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1. SeS 102 3 Capture Moment in the Story ssn e dence ded eed edi en EE v ed t 103 4 Look for the Light neinn ite e en i ees 104 5 Followithe Rule of Thirds uiu tenetectene ste teetsne cetero toc d e leto dae dou e tuse Deae pss eie epa 105 6 Finda Unique Perspective u s n eet esee eripe tpe irte rt ted Re Ee ERI ELLE de e aee do 106 fI C 107 8 Analyze and Shoot Again essen enne O E AROE inerenti 108 9 shoot Every Simple Days oaa din en Ob tutela atia bl Matas heats 109 I0 Show Your Photos to Other People 4 aeree oh iie euh ede p eere ERR DLE 110 1 Installation Starting Setup To install Picture It 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 Picture It setup will begin automatically when you insert the Picture It 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 Picture It 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
2. To paint with stamps 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 Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual 4 Batch Editing in Mini Lab a 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 you 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 Mini Lab displays all of your open photos an
3. Chapter 12 Taking Great Pictures 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 f 22 many more of the ties are in focus even those quite a distance from your main focal 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 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 Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual Ch
4. 3 1 megapixels Compression which is explained in the following section varies by camera so you may find different file size results 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 Microsoft Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual 76 Chapter 12 Taking Great Pictures Megapixel rating One of the main factors in the price of a digital 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 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
5. m PC Paintbrush pcx m Picture It Digital Image php mix fpx 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 Picture It can work with JPEG TIFF and many other file 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 o
6. 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 55 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 Microsoft Picture It Photo Premi
7. 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 the automatic exposure lowers the brightness until the snow looks gray To work around this shortcoming you can use exposure compensation Microsoft Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual Chapter 12 Taking Great Pictures 87 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 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 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 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 n
8. 35 lifespan ratings 70 maximum sizes 75 multiple images 66 paper options 69 quality settings 68 resolution 75 single image 66 size 69 prints ordering 71 product tours 28 program modes See automatic camera modes projects creating photo 57 proportional cropping 35 proportional resizing 39 PSD files 11 Q quality enhancements See editing pictures quality ranges printer 68 quarter fold cards 58 R rearranging objects 22 rechargeable batteries 81 rectangles 44 reducing photo size 77 red eye 33 83 reinstalling Picture It 3 removable media 80 removing picture features 46 Picture It 3 reordering objects 37 resizing picture cropping 35 picture features 39 picture size 23 resolution cropping 35 e mail quality 16 65 overview 75 picture resizing 23 print size 69 Web quality 65 rotating picture features 39 rubber stamp effects 51 rule of thirds 36 105 S saving pictures 61 scanners opening pictures from 15 Scan a Picture button 19 searching online Help 28 selection tools described 22 Edge Finder 46 freehand 45 Magic Wand 47 marquee 44 object 39 overview 43 self timer features 100 sending prints or gifts 71 sensitivity camera setting 91 sepia tones 50 series photo 97 shadows 84 sharpening pictures 49 sharp prints 69 Show button 21 Show on startup checkbox 20 shrinking picture to show edge 55 Index 115 shutter lag 95 shutter priority mode 90 shutter speeds 89 single pict
9. 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 Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual 32 Setting the white balance ona 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 If there 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 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 1f 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
10. For step by step instructions about using all of the program s features check out the online Help system available from the Startup Window or the Help menu Or for a demonstration of some key Picture It features watch one of the Instructional Videos Digital photography is fun and exciting and Picture It makes it easy to get great results Microsoft Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual 3 Opening and Importing Pictures Picture It makes it easy to import and open your pictures quickly To transfer 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 picture files and destination folder 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 The Import Pictures Wizard is a convenient way to transfer pictures and video clips from your digital camera or other storage location to your computer The Import Pictures Wizard helps you rename the files so that they have recogniz able file names 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
11. Manual 34 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 aligned 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 Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual Chapter 5 Basic Touchup 35 Cropping Croppin
12. Photo Premium User s Manual Chapter 12 Taking Great Pictures 103 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 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 Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual 104 Chapter 12 Taking Gre
13. Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual 9 Creating Projects A great way to present your pictures and share them with friends and family is to create photo projects Picture It 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 a greeting card for a holiday a party invita tion or any other occasion To open a photo card design Open a photo and check to see that it 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 NYDN tn PWN 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 57 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 Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual 58 Chapter 9 Creating Projects Phot
14. 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 Picture It will give you a warning message whenever two or 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 Picture It you will not be able to edit objects individually Microsoft Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual Chapter 6 Advanced Photo Editing 43 Using Selection Tools New in this version of Picture It 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 past
15. Remove The Installation Wizard opens 5 Follow the instructions on the screen Microsoft Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual 2 Welcome to Microsoft Picture It Photo Premium Congratulations on your purchase of Microsoft Picture It Photo Premium a unique combination of robust photo editing tools and high quality photo projects While easy to use Picture It offers powerful imaging technology that helps you improve your photos What s New Since the release of Picture It 1 0 in 1996 Microsoft has repeatedly updated Picture It with new features improved design and innovative projects Its current version Picture It has been updated and improved once again built on a strong imaging foundation from years of research and feedback from users Improvements for Picture It version 9 include New selection tools make it easier to be more precise when editing and applying effects New Unsharp Mask and Gaussian blur tools let you apply more realis tic looking sharpening and blurring effects The new straighten picture feature can fix photos taken while the camera wasn t straight Newrule of thirds guidelines in the crop task help you improve the composition of your pictures Microsoft Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual 6 Chapter 2 Welcome to Microsoft Picture It Photo Premium Other Helpful Resources This User s Manual is not an exhaustive resource for everything you can do with Picture It
16. 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 Click Save The Save As dialog box closes with the new copy of the picture open in the workspace CA Microsoft Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual Chapter 10 Saving and Printing Pictures 63 Choosing a File Format Picture It 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 Picture It PNG Plus png saves the individual objects in your photo projects so you can edit them later PNG offers lossless compression 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 co
17. User s Manual Chapter 4 Picture It Basics 23 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 1s how many colored dots pixels make up the picture m Resolution which is the density of the pixels in the picture The pixel dimensions 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 inc
