With respect to photography and digital imaging, older folks may be thought of as in one of these three groups:
1. Non-technical and having little or no previous photography or computer experience.
2. Somewhat computer literate, and/or had some film photography experience in their earlier days.
3. Computer-savvy and eagerly dives into each new technical innovation.
This article focuses primarily on developing the confidence and skills of the first and second groups. If you are in one of these groups, or know someone who is, and would like to develop digital photography skills, here is a checklist of experiences that will build upon each other to create confidence and competence in digital imaging.
Step 1: Be comfortable with a digital camera. Spend some time with the camera. Most of them will work just fine with the automatic settings. Wander around and take some photos of regular items. Find out where the batter compartment is and how to change or charge the batteries. Figure out how to change the "mode" so that you can have the camera take images appropriate to the subject, such as portraits, sunsets, sports and babies. By spending a couple hours one time, and a few minutes a day after that, you can become very comfortable with your digital camera.
Step 2: Know how to play back images. Every camera has a Play function where you can see the images on the display, but if you are like me, it's tough to really enjoy them that small. Most cameras will plug into a TV with a black cable that has yellow and/or white ends. The small end will fit into the camera and the round, larger end (yellow) will plug into a yellow plug on many televisions. Sometimes you need to set the TV input to "AUX" or some other setting to see, but the slide show that is the result is a real treat. This should take you about an hour to master. Don't forget to take that cable with you on trips!
Step 3: Know how to print images at a Kiosk. Pharmacies and discount stores have those neat kiosks where you can transfer, edit and print photos. Spend some time with the technician in the photo lab and they will show you how to take the chip out of the camera, put it in the kiosk, and choose your photos. Then you can edit and play with layouts, and print them right in the store. They can also back them up onto a CD for you. All of this without having to sit down at a computer! Plan on another hour to master this skill.
Step 4: Know how to transfer images to a computer. This can be a very frustrating step to learn, because there are so many ways to do it, and so many places on your computer for the photos to hide! Method "A" involves plugging that chip into a memory card reader (internal to your computer or external), and copying from there to a folder. Method "B" involves plugging the camera directly into a little "USB" cable that goes to the computer, and copying to a folder. Method "C" involves putting your camera on a docking station (not many cameras have this), and Method "D" involves some wireless technology that automatically transfers the images once you get close enough to your computer. You'll most likely be using Method "A", as it is most common, and fast. The main thing is to be in control of where the pictures go. I like to create individual folders for each session so I don't end up with thousands of pictures in one folder. You can name the folders anything, but my recommendation is "2008-09-15 Mabels Party" or something like that. This way the folders show up in date order. Plan on a few hours to get this right. You'll know you have mastered this if you can boot up your computer and quickly find out where your photos are.
Step 5: Know how to back up your images. Every computer gets sick at some point. You need to make sure that you are transferring your images from the chip or computer to some other kind of backup. I recommend "burning" them onto CD or DVDs. Most computers made in the last 4 years can do this. You'll need to know how to start up the burning program, select the folders and/or images, start the backup, and then verify that the DVD or CD actually has the images on them. Then you can label the DVD or CD and put in a safe place. Plan on an hour or so. Make sure you also learn how to take that CD, pop it in and get from it any images you want.
Step 6: Know how to share your images. There are many free websites that will let you send your images there so you can share with others. Look for websites that let you set passwords for your folders so that only the people you want can see them. The key tasks (after enrollment) are to know how to "upload" your pictures to your web site and to make them available to others. Plan on a few hours to choose, enroll, load and and play with the website. Don't forget to try out the website's printing and goodies shop. Note that in some cases, the website will act as a backup site for your images.
Step 7: Know how to make stuff from your images. The step above showed how to have a website make things for you. If you have a home printer, you can print on paper, magnets, note card stock, stationery, T-shirt transfers and more. You can also take your pictures and make screen savers, wallpaper (the main image on your computer), slide shows that will play on DVD players, and lots more. Some examples of photo products that you can make or buy include: Quilts, blankets, sweatshirts, T-shirts, puzzles, coasters, dry-erase boards, canvas prints, playing cards, coffee mugs, bag tags, key chains, and many more. Plan on several hours to explore how your talents can be put to use!
Step 8: Know how to edit your images. Once you have mastered shooting, transferring, saving, sharing and producing, you can get really creative. There are a number of image editing programs out there. Your camera probably came with one. Most of them will perform some automatic editing for you, and will let you change many things about the photograph. You could spend many hours at this step, depending on your interest level in growing at this skill.
Step 9: Know how to take better photographs. There are formal and informal classes for camera owners. You can browse magazines and go to museum displays. Talk to local photographers. Join a photo club. Spend time volunteering somewhere where you can use your camera to help people. Check out some online discussion groups on photography. You can spend many hours here as well.
So, how do you remember all of this? Flash Cards! Get some old-fashioned note cards and write "Step 1: blah-blah" on it, and take notes about your specific camera. Then you can refer back to them if its been a while. And, if something changes in your world, like a new camera, computer or printer, you can revise the Flash Card with notes, or make up a new one.
So, there is no need to be intimidated by digital photography. Get out there and shoot!
No comments:
Post a Comment