Digital Photography: The Missing Manual

Chapter 4. Getting Photos onto Your PC

Getting photos into your camera is easy: just point, shoot, and you’re done. Getting them onto your PC is another matter. Gone are the days when you could simply pop out your film and drop it off at the photo developer. Nowadays, in order to do the editing, printing, and sharing that makes digital photography so addictive, you need to move your pictures to your PC.

Fortunately, Windows XP makes the transfer process pretty simple; that’s what you’ll learn about in this chapter. (If you’re using Photoshop Elements, you’re in luck. The program comes with its own photo importing utility. Read all about it starting in Section 8.1.) You’ll also learn how to speed things up by using a memory card reader—a great way to save precious battery time on your camera. And for folks who’ve still got a foot in the world of prints—in other words, pretty much everyone—the chapter wraps up with a walk-through of everything you need to do to scan in your existing photos.

Moving Pictures from Camera to Computer

Don’t bother installing the software packaged with your digital camera; it’s generally of mediocre quality, and you don’t need it to see your photos. But do hang onto that little cable that comes with your camera. That’s the tube for pouring your photos from your camera into your PC. Connect the cable between them, and Windows XP automatically welcomes your digital camera and shuttles your photos into your new digital shoebox: your PC’s My Pictures folder ...