18. 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 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 23 KB Wallet size 640 x 480 307 200 91 KB 4 x6 1280 x 960 1 228 800 363 KB IRT 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
19. camera modes action 95 burst 97 macro 94 overview 93 panoramic 99 portrait 98 automatic exposure 86 102 automatic flash 82 automatic media detections 7 automatic object flattening 42 automatic Picture It setup 1 B backlighting 84 balancing colors 32 batch editing 53 battery life 81 black and white changing to 50 BMP files 11 bold formatting 25 borders adding 55 bracketing 87 107 brightness correcting 31 brushes freehand 51 rubber stamp effects 51 buffers 97 bulleted lists 25 burst mode 97 buttons 19 26 C calendars 59 cameras action shots 95 automatic modes 93 battery life 81 burst modes 97 close up shots 94 compatibility 7 compression 77 digital 74 file formats 78 flash 82 manual settings 85 opening pictures from 9 12 overview 73 panoramic 99 photography tips 101 portraits 98 removable media 80 resolution 75 self timers 100 zoom 79 canvas 22 cards greeting 57 CDR files 11 CDs opening pictures from 9 recommendations 80 circles 44 close up photography 94 111 closing Startup Window 20 colored casts 32 92 colored pencil filter 49 colors See also painting pictures antique 50 applying color effects 50 black and white 50 Magic Wand 47 mats 56 print lifespan ratings 70 redeye 33 text 25 tint adjustments 32 white balance 32 92 color management printer 68 combining objects 40 Common Tasks list 21 CompactFlash card 80 compatibility automatic detection 7 composites 3
20. frame Showing the whole series online Picture It offers Flipbook animations as a creative way to present a series of photos in sequence Microsoft Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual 98 Reduces wrinkles and blemishes The Diffuse Glow filter available in Picture It 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 Chapter 12 Taking Great Pictures 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 use 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 Picture It to soften the focus Fo
21. 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 sl lets you choose between 140 different fonts The font size menu x lets you choose font sizes from 8 to 620 points The font color button d lets you choose from a standard palette of colors or choose a custom color The Bold button 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 The Bullets and Numbers button z lets you apply or cancel formatting for bulleted or numbered lists Microsoft Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual 26 Chapter 4 Picture It 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 Picture It 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 Picture It online Help is the m
22. 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 implementation of auto matic modes vary for each camera read your camera s manual for availability and usage instructions Microsoft Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual 94 Chapter 12 Taking Great Pictures 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 ti
23. mosaic or other hand created artwork Filter enhanced pictures can become an attractive focal point of projects such as greeting cards and calendars Microsoft Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual 50 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 m Antique m Black and White Microsoft Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual Chapter 6 Advanced Photo Editing 51 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 You can choose from a wide variety of stamps to customize any picture
24. 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 cameras 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 Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual Chapter 12 Taking Great Pictures 83 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
25. 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 give yourself more flexibility you may want to purchase additional removable storage media Microsoft Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual Chapter 12 Taking Great Pictures 81 Battery Life bet 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 Waituntil you re home to preview your photos Microsof
26. up less space on your hard drive and is recom mended for most users With Typical installation you will have to insert the Picture It CD in your CD ROM drive to use some of the projects and clip art while you are using the program m Fullinstallation copies all of the Picture It projects and clip art to your hard drive so you will not have to reinsert a Picture It CD while you are using the program Look under Description for the disk space required for this option Microsoft Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual Chapter 1 Installation 3 Special Circumstances Upgrading from a Different Picture It Product If you already have a Picture It product installed on your machine any of several scenarios may occur when you try to install another Picture It product Previous versions If you have a Picture It 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 Picture It version 9 product that has more features than a version 9 product already installed The version of Picture It with fewer features will be unin stalled automatically before the new installation begins Your pictures and projects will not be deleted Blocked downgrade If you have a Picture It version 9 product installed you will not be able to automatically install a version 9 product with fewer features To install the vers
27. 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 Microsoft Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual Chapter 3 Opening and Importing Pictutes 15 Opening from a scanner Picture It 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 identify 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 an
28. wide aperture 87 Windows Bitmap files 11 Windows Metafile files 11 wizards Import Pictures 7 Installation 2 workspace area 21 Z zoom 79 Microsoft Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual
29. you re using and close any programs that are running 2 Insert the Picture It 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 LoS Microsoft Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual 2 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 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
30. 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 features 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 Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual 102 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 Chapter 12 Taking Great Pictures 2 Nail the Exposure In a finished photo exposure is someth
31. 7 composition 35 compressing files 77 connecting scanners 15 contrast correcting 31 copying original versions 62 copying pictures See scanners copying picture features Edge Finder 46 copyrights 17 CorelDraw files 11 Create a Project button 20 cropping pictures 35 44 currently open pictures 22 cutting picture features 46 D daylight 84 depth of field 87 detecting compatibile media 7 device compatibility 7 Microsoft Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual 112 Index Diffuse Glow filter 98 digital cameras action shots 95 automatic modes 93 battery life 81 burst mode 97 close ups 94 compression 77 file formats 78 flash 82 manual settings 85 opening pictures from 9 12 overview 74 panoramic 99 photography tips 101 portraits 98 removable media 80 resolution 75 self timers 100 sensitivity setting 91 zoom 79 digital photo card readers 9 digital zoom 79 digitizing prints See scanners discolored prints 70 displaying See viewing drawing artwork effect 49 drivers 66 DRW files 11 DVDs opening pictures from 9 DXF files 11 E e mailed pictures 16 65 edge effects 55 Edge Finder 46 editing pictures See also objects special effects brightness 31 contrast 31 cropping 35 Mini Lab 53 opening 7 redeye 33 selection tools 43 text 25 tint 32 touchup tools 31 workspace area 21 Edit Multiple Pictures button 19 emboss filter 49 EMF files 11 enhanced resolution feature 79 enlargements ordering 71 EPS
32. 80 menus 21 26 microdrives 80 Micrografx Designer files 11 middle gray 86 miniature storage cards 80 Mini Lab 53 MIX files 11 More Files button 20 mosaic effect 49 motion photography 95 moving picture features 39 MSN Photos Web site 71 multimedia cards 80 multiple objects edited 41 objects flattened 42 objects selected 40 pictures edited 53 pictures printed 66 pictures taken in succession 97 picture versions 62 N natural light 32 noise 91 numbered lists 25 number of pixels 75 0 objects combining 40 consistently colored areas 47 Microsoft Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual 114 Index displaying separately 37 Edge Finder 46 flattening 42 freehand tool 45 grouping 41 handles 39 locked 38 marquee tool 44 moving 39 multiple selected 40 overview 37 preserving layers 42 selection tools 43 object tool 39 odd sized pictures mats for 56 one month calendars 59 one week calendars 59 online Help 26 online print and gift ordering 71 online tutorials 29 opening pictures cameras 12 e mail 16 file browser 9 overview 7 scanners 15 troubleshooting 14 TWAIN support 12 Web pages 17 WIA support 12 opening Startup Window 19 Open from Camera button 19 optical zoom 79 ordering prints and gifts 71 outside edges photo 55 overexposure 85 overriding automatic exposure setting 87 ozone 70 P painting artwork effect 49 painting pictures freehand 51 rubber stamp effects 51 panoramic photography 99 paper o
