Once that is up
and running, working on your digital camera's pictures is
fairly simple.
First you'll
need to make a separate folder where you will put the
pictures you've finished. "Right-Click" on the desktop
with your mouse. Pick "new", and the "folder".
Name the folder something like "Ready to Place Ad Photos",
or whatever you like.
After you have
done this, you can start up the software. The first
time it runs, it will take some time to make a pretty
exhaustive menu of all the photos in your computer.
Believe me, you will find this feature VERY useful, and will
use it all the time.
Now that it is
running and you are ready to work, make sure to click the
button (like in the picture below), so that your photo are
listed in the way Windows lists the folders in your
computer.
If you don't,
you will see all your photos displayed in list the shows
them listed in the YEARS the photos were taken, and NOT in a
list showing what folders they are in. Very confusing.
When you see the
picture you are going to use in your ad, double click on it.
By doing this, you will then be able to work on that picture
itself. Right away, you will be able to safely click
buttons to instantly adjust your pictures, contrast,
brightness, color tint, etc. Very high quality tools,
but not as good as if you click the tab that says "Tuning"
(see picture below)
You can then
really get the picture perfect. Even if your picture
was shot in a light-bulb lit room, there are very good tools
to "white balance" your shot so it looks studio perfect in
color. (And did we say, the software doesn't cost any
thing?)
Now that it
looks the way you want it to, You need to get a copy of the
picture into the folder you made for your advertising.
On the bottom of your screen, find the "Export" button.
Next will pop up
this screen. This is where you will pick your photo
size. Please set it at nothing larger than 400 or 500
when placing your ad. Bigger sizes will be too large
for the website, not to mention the browser of the person
viewing it. As well, it will take up too much space on
the website server, and will cause everyone's viewing to
load so so SLOWLY.
The "Browse"
button will let you pick where on your computer you want to
store these resized versions of your digital pictures
(remember, they are copies). As for image quality,
choose the "Normal" setting. This will let your
picture look its best while keeping it a reasonalbe size.
If nothing else,
my directions above will first; arm you with a fantastic
piece of software that costs nothing, and is legitimately
yours to keep forever. Secondly, if you follow those
simple steps you can easily "prep" a picture to upload in
the classified ad you are placing. After that, though,
i would HIGHLY encourage you to use the software to
organize, view, and otherwise experiment with your pictures.
You will be thrilled with the results!
