This document provides an overview of the photo editing program Picasa and how to use its various features. It explains that Picasa allows users to organize, edit, and share their digital photos. The document walks through the steps of importing photos into Picasa, adding metadata like tags and locations, editing photos using tools for adjustments and effects, creating projects like collages and books, and sharing photos through social media or other methods.

1. Lindsey Clarke
LIS 488 Info for Tech Professionals
Tech Tutorial Assignment

2. 2
Introduction to Picasa:
What is Picasa?
What do you need to know to
use it?
What resources do you need to
run it?

3.  Picasa© is a program developed by
Google© to provide a platform for digital
photography
 It has many features including:
› Storage
› Organization
› Editing
› Crafting
› Presenting
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4.  While a digital photography novice can
use Picasa, the more knowledge about
photography and editing a user has, the
more features will be accessible to them
 A user should know basic computer
functions like opening programs,
copying and pasting, and intuitively
using the right mouse button to quickly
access menu items
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5.  Picasa requires several resources:
› Computer (OS less than 10 years old)
 This tutorial is built around a Windows 7 environment.
Your experience may vary based on your unique
operating system
› Digital Photographs (Photos)
› Internet Access
 Only necessary for downloading the program and
taking advantage of some intermediate and advanced
options/features
› Most current version of Adobe Flash (11.6.xx….)
 Only for certain advanced features
 Available for Download: picasa.google.com
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6. 6
Who would use Picasa?
A Person
A Librarian
A Library

7.  An individual would use Picasa rather
than another program because:
› Relatively easy to use while still providing
advanced features
› Free Download
› Syncs with social media
› Organizes photos
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8.  Many of the same reasons as a private
individual
 Additionally:
› Archive events and programs
› Create presentable materials
 Generate interest and visibility for future
programs
› Provides outreach through today’s growing
social media environment
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9.  Many of the same reasons as a librarian
or library administrator
 Additionally:
› Archiving and cataloging photographic
collections
 Turns photographic collections into searchable
entities through:
 Metadata
 Subject Heading Tagging
 Facial Recognition Tagging
 GeoTagging
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10. 10
How to use Picasa: A Practical Example
How would a person go from taking photos
from a camera to a finished edited product
capable of web publishing and printing?

11. 11
How to use Picasa: A Practical Example
1. Add/Organize
2. Metadata
3. Edits and Effects
4. Projects
5. Share and Manage

12.  Photos can be added from many
locations
› Camera
› Memory Stick
› Scanner
› Already on computer in different folder
 Files can be imported the same way for
any device
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13.  Import using the Import Button which is
always located near the upper left
corner of the screen:
13

14.  This will open a panel on the left with
many options that looks like this:
14

15. This
option
ensures
Use this that if a
to select picture is
the already
source of on your
your computer
media to it will not
upload. add it a
In this second
case we time
are
selecting This Icon
pictures appears
from the on
E: Drive pictures
that will
be
excluded
15

16. The
“Import To:”
Box is how
you select
the
destination
of the The “After
pictures. If Copying”
you leave box
the “Folder explains
Title:” what to
empty it will do with
default to the
the “Import memory
to:” folder. card after
Use the the
“Folder photos
Title:” to are
create a moved
new folder
16

17. When you are finished select the import all
button to complete the import process.
17

18.  Sometimes photos on the memory card
are from multiple events and should be
stored separately.
 Picasa allows you to distribute your
photos to multiple albums
 To do so select a photo or group of
photos using standard Windows multi-
select rules
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19.  Right click any of the selection and
choose “Add to Album” as below:
 You can add to an existing album (like
“Screensaver” above)
 You can add to a New Album and
name it in the same window
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20. 20
How to use Picasa: A Practical Example
1. Add/Organize
2. Metadata
3. Edits and Effects
4. Projects
5. Share and Manage

21.  There are 3 main types of Metadata you
can edit:
› People Tagging
› Geo Tagging
› Subject Heading Tagging
 You can also display the fixed Metadata
for a particular picture such as the
camera name/type and settings used
like ISO for each individual photo
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22.  There is a button for each Metadata
Type
People Geo Subject Fixed
Tagging Headings
22