33. About Microsoft Picture It 9 2 Click Tech Support Microsoft Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual 5 Basic Touchup Almost all photos can be improved with basic touchup tools Picture It 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 Picture It 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 Picture It provides tools to fix the levels of brightness 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 31 Making a copy to touch up Never edit an original photo
34. D 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 Picture It 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 Picture It 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 Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual 20 Chapter 4 Picture It Basics 3 a N oo o 10 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 theme Show on startup Check this box to have the Startup Window open every time you start Picture It Help links Click these links to go directly to resources that can help you get the most out of Picture It and digital imaging m Take a Tour launches the product Tour m Instructional Videos displays links to the different videos available m Help opens the online Help window Online Photo Tips links you directly to the Tips amp Tricks section of the MSN Photos Web site Register Online links you to the registration page of the Microsoft Web site Recent Files See
35. Great Pictures 97 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 shutter 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
36. Microsoft Picture It PHOTO PREMIUM a 1 1 4 1 LJ A User s Manual Microsoft Microsoft Picture It Photo Premium 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 2000 2003 Microsoft Corporation All rights reserved Microsoft Pic
37. Single Pictures Picture It 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 If you re installing an To print a single picture older printer you may be able to find updated 1 Make sure your printer is turned on and connected to your computer printer drivers on the On the File menu click Print manufacturer s Web Under Select a printer click a printer site To specify printer settings click Change printer settings Select the number of copies and then select a print size Click an orientation and then click Print ON tn AUN Printing Multiple Pictures Picture It 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 pictures together at the same time Printing on a multi photo sheet saves paper and is a convenient way to create prints to give to family and friends Microsoft Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual Chapter 10 Saving and Printing Pictures 67 To print multiple photos on the same page Make sure your printer is turned on and connected to your computer 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
38. Ssss soene eoe eren edet er tet ee oat Reese aeei exsul 66 Printing Multiple Pictures rea decet sinees enaisi addu re oed u ng en eaa e aeaa 66 Selecting Print Quality irs eto o rex vn dte on Cs ce rA ves eles es 68 Selecting a Print S1ze ie oie EE HE ONE ETUR ERG RO R ESE AE RHE EE ES 69 Choosing Photo Paper m 69 Creating Long lasting PEIBIS ae eee e sees rere ida e i e ERE CR Pacco eos eis read lA 70 Ordering Prints and Gifts on MSN Photos sse enne nnne nnne nns 71 Chapter 11 Taking Great Pictures vsi cicssscscat ssccicnesecsssctvesasveccsesssenceecncdscesosescecuscnesssnessinavesnsccavesousssasdeouvecsee 73 About Dip ital Cameras ceo retro peu cet dto etapa tei ee eE eSa a eari 7A diners M 74 Iri 75 CompressIofi re i ree nee Hi e ae pa cer E EEEa e e br e aat 77 File FOr ats C 78 Use Zoom Eeatutes renee reg Meee rere erter eee rec eey tere er ope rroree tumori E MUI I Ice LSIEE 79 Memory Cards Disks and Sticks eei uinea ren I Hee EHE ERA EHE SERERE 80 Battery I E 81 Using the Plash onn tee ei eie lode ne HR eee eee 82 Automatic Flash iti eu dide e HE Oi diet e p PE 82 Red Eye Reduction ETT 83 Fill Eds ze ion Ses tec cases hd tects edo rtetetemeiden
39. User s Manual Chapter 6 Advanced Photo Editing 41 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 o Q ae a ale a laa a de wont Be ee ee ee ee et eee 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 Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual 42 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 1 Make sure that the Stack appears in the workspace 2
40. 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 from the Files palette onto the layout Click an option for fitting the selected picture to the area and then click Next Preview the page layout and then enter the number of copies you want to print Click Print Microsoft Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual 68 Chapter 10 Saving and Printing Pictures Selecting Print Quality Turning on color NA is E Most desktop printers are capable of printing in a range of qualities from a Meanebe mens low quality draft mode to a high quality setting that requires more time and Check your printer s uses more ink Printer settings for quality and color vary but you may be able manual to see to specify your paper type ink type dots per inch required and color manage if it offers color ment preferences Some printers have simplified printing options such as management Color Good Better and Best Make sure to read your printer s manual to find management can help out how to take advantage of these different settings your printer to produce ee ee MM colors that match the To select print quality for your printer ones on your monitor 1 On the File menu click Print If your printer offers color management click Change picture settings while 2 Click C
41. a softer more flatter ing portrait light Microsoft Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual Chapter 12 Taking Great Pictures 85 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 cameras 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
42. apter 12 Taking Great Pictures 89 Shutter Speed In most cameras the shutter is the curtain in front of the film or image sensor that is 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 125th of a second For action photography a very fast shutter speed like 1 500th of a second can help to stop action and reduce blurring caused by movement of your subject A fast shutter speed like 1 250th 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 30th 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 Shutterless cameras Many digital cameras do not even have a true shutter Instead the image sensor i
43. at Pictures 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 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 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 Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual Chapter 12 Taking Great Pictures 105 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
44. bnails Small versions of your photos stored in the current folder 9 OK Opens the selected thumbnails 10 Cancel Closes the file browser without opening any photos Nn ND oo Microsoft Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual Chapter 3 Opening and Importing Pictutes 11 To open pictures with the file browser 1 A U N 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 your 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 File formats compatible with Picture It Picture It can open photo files in any of the following formats m Adobe Photoshop psd m AutoCAD dxf m CorelDraw cdr m Enhanced Metafile emf m EPS eps m FlashPix fpx m GIF gif m Home Publishing php m JPEG jpg m Kodak Photo CD pcd m Macintosh PICT pct m Micrografx Designer drw m PC Paintbrush pcx m Picture It Digital I
45. 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 Microsoft Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual 8 Chapter 3 Opening and Importing Pictutes 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 When Windows detects the picture files Windows will ask you what you want to do with the pictures Click Import pictures using Microsoft Picture It Import Wizard Check Always do the selected action Click OK Click the device you want to use and then click OK N Nn BW Starting the Import Pictures Wizard manually If Windows does not automatically detect your device or other media you can start the Import Pictures Wizard manually 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 Microsoft Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual Chapter 3 Opening and Importing Pictutes 9 Opening Pictures for Editing With Picture It you can open pictures for editing from a variety of sources including your computer storage media and most cameras and
46. 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 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 Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual 86 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 shutt
47. ct 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 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 canvas 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 Ifthe selected thumbnail has the lock icon Ci displayed right click the thumbnail and then click Unlock 3 To move the selection hold the cursor over the object until the move handle s 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 ss 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 it without affecting other objects on the canvas You can select an object by clicking it either on t
