AisleSeat

I just found out about google's Picasa software. Apparently a free download from google that helps you organize and edit your pictures. http://picasa.google.com/ If you are like me and have a computer full of pictures from your trips this might be useful to you too. If you have used this software and have any comments I would appreciate seeing them.

hopscotch

Picassa2 is great for displaying your photos. The slideshow is very good.

But you have to watch it when you plug your camera in. Picassa2 will ask to take your photos from the camera and file them where it will. I have to stop it and have my camera software download to the directory I choose.

Use Adobe Photoshop to crop and edit and enhance.

AisleSeat

thanks hopscotch. That's helpful.

Michael

Can images be downloaded from Picasa?

AisleSeat

my understanding is that it organizes the pictures you have.

bobthenavigator

I have used it for years and love it. You can also select specific images to email to whomever. Check out the cool "collage" feature.

josephina

Here's my experience: I've used several other photo sharing websites that are more sophisticated, but Picasa is my preferred picture sharing vehicle for several community websites that I operate. I chose it because it's free for the people who see and download the photos, easy to operate, and cheap for me.

Before I insert my memory card, I always create the file for the photos first. Then I use my Canon software to download the pics into the file. When I then open Picasa2 from my desktop, the pictures are automatically "found" and I can group the pics into as many special albums as I would like.

After organizing, I upload the newly created album(s) into one of the online Picasa accounts I've created (I could upload those pics to all of them if I chose). I can email the link to those albums to others or post that link on my websites. I could also embed the entire album on a webpage.

The albums can be public (searchable) or remain private.

Once someone has opened the online album, he can easily download the entire album to his hard disk if he would like (it seems to automatically go to My Pictures/Downloaded Albums)without cost.

While I prefer to edit my pictures with an oldy-but-goody Adobe Photo Elements program, the novice who hasn't the bucks for or expertise with photo editing software can easily use the quite decent Picasa editing features.

Again, there are far more sophisticated online sharing sites from the photographer's point of view, but for beneficiaries of the picture sharing, Picasa is a darn good vehicle.

elaine

I am also a fan of Picasa, and it's a good tip above, to make sure you tell it what folder you want the pictures filed in.
You have to remember that it's a filing system, not a storage system. It leaves the photos where they are (or where you newly put them), it is not a "place" to put photos. That's a subtle difference. You will find that your photos are still all over the place in your computer unless you organize folders first. Then, Picasa will search your whole computer to locate any and all pictures, and organize them into files.

I have Photoshop Elements, but I'm not convinced that for most amateur personal or travel pictures, the Picasa photo enhancements aren't as good, and, they are quite easy to use.

111op

I use Picasa. I'm an amateur user.

The nice thing I like about it is that online storage seems to be much more than other websites. Picasa gives 1G but sites like Flickr give much less (unless you pay). So that was why I chose it.

I think that you can use different software to organize the pics and still upload to Picasa's website. But if you use the software as well, uploading to the web takes a simple click (except for the download time). You also have the option of making web albums private or public.