23.  Google uses its facial recognition
software to scan every picture uploaded
• Here you can see that it
recognized me from
other pictures on my
computer Typing in
the name
of a person
will yield a
• There is an option to list of known
manually add a person people to
that is not automatically select from
recognized
23

24.  Select the places button,
then type the address in the
box
 Uses Google Maps to
provide locations like:
› Cities
› Addresses
› Venues
› Any location in Google’s
Databases
 Select “OK” when complete
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25.  Add labels to a picture for easy
searching later
 Used like LC Subject Headings except
with an uncontrolled vocabulary
25

26. Add new Tags by typing
a name in this box then
hitting enter
Or select pre-existing
tags by clicking any of
these buttons
26

27.  In the Tools menu you can use the
“Adjust Time and Date Settings” to alter
the temporal metadata related to when
the picture was taken, not uploaded
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28. 28
How to use Picasa: A Practical Example
1. Add/Organize
2. Metadata
3. Edits and Effects
4. Projects
5. Share and Manage

29.  Now that we have imported the pictures
and assigned the appropriate Metadata,
it is time to edit any photographs
necessary
 There are various tools for:
› Beginners
› Intermediates
› Filters for Any User Level
 No advanced photo editing tools like
Photoshop
29

30.  To edit any photo, simply double click it
in the default album display
30

31. There are many
general options
Like:
Cropping:
Trimming edges
off a picture
Straighten:
Align the horizon
within the picture
with the borders
around it
Redeye:
Automatically
remove redeye
from people
within a picture
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32. There are also some
prebuilt automatic
editing buttons
Auto Color:
Fixes color problems
without affecting
brightness
Auto Contrast:
Fixes lighting
problems without
affecting colors
I’m Feeling Lucky:
Completes both
other auto functions
to optimize the
balance of a
picture’s colors and
lighting
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33. Finally you can
perform some more
complex editing
Text:
Allows you to add
text to a photo
Retouch:
Allows you to spot
correct blemishes by
selecting an area of
the picture to edit,
then another area to
blend it with
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34.  Intermediate usage
has some extra
features that allow
you to individually
alter lighting, color,
shadows and fills
using slide bars
 Select the lighting
tab to access these
features
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35.  Many Filters are
available similar to
Instagram©
 Google will apply the
filter as a preview in
each box so a user
doesn’t need to
apply it to see its
affect
 There are three tabs
of Filters 35

36.  Although Picasa will not save over your
original picture, even if you edit it, you
should save your picture using the “Save
As” option
› Enables you to select a location
› Enables you to select a custom name for this
edited version
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37. 37
How to use Picasa: A Practical Example
1. Add/Organize
2. Metadata
3. Edits and Effects
4. Projects
5. Share and Manage

38.  Picasa has several options for creating
arts and crafts effects with a picture, or
groups of pictures
 This allows for creative editing and fun
 Using these tools a user can create a
finished product for personal or
professional use
38

39.  Creative Kit A pop-up Dialogue Box will
is
selectable from thethat Creative Kit
inform you
main editing web based and ask that
is side
bar you confirm before
proceeding
 It requires the most
recent version of
Adobe Flash© to
use
 Allows for clip art to
be added to, and
manipulated in, a
photo
39

40.  A new bar will open to
the left of the photo
with new options
 There are different and
more severe filters that
change the whole
photo
 There are also some
TouchUp tools that allow
spot editing
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41.  There are also some silly
tools that allow free
drawing with different
specialized tool brushes
 Some can be drawn in
with the cursor like
“Fake Beard”
 Some can be dropped
onto the photo and
manipulated like
“Beards”
41

42. A Purrfect Example:
 There are also some silly
tools that allow free
drawing with different
specialized tool brushes
 Some can be drawn in
with the cursor like
“Fake Beard”
 Some can be dropped
onto the photo and
manipulated like
“Beards”
42

43.  Creative Kit offers
graphics that are not
traditional, more like fun
stickers
 Speech Bubbles and
Face Paint can also
liven up a picture
43

44.  Picasa offers several options for making a
collage.
 Picasa makes a collage by randomly
assigning pictures from a group a user
selects into one of several premade
patterns
 A user should then balance the pictures
by selecting and moving them within the
pattern
44