48. d includes a list of editing options that you can perform on multiple photos This diagram identifies the main features of Mini Lab Microsoft Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual 54 Chapter 7 Batch Editing in Mini Lab The Open more files button opens the file browser to let you find more pictures to edit 2 The editing options list shows all of the tasks available for batch editing File options let you save or print multiple photos RW The Workspace in Mini Lab contains thumbnails of all of your opened pictures 5 The Done button closes Mini Lab keeping the photos open and maintain ing the changes you have made To save photos before leaving Mini Lab select the thumbnails and click Save before you click Done 6 The Cancel button closes Mini Lab undoing any unsaved changes To open Mini Lab from Picture It 1 On the Touchup menu click Batch Edit in Mini Lab 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 sav
49. d 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 Nn 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 Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual 16 Chapter 3 Opening and Importing Pictutes 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 and then work on them with Picture It 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 Picture It click Open on the File menu 2 The File Br
50. ds 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 Picture It Photo Premium 9 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 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 Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual 28 Chapter 4 Picture It 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 In the left pane of the 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 lis
51. e bl avehsdbaddenesa due Dok Pen ep au etae dva 48 Copying Cutting and Pasting Selections sse eene 48 llc M EARS 49 COLOR BIHGDIS oerte Un UIDI TEUER tug E E E E A tanta RN ree esr NER e 50 ION SUL ERRORES TI Om 51 Chapter 7 Batch Editing m Mini Lal ici ccccccisccicsesecsescevosssveccssossensscensssocesonsscecncsnesesnassensvaonesctossossssasdsonsedess 53 Chapter 8 Adding Edges Mats and Frames eee eese eee eee e eene eene ettet en seinen seins s tense tns sense tnsstnuae 55 Edge HAP Ct c M 55 Mats and Frame S n0 250 Delete eite teta eren bete tad ade er a a roae a ie ae Eadar eseas 56 Chapter 9 Creating Projects lm 57 Creating Photo Cards onec eoo drerit ect etr qa es vede e ERO rb etd ees 57 Creatine C alend at Sezneg ueteri eret dde e tr cran ot cafe 59 Chapter 10 Saving and Printing Pictures eese eee eese eese nentes tna tn sensn seinen stessa sens ense en etna 61 Savine ULT 61 Saving Multiple Versions ied eet emi e ii ee i denn iieri vai 62 Choosing a File Formaturas oise onies 63 Settna PNG PIUSOPHONS itseesi er a ea e aE sets Eeoa 64 Saving for E mail and the Web 2 nouit eae e HERO E E ERRES 65 PHIM atem A 66 Printing Sine LS Picture
52. ed onto other pictures Selection tools help you to isolate any part of a larger picture which enables you to Turn part of a picture into a separate object Apply filters or other effects to a limited area of a picture Duplicate part of an image within a picture Combine parts from two or more pictures The selection tools are located on the toolbar next to the Selection 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 Marquee tool Freehand tool Edge Finder Magic Wand Microsoft Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual 44 Chapter 6 Advanced Photo Editing Anti aliasing a selection Anti aliasin 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 The Marquee Tool The marquee tool lt 5 helps you select part of an object in the shape of a rect angle circle or other shape
53. edete mt GNI ULM c T 84 Using Your Camera s Manual Settings isa euet eiit eie e d RR REL EH RR 85 I e eda Saag 85 Understanding automatic exposure sessi Rea netten ennt araras 86 Exposure Compensatioti sous oe iuerre chart twee deae suos eel e een dears uber esi E NOR e SR Ee Doe TRE PEU e ERE e Da ye Rua 87 y gui T M t 87 Sh tt t Speed 5 step dard duca eerie db eie 89 ISO Setting or Equivaletit etnies Succ iet riskin iak diea ainese dies Sae EENE 9 petting the White Balance it eis n palace ERE oua osi Rv esie ETE e aea Rue RACE TRU ESEE areari 92 Using Automatic Modes on Your Camera srcani nennen nennen nennen nnne 93 Macro ModE E DEE 94 VETO aN OGG eto e Dette apte Ca eves tape ele d aah Blas ede rd Ti teen 95 Burst nn I 97 Portrait MOd a ep o tuli eredi re art ima iin ee et retirer Dee idus 98 Panoramic Mode a HERO REREREE ORE FPE ORT EU FONDOS a HARD ERES 99 ISTA rit 100 Getting Yourself intoa Photo iiie tra ip Pe ERO Oa aci edt cta irat ud 100 Taking Long Bxposure Shots sssini oeren esce e iet diei e Rire 100 Ten Tips for Great PICtUres eei de ipe e te ie Pr EAA ans eei Ete Perdu 101 k Enow Your Gelissen 101 2 Nail the EXpOSure M
54. election 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 edited 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 men
55. en 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 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 Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual Chapter 12 Taking Great Pictures 107 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 compensa
56. er 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 represents 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
57. erent approach gives you valuable experience and ideas when you encounter new situations Microsoft Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual Chapter 12 Taking Great Pictures 109 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 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 Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual 110 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 photo
58. etener Melee 32 Pisin GAR Gd Eye 2252857421 obec ea ata eset ats anschauen eL E cU NUI UP e ML 33 NyneAT irn up Water ia 34 COP PINS eis eec Ee EYE XR ETE EVENT e sites UE PN FUR EUR RYE E E EE US 35 Using the rule of thitds 5 ecrit tuse eret e Regn 36 Chapter 6 Advanced Photo Editing eerie eee eee eese eese en senten stata tn sense tn seinen seinen sensns tens tnain 37 Understanding ODJeCI8 4 25 hordeo npe roc Rio quisa cost ie so OTi ba eating rp CI TP IDOL 37 Working with Composites dni ie EG e eR I eec dies EAR EE EUR 37 Id cag m m 38 Selecting Objects with the Object Tool eee espanse aada e R e eai aasi Eosi 39 Multiple Selection Grouping and Flattening Objects essen 40 Multiple Selection n meret atem eec deniers oie d PEE en dte ded uus 40 Grouping Objects een i RE EVER EPE TERMIN REGE EH RE MR EEE S 41 Plattening OBDjeCts T ER s 42 Automatic Flatteming essre odd dee osa oe Wel woe endian lah eet RA EOE E eaaa 42 Flattening Objects During Saving esteso ena EE EAR E E eG RR EENE 42 Using Selection Tools arno se EE e E aE AA e ted yu 43 The Marquee 100153 treo nia aee ee e p a E a eE a E 44 Ed EUREN a 45 The Edge Findet crede e n re den sexes e e P XE EXE ER XE S 46 The Magic Wand eei ie ie i en E EE EES EE E EES 47 Editing and Copying Selected Afeas ete ete adeste tr
59. f memory on your computer as well as a high volume storage disk Microsoft Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual Chapter 12 Taking Great Pictures 79 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 have 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 Picture It 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 no
60. f 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 30th 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 the 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 Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual Chapter 12 Taking Great Pictures 101 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
61. files 11 EV setting 107 exposures 85 102 exposure compensation 87 102 107 eye redness 33 83 F f stops 87 facial touch ups 98 fade resistant paper 69 fade ratings 70 Files palette 22 file browser 9 19 file compression 77 file formats supported 11 63 78 file size 75 file transfers importing 7 fill flash 84 film cameras action shots 95 aperture 87 automatic exposure 86 automatic modes 93 burst mode 97 Microsoft Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual close ups 94 exposure 85 exposure compensation 87 ISO setting 91 overview 85 panoramic 99 photography tips 101 portraits 98 self timers 100 shutter speeds 89 white balance 92 film speeds 91 filter enhanced pictures 49 filtering lighting colors 32 finding pictures See locating pictures Fix Red Eye tool 33 flash 33 82 FlashPix files 11 flatbed scanners opening pictures from 15 flattened PNG files 64 flattening objects 42 Flipbook animations 97 floppy disks 9 80 fold styles card 58 fonts 25 formats supported 11 63 78 formatting text 25 FPX files 11 frames adding 56 freehand brush 51 freehand tool 45 G GIF files 11 glossy paper 69 graininess 91 gray area workspace 21 greeting cards 57 grouping objects 41 H half fold cards 58 hand created artwork effect 49 hard drive opening pictures from 9 Help links 20 Help resources 26 Hide button 21 high quality printer settings 68 highlighted edges 55 high resolution pictures 69 holiday card
