How to Use Picasa
Digital Photograph Organizer/Editor
Get Picasa
- Download the latest version of Picasa: http://picasa.google.com
- Choose to scan entire hard drive or My Pictures, My Documents and Desktop
- Find pictures displayed in Library view
- Add new folders manually by clicking on Tools/Folder Manager
"Basic" Editing
- "Crop"-- Cut out part of image choosing manual size or preset ratios
- "Straighten"-- Use grid and slider to rotate photo until straight
- "Redeye"-- Automatically fix red eyes--green square will indicate it
- "I'm Feeling Lucky"--Adjust lighting & color for dull or hazy photos
- "Auto Contrast"--Heighten contrast
- "Auto Color"--Improve color
- "Retouch"--Remove dust spots
- "Text"--Add text anywhere on photo
- "Fill Light"--Move slider up and down to lighten photo
- Click "Apply" after using each button
"Tuning"
- "Fill Light"--Slide up and down to lighten photo (when flash was forgotten)
- "Highlights"-- Use slider to make light colors in photo more obvious
- "Shadows"--Use slider to make the dark parts of photo darker
- "Color Temperature"--Use slider to change "warmth" of photo
- "Neutral Color Picker"--Click on eyedropper icon & then on neutral black, grey, or white part of photo to adjust color
"Effects"
- "Sharpen"--Click on "Sharpen" and move "Amount" slider to focus photo
- "Sepia"--Give photo old-fashioned sepia tone
- "B&W"--Turn photo into old-fashioned black & white shot
- "Warmify"--See "Color Temperature" above in "Tuning"
- "Film grain"--Combined w/ "Sepia" or "B&W" gives old-fashioned film grain
- "Tint"--Click & pick color w/ eyedropper icon to wash photo with color of choice, then move "Color Preservation" slider
- "Saturation"--Move "Amount" slider to heighten photo saturation
- "Soft focus"--Move "Size" and "Amount" sliders to soften photo focus making a single object stand out
- "Glow"--Move "Intensity" and "Radius" sliders to make photo glow
- "Filtered B&W"--Pick a color to make photo look like it was taken w/ a black & white camera and a color filter
- "Focal B&W"--Move pointer on photo to desired spot & move "Size" and "Sharpness" sliders to turn entire photo black and white except around a single point
- "Graduated Tint"--Pick a color to use for tint & move the "Feather and "Shade" sliders to tint the top part of photo
Sharing
- "Upload" to Picasa Web Albums
- "Email" to friends
- "Print" to send selected pictures to printer
- "Export" to move pictures to another folder on computer's hard drive
- "Shop" to shop online for products
- "BlogThis" to upload pictures to Google Blog
- "Collage" to create digital picture collage with selected photos
- "Video" to create a video with selected photos and upload to YouTube
- "Geotag" to geotag your pictures using Google Earth
Collage
For Module 5, Google App, I made a Collage on Picasa of one of my Senior classes.
Click on this link: https://picasaweb.google.com/112199329394196917368/Collages?authkey=Gv1sRgCJXmgMzm1dfs4QE
Nancy Schulz