Section 29. Import Photos from Digital Camera or Removable Media

29. Import Photos from Digital Camera or Removable Media

SEE ALSO

Import Photos from a Disc

Digital camera manufacturers are continually making it easier to connect your camera to your computer. This is one of the reasons that the digital camera market has exploded over the past few years. A digital camera usually comes with a USB cable or cradle that can be plugged into your USB port, which is usually found on the front of your computer.

There are many types of removable media. Any external drive or USB device falls into this category. The most common is a card or Memory StickSD cards, xD cards, and Sony Memory Stick media being the most frequently used. Most digital cameras and even some video cameras use these types of cards to store photos and sometimes small video files. Although you can plug a digital camera directly into your computer, most digital camcorders are usually plugged into a FireWire port and recognized by the computer solely as a video input device and the computer captures only what's on the DV tape. In order to retrieve still shots from a camcorder, you need to remove the memory card from the camera and plug it into a card reader that is either built into your machine (on newer PCs) or an external device plugged into a USB port.

Another device you might want to import pictures from is a USB flash drive. These are small, portable, thumb-sized drives that plug directly into a USB port and can hold a gigabyte or more of data. This makes them a fantastic way to store and share quite a lot of photos, as well as other files.

When anything is plugged into a USB port, your computer recognizes it as a new drive and labels it with the next available drive letter.

Import Photos from a Digital Camera or Removable Media

Select Photo in the Project Pane

Select the Photo button in the project pane to open the Photo menu.

Select Import Photos

After you have opened the Photo menu, select Import Photos to launch Media Import.

Click Photo in the Import Menu

Make sure that the Photo tab is selected. This brings up the Photo Import Wizard.

Select Device or Source to Import From

After you have opened the Photo Import Wizard, choose your removable device from the Select device or source to import from drop-down menu. This brings up the menu of your removable device. Browse to the pictures you would like to import.

Select Photos to Import

After you have browsed to your photo files, select the photos you would like to import. You can select all the photos in the designated folder at once by clicking the Select all button in the taskbar at the top of the menu, or you can hold down the Control key as you select multiple files.

Choose Destination

After you have selected the photos you want to import, you need to specify a destination path on your computer to which to save the photos. Make this a folder that is conveniently accessible and easy to remember. When it comes time to add these photos to a project, you want to be able to find them again.

Click Import Now

After you have specified a destination, click Import Now. This saves your photos in the destination specified and brings them up in the Recently Imported window. You can continue to import photos as long as Media Import is open.

Make Immediate Changes

In the Recently Imported window, you have the opportunity to make a few quick, but sometimes vital, changes to your photos. By selecting the Preview option in the taskbar, you can quickly fix red eye, rotate your picture, or do some basic color correction. The steps here are pretty intuitive, but if you would like some help, refer to Chapter 6, "Editing Photos."

Close Roxio Media Import

After you are finished importing your photos and making changes to them, close Media Import. This takes you back to the Easy Media Creator Home page where you have many opportunities to have fun with the photos you have just imported.