62. g 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 if your picture 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 Microsoft Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual 36 Chapter 5 Basic Touchup 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 t
63. ge that contains the picture you want 6 Right click the picture and then click Copy 7 On the taskbar click the button for Picture It 8 On the Picture It Edit menu click Paste The new picture appears on the canvas Once the photo is opened in Picture It 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 Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual 19 4 Picture It Basics This chapter covers some of the fundamental aspects of Picture It 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 recently opened files and Help By default the Startup Window opens every time you start Picture It 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 r jm CEamsieum iam Pee Hipi rT amm Frien El Tae a Dons Ei datnr hera wider 1 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 C
64. hange printer settings Your printer s dialog box opens 3 Adjust your printer s quality settings and then click OK performing the Print task Your printer s dialog box will open and you can adjust the settings for color management Microsoft Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual Chapter 10 Saving and Printing Pictures 69 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 most 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 Choosing Photo Paper If you want your images to look like traditional photographs choose paper that is 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 pri
65. he 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 Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual 40 Chapter 6 Advanced Photo Editing Multiple Selection Grouping and Flattening Objects Picture It allows you to create composites that contain many objects While objects 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 E cid E These three objects are a multiple selection so they can be edited as a set and then sepa rated later To multiple select objects 1 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 Picture It Photo Premium
66. he 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 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 using the rule of thirds On the Format menu point to Crop and then click Canvas Under Select a proportion click a proportion Select the Show guidelines for the rule of thirds check box 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 BW Ne Microsoft Picture It Photo Premiu
67. height 4 Click OK and then click OK Microsoft Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual Chapter 10 Saving and Printing Pictures 65 Saving for E mail and the Web Unlike photos for printing photos for e mail and the Web work best if they are 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 for viewing on most computer monitors To save a photo for e mail or the Web 1 On the File menu point to Save a Copy For and then click Save for E mail or Web 2 Do one of the following m Click a picture size m Set maximum dimensions 3 Click Save As The Save As dialog box opens 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 Avoid sending large photos in e mail Sending high resolution photos in e mail may cause problems for your recipients For example a single 5 megabyte MB high resolution image will take over 20 minutes to download on a 28 8 Kbps modem Also some e mail programs limit the size of attachments and may for example block e mail with attachments larger than 1 MB Microsoft Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual 66 Chapter 10 Saving and Printing Pictures Installing printer Printing Pictures drivers When adding a new printer make sure that you install all the printer software and drivers Printing
68. i eire HR RH EE RR ERR ERE EESE 12 Troubleshooting tips for opening pictures from a camera 14 Opening froma SC amen ie o eeepc imeem ed n eter ca e eee 15 Opening a Photo Sent Through E mail cuneo dee a he ers 16 Opening a Picture from a Web Page es nece ee het id e DR ER EE eie ede tus 17 Chapter 4 Picture It Basics 19 Starup Wid E RES 19 Examining the Work Area cundem aa r ar e O re aai e PE dri i e HERO TRE erede 21 Image Formatting uere EE ep et eiii De a ler e aeg 23 Changing pIet reSIZe eee ederet te case er esee e Pel es use iet sheds gata edd dure sarete ses beu le pss Dae class 23 pplylup Textosonususide testatum E amu LIE netur 25 Help Resources uei eds EHE RD ERE EHE GRE ER E C E CH ESTEE REESE NEL nee 26 Online Help esep e 26 Usin thetable of COntentS seasea e e ae autera io r a a eK aE bete 27 Usitg the anid 6X og sexe sess 27 Using the search 12 2 m descends castes eroe o rere Y bs eee nen ce dod ests 28 Product TOUE itecto s aco E cu ng ce ves besa Ln toL eU cus DH DU D tee ease 28 Tristructional Videos osinko a EUER Oei Ue ERU GAMES 29 Technical Support E ES 29 Chapter dsPIirE MEDII D e T 31 Adjusting Brightness and Contrast 5 eiie eO He HH E ERI EEG 31 Adpuistimg Tint aset tre ER ertt tente atate d
69. ing the edits will not be saved Microsoft Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual 8 Adding Edges Mats and Frames 2 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 post 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 Ifavailable 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 p
70. ing 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 recommended exposure compensation for each m Fora side lit subject Increase exposure by one half of a stop For a 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 Microsoft Picture It
71. ints and enlargements you want Click Done To order photo gifts 1 On the File menu in Picture It 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 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 Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual 11 Taking Great Pictures i No matter how polished and creative you are as a photographer Picture It is a valuable tool for helping you get the most out of your photos With Picture It Opening photos features you can easily correct common photo problems such as red eye and from your digital overexposure And you can use features like filters and layers to create photos camera strikingly different from your originals For information on Although Picture It is a powerful photo editing program it s important to get opening photos from the best photo you can at the time you take it Picture It can do a lot to correct your camera in Picture minor problems with the originals but certain problems such as severely It see the digital blurred or underexposed photos cannot easily be fixed with computer software camera section in the And if you can develop your photography skills to take higher quality photos Opening Photos i
72. ion with fewer features you must first uninstall the version with more features Reinstalling or Removing Picture It If you are having problems running Picture It reinstalling the program may help it to run better on your computer You should not attempt to remove Picture It by deleting the program files from your hard disk Instead use the Picture It Installation Wizard to properly uninstall the program To remove or reinstall Picture It from Windows XP Log on to the computer as 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 Picture It you want to remove or reinstall 5 Click Change Remove The Installation Wizard opens RW he 6 Follow the instructions on the screen Other Picture It Products The family of Picture It 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 Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual 4 Chapter 1 Installation To remove or reinstall Picture It 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 Picture It you want to remove or reinstall 4 Click Add
73. ish amp Webster Fravessi Greetings Inc Gary Craig Georgia Rettmer and Kimberly Rinehart Great Arrow Graphics Jay P Morgan Jeanine M Frazier EthnoGraphics Jesus amp Margaret Flores EthnoGraphics Jim Z Zhang EthnoGraphics Joann Pecoraro EthnoGraphics Joseph Polevoi EthnoGraphics Karen Gutowsky Kay Erickson EthnoGraphics Keith Henry Brown EthnoGraphics Kersti Wells Kiki Oberstenfeld de Suarez KOKO New York Kristin Elliott Kristin Nelson Tinker EthnoGraphics Larry LaBonte Laura Schuman Leeann Lidz EthnoGraphics Linda G Fisher EthnoGraphics linneadesign com Lisa R Foster EthnoGraphics Liz Kahlenberg Bordow Lorie L Clark EthnoGraphics Madison Park Greetings O MARA MI Marian Heath Greeting Cards Maril Delly EthnoGraphics Marisela Godoy EthnoGraphics Mark Downey EthnoGraphics ME GRAPHICS Northern Exposure NRN Designs Corporation Painted Hearts amp Friends Palm Press Inc Paula Doherty 2001 Advocate Art Penny Laine Papers Pinx A Card Co Inc Rebecca Pavlenko Red Farm Studio Roobee Sally Martin do Gastelum EthnoGraphics Sandi Carpenter EthnoGraphics Sara Schneidman Snafu Designs Socially Yours Steve Haskamp Steve Katz Suzanne Tornquist EthnoGraphics Xiaoxing Yu EthnoGraphics Bottman Design Inc Chris Roberts Antieau Bottman Design Inc Paris Bo
74. lity 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 photo 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 ossless 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 Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual 78 Chapter 12 Taking Great Pictures File formats compatible with Picture It Picture It can open photo files in any of the following formats m Adobe Photoshop psd W 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
