setup manually 1 Turn off any antivirus software that you re using and close any programs that are running 2 Insert the Digital Image CD into your disk drive Click Start and then click Run 4 If your CD ROM drive is listed as letter D type d setup exe If your CD ROM drive has a letter other than D replace D with the cor rect letter when you type the path 5 Click OK The Installation Wizard begins w Microsoft Digital Image Suite User s Manual 4 Chapter 1 Installation Completing the Installation Wizard The Installation Wizard will show you a series of dialog boxes that provide setup status and some installation preference options For most users the default preferences will be appropriate Information about the different setup options is provided below Installation Folder Dialog Box The Installation Folder dialog box allows you to choose where the program will be installed on your computer To install the program to a folder other than the folder in the Installation folder box do one of the following m Type a different path in

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