45.  To create a collage select “Create” from
the menu, then select “Picture Collage”
 This will open a new tab with a collage
editing bar on the left
45

46.  Now you will need to
select the type of
pattern your collage
should take
 Selecting between
them will show you the
results in real time to
see how they compare
visually
 Lets see how the
Picture Pile looks
46

47.  As you can see it left a lot of whitespace
around the edges, and also cut the
heads off of some people!
47

48.  From here you will need to edit the collage.
 You can select any photograph and move
and rotate it.
 You can right click the photograph and
change its depth so it is on top or on the
bottom
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49.  You can also shuffle or scramble the
pictures in the collage by using the
button on the bottom
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50.  The collage toolbar
allows you to set the:
› Border type
› Background color or
image
› Aspect Ratio
› Orientation
› Add Shadows
› Show previously added
captions
 When you are done
select “Create Collage”
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51. 51
How to use Picasa: A Practical Example
1. Add/Organize
2. Metadata
3. Edits and Effects
4. Projects
5. Share and Manage

52.  Picasa has many methods of sharing
your photos or projects and managing
the security involved in the displaying of
the final product
 The basic tool of emailing and printing
are available through buttons always
located on the bottom of the screen
52

53.  Export will take a custom subset of
photos in an album you created,
containing photos from various folders
on your computer, and adds a copy of
each to a single folder on your computer
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54.  In the File menu
there is an “Order
Prints…” menu
option that will
automatically
export your photos,
albums, or projects
to a number of
different online
photo printing
companies
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55.  Google used to maintain
Picasaweb.Google.com
 This free photo webhosting service has
instead been merged into Google+
 Syncing you photos with Google+ allows
the user to access all of their photos
across any device or computer by
logging into their account
 This does not automatically share your
photos with the world, as opposed to
Facebook
55

56.  Sharing a photo on Google+ is a
separate action from Syncing
› Syncing your photos (Private, only you can
see your photos from any computer or
device you are logged into)
› Can be shared via Link (Public, anyone with
link can view it)
› A PW protected Link (Semi-Private, need link
and password to access)
› With specific people or groups of people as
limited by your “Circles” (Private to only
specific individuals)
56

57.  Another method of
sharing is create a
slide show
 A user can:
› order the slides by
dragging them
› Change Transition
Style
› Add music to the
movie
› Coordinate the music
with the pictures
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58.  Once the slide show
is complete a user
can:
› Select Create Movie
and it will create a
movie file on your
computer
› Select YouTube and it
will use your Google
Account to directly
upload the video to
YouTube
58

59.  Picasa also has a feature to allow your
photos to be shared on the internet
using a private webhost by exporting an
album directly to HTML formatting
 Right click on any album and select
Export as HTML Page…
59

60.  Picasa automatically generates as
many HTML pages as necessary to
display all the pictures in Album.
 It writes the code in each to navigate
between the pictures
 It offers a few basic styles for a user to
select from
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61.  Picasa automatically generates as
many HTML pages as necessary to
display all the pictures in Album.
 It writes the code in each to navigate
between the pictures
 It offers a few basic styles for a user to
select from
61

62.  The output is a folder that just needs to
get cut or copied onto your webspace
62

63.  Using all the steps just outlined I was able
to create a webpage of organized and
edited pictures as well as a collage
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64. 64
Further Reading
Where to go now?

65.  For further information on this topic:
› Ed_cobb_1. “12 Features of Picasa That You Probably
Don’t Know.” Scribd. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Mar. 2013
 http://www.scribd.com/doc/55980698/12-Features-Of-Picasa-
That-You-Probably-Don%E2%80%99t-Know
› Google. “How to.” Picasa and Picasa Web Albums Help.
N.p., 2013. Web. 28 Mar. 2013.
 support.google.com/Picasa/
› Google. Picasa and Picasa Web Albums FAQs – Tips and
Tricks – Picasa Help Resources Site. N.p. 2013. Web. 28
Mar. 2013
 sites.google.com/site/picasaresources/faq
› Schwartz, Steven A. Organizing and Editing Your Photos
with Picasa. Berkeley, CA: Peach Pit, 2005. Print.
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