75. ll pictures or To download an individual picture drag the picture from the workspace to the Files palette Click Done Microsoft Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual Chapter 3 Opening and Importing Pictutes 13 To open photos from a camera that uses TWAIN 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 Digital Camera Under Select a camera or drive click a camera 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 Microsoft Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual 14 Chapter 3 Opening and Importing Pictutes Troubleshooting tips for opening pictures from a camera 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 m 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
76. locate a point that should be white and then Picture It bal ances 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 Onthe 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 Picture It 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 Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual Chapter 5 Basic Touchup 33 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 Picture It Photo Premium User s
77. luorescent and sunny These settings compensate for the different colors of light likely to be present in those conditions and should produce photos that require little or no color correction Read your camera s manual to find out about specific white balance settings it offers With film cameras there is no way the camera itself can compensate for dif ferent lighting conditions But there are two ways you can compensate for the colored light Use film designed for specific lighting situations Tungsten balanced films for example help to neutralize the color of tungsten or halogen illumination 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 Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual Chapter 12 Taking Great Pictures 93 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
78. ly formulated for long life When printed on high quality heavyweight 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 take 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 Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual Chapter 10 Saving and Printing Pictures 71 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 Picture It 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 pr
79. m User s Manual 6 Advanced Photo Editing 37 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 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 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 objec
80. mage png php mix fpx m PNG png m TIFF tif m Targa tga m Windows Bitmap bmp m Windows Metafile wmf Microsoft Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual 12 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 Chapter 3 Opening and Importing Pictutes 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 Picture It works with TWAIN and WIA and your camera s software so that you can open photos directly into Picture It 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 Digital Camera 4 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 are appear in the workspace Click Download a
81. mer This way your hand does not have to touch the camera and accidentally introduce any movement to the shot Microsoft Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual Chapter 12 Taking Great Pictures 95 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 500th 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 is 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 o
82. milar 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 If the Magic Wand options palette is not showing click the Selection button on the 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 Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual 48 Chapter 6 Advanced Photo Editing Editing and Copying Selected Areas Using the advanced s
83. mputer 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 On the File menu click Save As The Save As dialog box opens 2 In the Save as type box click a file type 3 Click Save Microsoft Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual 64 Chapter 10 Saving and Printing Pictures Setting PNG Plus Options Only Picture It and Digital Image can read individual objects saved in PNG Plus files However a PNG Plus file contains a flattened PNG version of the pic ture that can be read by many other programs including Internet Explorer By default Picture It 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
84. n you can spend your time doing creative photo editing with Picture It rather Picture It chapter than fixing mistakes that can be avoided Many cameras available 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 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 Microsoft Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual 74 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 n
85. n 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 away from your target spot press the shutter button The exposure should occur just as the runner comes into your field of focus 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 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 camera Microsoft Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual 96 Chapter 12 Taking Great Pictures 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 Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual Chapter 12 Taking
86. nter 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 specially 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 Microsoft Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual 70 Chapter 10 Saving and Printing Pictures 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 special
87. o 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 To change the fold style of a card 1 On the Format menu click Change Card Fold Microsoft Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual Chapter 9 Creating Projects 59 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 Bless The first three months of a 12 month calendar Microsoft Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual 60 Chapter 9 Creating Projects To create a calendar project ON tn 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 Complete the instructions above to create a 12 month calendar Open
88. on digital photos with noticeable noise sharpening accentuates the inaccurate pixels Microsoft Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual 92 Correcting tint in Picture It If your photo has a colored cast from a light source correct the problem with the Picture It Adjust Tint tool Setting the white balance manually Some digital cameras offer manual white balance control This feature allows you to set the white balance by focusing on a pure white object such as a piece of paper and then locking down the white balance before you take the photo Chapter 12 Taking Great Pictures Setting the White Balance Most digital cameras are automatically programmed to calculate the proper white balance for each exposure To calculate the white balance the camera assumes the lightest spot in the picture is white and adjusts the other colors accordingly Under most circumstances this automatic function should prevent an off color cast in your photos 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 flash f
89. 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 extra pixels not found in the original photo to produce a higher resolution photo which may reduce overall sharpness or quality Microsoft Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual Chapter 12 Taking Great Pictures 77 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 it also reduces photo quality Slight to moderate compression might not noticeably reduce photo qua
90. or 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 5 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 21 Microsoft Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual 22 Chapter 4 Picture It Basics 10 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 controls 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 Microsoft Picture It Photo Premium
91. ost 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 deo eus larem beber Sheesh mse on Ta rs sim Cha pi lara nr shimal LO ee BN H HHL RI oU UNE et Pe Aa ee AA eed Poe E Tama a beini D prd I Cu fen sara punision ip bia pripa oe pm a bm ELI Th Gl rad co Whois eles ied le mure Po mi mi beside bee Ye Cleri udo maie Fe kreas ta pam ee negoti art mor ornetur aln Peur 083 nnno Eo ae oni Be Ho map oon i seers din Bc aibi alumna di magari 1 The Show Hide button Click this button to expand 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 Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual Chapter 4 Picture It Basics 27 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 fin
92. ot 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 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 Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual Chapter 12 Taking Great Pictures 75 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
93. owser 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 Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual Chapter 3 Opening and Importing Pictutes 17 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 Picture It Files palette To open a photo from a Web page 1 Make sure that both Picture It and your Web browser either Microsoft 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 Picture It 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 pa
