Getting your Computer and Camera talking.

Conveniently, newer computers (about 2 years old or newer) make this real simple. Windows XP and Mac OSX (10.2 or later) will usually auto sense a camera being plugged into the computer and will launch the proper software. Both of these types of computers have software built into them to handle pictures. If you know that your computer can handle digital cameras that way, that is an option for you. The other way is to use the software which came with your camera. These programs usually offer basic image editing and transferring of pictures from the camera to computer. Each brand of camera uses different software. Many of the functions are the same, but the names and locations of these functions may be different per program. Install the software into your computer.

There is also a USB cable in your camera box. The fatter end plugs into your computer. The smaller end plugs into your camera. Don’t force it. If it does not go in easy, then something is wrong. Once the camera is plugged into the computer, turn on the camera. Make sure you have fresh batteries in your camera, because you do not want the camera to quit while you are transferring pictures. Your computer or the camera software should automatically recognize the camera and a box should pop up asking to transfer the pictures.

Try to keep your picture collection organized. It can become a somewhat difficult task, once you start to have a large quantity of pictures. Each time the camera transfers pictures, it will create a new folder. Name your folder and the images in the folder. Create a naming system which will allow you to come back weeks or months later and easily find an image. The software the camera came with may have a program built in, which will help with the organization. The camera uses numbers to name the files. Depending on the camera, it may restart numbering over each time the images are transferred. So if you do not name your pictures, you will end up with a bunch of files called img0001, img0002 and so on. A couple months from now, once you have forgotten the exact details of the previous pictures, it will be very hard to recall all the images.

A good way might be to label each occasion that you took pictures and the date with it. So your summer vacation of 2005 would be the name of the folder which contained all the images. Then try to label the images themselves with something that will help you remember. The whole idea is to get a system in place so you remember where all your images are.