94. ply 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 Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual 100 Creating a makeshift tripod If you re outdoors try propping the camera on a rock or car roof Then fine tune the positioning by putting the camera on a jacket or other object that you can shape to adjust the camera angle Chapter 12 Taking Great Pictures Using the Self Timer Many digital cameras even inexpensive ones come with a self timer feature 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 Getting Yourself into a Photo To get yourself into a photo plan where you want to position yourself for the shot Then set up the camera by putting it on a tripod a table or any other flat stable surface With your camera in position focus the camera on your subject 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 sel
95. ptions 69 partial picture selections See selection tools parts of pictures See objects PCD files 11 PCT files 11 PCX files 11 PC Paintbrush files 11 permanent object links 42 personalized cards 57 photo See photo quality pictures photo card readers 9 photo paper options 69 photo projects 57 photo quality aperture 87 automatic camera modes 93 automatic exposure 86 compression 77 exposure 85 102 exposure compensation 87 102 file formats 78 film speed 91 flash 82 long exposures 100 manual camera settings 85 overview 73 red eye 33 83 resolution 75 self timers 100 shadows 84 shutter speeds 89 storage media 80 Microsoft Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual tips 101 water glass analogy 86 white balance 92 zoom 79 PHP files 11 pictures See also photo quality color effects 50 filter enhanced 49 formats supported 11 63 78 importing 7 opening 7 ordering prints and gifts 71 resizing 23 text 25 Picture It file formats supported 11 63 78 installing 1 Picture It Tour 28 pixels cropping 35 interpolation 79 noise 91 overview 74 picture resizing 23 print sizes 69 resolution 75 PNG files 11 PNG Plus files 42 63 portrait photography 55 98 positioning camera and subjects 101 precise editing See also objects special effects preserving object groups 41 preserving object layers 42 printers color management 68 drivers 66 options 70 quality settings 68 printing pictures alignment on page 66 cropping
96. r 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 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 Picture It
97. r 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 Microsoft Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual Chapter 12 Taking Great Pictures 99 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 sim
98. rease 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 Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual 24 Chapter 4 Picture It Basics To resize a picture Onthe Format menu click Resize Image 2 Click one of the following to lock the setting m Image size m Pixel dimensions Resolution 3 Enter amounts for the settings you want to change 4 Click Done Microsoft Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual Chapter 4 Picture It Basics 25 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
99. reat way to add balance and interest to your photos Recomposing a photo with Picture It After a photo has been transferred to your computer use the crop tool in Picture It to change the composition By clipping away the edges of the photo you can reposition your subject to comply with the rule of thirds Microsoft Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual 106 Chapter 12 Taking Great Pictures 6 Find a Unique Perspective You can challenge yourself 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 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 m Take your original subject and place it in the background Find a new subject that adds context to the object in the background m Getlower to the ground and point the camera up toward your subject 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 tak
100. 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 with Picture It If you end up with red eyes in your photos Picture It 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 Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual 84 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
101. roportionally on the canvas so that the border lies within the printable area Microsoft Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual 56 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 Picture It mat to your photo before you print it Mats create an elegant effect and can also When choosing a E 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 print and the colors of your and display it use a Picture It frame instead You can choose from a variety of frame A mat should frame themes to complement the subject of your photo You can even add both a not overpower the mat and a frame to the same photo subject of the photo Try selecting a soft colored mat that matches one of the photo s secondary colors Picture It 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
102. s programmed to control the exposure time The effect of shutter speed control is the same as a physical shutter Microsoft Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual 90 Chapter 12 Taking Great Pictures To accommodate the low light of this twilight scene the camera was mounted on a tripod and set to a slow 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 Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual Chapter 12 Taking Great Pictures 91 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 films generally produce grainier photos than lowe
103. s 57 Home Publishing files 11 image sensors 75 91 importing pictures 7 incandescent lights 32 index online Help 27 ink options 70 Installation Wizard 2 installing Picture It 1 Instructional Videos 29 Internet opening pictures from 17 interpolation 79 invitations personalized 57 irregular shapes 45 isolating picture parts See selection tools ISO setting 91 italic formatting 25 J JPEG files 11 42 63 75 K Kodak Photo CD files 11 L larger print sizes 69 layers See objects LCDs 108 lifespan ratings print 70 lighting aperture 87 automatic exposure 86 bracketing 87 107 colors 32 exposure compensation 87 film speed 91 flash 82 incandescent 32 overview 85 problems 31 red eye 33 83 shutter speed 89 tips 104 white balance 32 92 linking objects 40 locating pictures file browser 9 overview 7 TWAIN support 12 WIA support 12 locked objects 38 long exposure shots 100 lossless compression 77 low quality printer settings 68 low resolution pictures 16 69 M Macintosh PICT files 11 macro mode 94 Magic Wand 47 manual camera settings aperture 87 automatic exposure 86 exposure 85 exposure compensation 87 ISO setting 91 overview 85 shutter speeds 89 Index 113 water glass analogy 86 white balance 92 manual Import Pictures Wizard starts 8 manual Picture It setup 1 marquee tool 44 mats adding 56 maximum print sizes 75 media storage 7 80 memory cards or sticks
104. s 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 eye 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 Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual Index 12 month calendars 59 A action photography 95 adding pictures to canvas 22 text to pictures 25 Adobe Photoshop files 11 aging pictures with color effects 50 aligning text 25 antique effects 50 aperture 87 aperture priority mode 88 archival paper and inks 69 artifacts 77 artwork effect 49 aspect ratio 99 AutoCAD files 11 automatic
105. 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 The hard drive on a computer 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 A digital photo card reader A photo CD or DVD A floppy disk Microsoft Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual 10 Chapter 3 Opening and Importing Pictutes This picture identifies the main features of the file browser 9 10 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 MSN Groups tab Click the MSN Groups tab to open pictures that you have stored on MSN Groups 1 N UJ Look in box Displays the name of the current folder selected on the All Files tab 4 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 Thum
106. steccucnesecesvoessudevecestecsravesencdsecesosaseecuscuesesnas seearaseaceasscousvaasevonsecses 1 Starting Setup isss an e TH HE HR ure ri id me p de deed 1 Completing the Installation Wizatd uec evaccheseedecveus enata E a E E E 2 Installation Folder Dialog Box neo Dee ae steered dede ca tee Gee ara aa RD Ha aE aeaii iaaah 2 Installation Options Dialog BOX sininen ete HE DR Ee 2 Special Circumstdtnces ont be eene erem eO eie ente de d t Wess te dv ts 3 Upgrading from a Different Picture It Product sees 3 Reinstalling or Removing Picture It oti ter tot haere a Dee Fe eoe ete LEVE ERE e Da p E Cone 3 Chapter 2 Welcome to Microsoft Picture It Photo Premium eeeeeeeeeeeeee eene tenete nennen sena ttn sinat 5 What s NEW diocese e pene d rod aee p e En ce e poa aia ns 5 Other Helpful RESOURCES c M 6 Chapter 3 Opening and Importing Pictures scssccsssssscssssssssscssssesessessssssssssssscsssssssssssssssessessssssenseeses 7 Importing Pictures eene ti OU D WE e Gi nin inde DE PRA REIR RUM 7 Launching the Import Pictures Wizard automatically sse 7 Starting the Import Pictures Wizard manually eene 8 Opening Pictures for Bait 1 te fert tci asser riesen save distr sepsis Erbe tuns 9 Usine the file browser nnn iaieoea te e eee er isnt aie d oi vene ted ed dos 9 Opening pictures from other cameras nie
107. t select the topic you want to view and then click Display Product Tour The Picture It 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 Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual Chapter 4 Picture It Basics 29 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 Videos 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 Picture It product To view Technical Support information 1 On the Help menu click
108. t Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual 82 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 to 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
109. t been interpolated If your camera has digital zoom or enhanced resolution test it and make sure you like the results before you use it 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 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 Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual 80 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
110. t 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 Microsoft Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual 38 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 ocked to its position on the canvas When an object is locked to the canvas the lock icon Gy 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 Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual Chapter 6 Advanced Photo Editing 39 Selecting Objects with the Object Tool The object tool k 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 Picture It the object tool will be selected by default You will be able to accomplish many different editing tasks by using the obje
111. the object of which you want to make a partial selec tion Click the Edge Finder i button on the toolbar 4 Ifthe Edge Finder options palette is not showing click the Selection button on the toolbar N ww CA 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 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 a N 8 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 9 To close the selection area click the starting point 10 To modify the selection click Adjust edges drag any point in the selec tion marked by a square and then click Done 11 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 12 To select the opposite area click Invert on the Edge Finder options palette Microsoft Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual Chapter 6 Advanced Photo Editing 47 The Magic Wand The Magic Wand lets you select parts of an object that are the same or si
112. 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 Microsoft Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual 10 Saving and Printing Pictures is Saving Pictures If you re like most people you can t stand to throw photos away even if they 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 Microsoft Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual 62 Chapter 10 Saving and Printing Pictures 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
113. 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 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 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 g
114. 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 Microsoft Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual Chapter 4 Picture It Basics Examining the Work Area Most of the photo editing tasks you perform in Picture It will be in the main work area When you open Picture It and close the Startup Window you see the main work area The picture below identifies the key elements of the Picture It work area 1 Menus Menus provide access to all of the Picture It features The Help menu gives you access to the Help window the Instructional Videos and the Picture It Tour 2 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 3 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 4 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 select
115. tion 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 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 Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual 108 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 q
116. ttman Fan Mail Greeting Card Co Dona Rozanski LARKSPUR GRAPHICS Andie Thrams Off Ramp TM Silk Spiral Designs G B Steve Lovi 2000 TWENTY FOUR CARROT INC Jennifer Blomgren Andrea Beloff Dorothy Strait Carmel Bartz The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners 0703 Part No X09 54337 Printed in the United States of America Contents at a Glance Chapter 1 Installation cccsccesseeeeeeeeeeeeeeesesssssseeeeseeeeseeeeeenseenenseees 1 Chapter 2 Welcome to Microsoft Picture It Photo Premium 5 Chapter 3 Opening and Importing Pictures 7 Chapter 4 Picture It Basics ccccccsseeeeeeeeeesssssssssssssseeeeseeeeeeeeenas 19 Chapter 5 Basic Touchup eeeeeeeeeeeee nenne nennen nnn nnns 31 Chapter 6 Advanced Photo Editing ss 37 Chapter 7 Batch Editing in Mini Lab eere 53 Chapter 8 Adding Edges Mats and Frames 55 Chapter 9 Creating Projects ener 57 Chapter 10 Saving and Printing Pictures 61 Chapter 11 Taking Great Pictures eeeeeesss 73 TO TE Mme 111 Table of Contents up aMUrcllpi e
117. ture It and Windows are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and or other countries This product contains images from PhotoDisc Getty Images Inc Tony Chor 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 1996 Eastman Kodak Company ImageStream Graphics amp Presentation Filters Copyright 1991 1996 ImageMark Software Labs Inc All Rights Reserved Graphic filters licensed from Access Softek Inc Copyright 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 1991 2000 LEAD Technologies Inc 2000 Gina B Designs Inc Adjoa J Burrowes EthnoGraphics Alice Briggs Illustration Allport Editions Amberley Greeting Card Company Antoinette Simmons Hodges EthnoGraphics Athena Hampton EthnoGraphics Betty Biggs EthnoGraphics Bonnie Zuponcic Carla Golembe EthnoGraphics Cathy L Schubert EthnoGraphics Colors By Design Emma Raley F
118. u 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 Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual Chapter 6 Advanced Photo Editing 49 Filters Waiting for filters The term filter originates from the colored glass covers placed over a camera to be applied 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 inten sity of colors But the filters in Picture It can create many other effects from sharpening an image to making the picture look like a painting or a mosaic Some filters require your computer to make many calculations so on a slower computer they may take a few minutes to be applied 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
119. uick 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 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 encountered 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 diff
120. um User s Manual Chapter 6 Advanced Photo Editing 45 The Freehand Tool The freehand tool 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 button on the toolbar 4 Ifthe Freehand Tool options palette 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 4 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 Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual 46 Chapter 6 Advanced Photo Editing The Edge Finder The Edge Finder i 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 Make sure that the Stack appears in the workspace On the Stack click
121. umber 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 f 16 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 1s 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 Increasing your chances with bracketing If you 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 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 Microsoft Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual 88
122. ure printing 66 size e mails 65 file compression 77 flattened PNG files 64 odd sized pictures mats for 56 picture cropping 35 picture features 39 picture resizing 23 prints 69 75 storage media 80 text 25 skin touch ups 98 SLR single lens reflex cameras 85 smaller print sizes 69 small aperture 87 SmartMedia card 80 soft edge effect 55 special effects See also objects colors 50 filters 49 freehand 51 stamps 51 splotchy color 77 Stack 22 37 stained glass filter 49 stamps painting with 51 Startup Window 19 storage media 7 80 stretching picture features 39 sunlight 84 T table of contents 27 tabs 26 technical support 29 Microsoft Picture It Photo Premium User s Manual 116 Index temporary object links 40 text adding to pictures 25 TGA files 11 thumbnails Files palette 22 objects 37 rearranging order 22 TIF files 11 63 time print lifespan ratings 70 shutter lags 95 tint adjustments 32 toolbar 21 25 touching up pictures See editing pictures touchup tools 31 transferring files importing 7 tripod substitutes 100 tutorials 29 TWAIN 12 U underexposure 85 ungrouping objects 41 unlocking objects 38 unprintable card areas 57 upgrading Picture It 3 USB Mass Storage Class devices 9 V Video player 29 virtual drives 9 Ww water glass analogy 86 Web pages opening pictures from 17 Web quality resolutions 65 weight ranges paper 69 white area canvas 22 white balance 32 92 WIA 12

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