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Importing Photos from Camera Using Picasa 2

April 17, 2007 by debbie T | Digital Photography • Picasa 2

I have written this tutorial specifically for my Dad, but other newbies might find it helpful.

This is a beginner’s tutorial with basic step-by step instructions. It covers importing image files from an attached camera using Google’s Picasa 2. Screen shots were created using Windows XP.

Picasa is an easy to use photo editing program from Google. It can be downloaded from Google’s web site. Google offers additional tutorials if you care to learn more advanced features, such as editing, emailing, and blogging photos.

Importing Image Files from Camera Using Picasa 2

Note: Import = downloading images from a camera into your computer.

Make sure the camera is off, and attach the USB cable to the camera. Turn the camera on. A pop-up window will appear asking what you want to do with the files.

screen shot - open with picasa 2

Choose the option to “Copy pictures and view them using Picasa2″ then click the OK button.

Picasa will launch, and photo files saved on the camera’s drive will be displayed as small thumbnails on the left side of the screen. Click on a thumbnail photo and it displays in a larger size.

screen shot - picasa 2 interface

Exclude Photos from Import

At this point, you can exclude photos from the import session; RIGHT-CLICK on the thumbnail and choose “exclude” - repeat for all photos you do not want to keep.

All excluded photos will display a red x icon

Ready to Import

When you are ready to start the import process, click the “Import All” button located toward the bottom of the Picasa workspace.

screen shot - import all into Picasa 2

A new pop-up window will appear asking a few last details. See the screen shot below, with corresponding numbered instructions.

screen shot - other import details

“Enter a folder name for these photos” - Type descriptive text to summarize the photo content. Keep it short and sweet. Picasa will automatically create a new folder with this name.
“The location where these photos will be saved” - the default folder is My Pictures with the newly named sub-folder. In most cases, you can leave this text as is.
“Place Taken (Optional)” - if you want to include optional text on the location of the photo shoot. This is optional.
“Description (Optional)” - Type in a longer description of the photo content. This is optional.
“After copying, do this with my camera or card” - If the camera contents cannot be duplicated, then choose “Do nothing”. Otherwise, choose “Wipe the card” which will delete all pictures found. It is possible to lose files during an import (ie power outage, corrupted cable, etc) so please keep this in mind if your photos are irreplacible.

If you chose the option to delete the files from the camera after import, a pop-up window will appear with a warning. Click yes to comfirm your removal choice.

screen shot - warning to delete files

After the photo files have finished importing, turn the camera off.

Picasa Interface / Workspace

Once the import process is finished, the Picasa workspace appears. Your photos are organized in folders.

screen shot - Picasa 2 interface workspace

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial. And a special shout out to my Dad!

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There are 3 comments

Thanks for all the info on picasa But what I need to know is how do I share my photos to view on both computers through picasa on our wireless network?
Comment by marilyn on December 3rd, 2007
sorry this is my email sent the wrong one lol
Comment by marilyn on December 3rd, 2007
Yes, to share files, you would need access to the other computer, and you can attain access through your wireless router. You wouldn’t need to use Picasa.

I am a geek, but it is funny that I never had the need to share files across computers, so I never really learned how. I keep file sharing turned off.

If you do a google search online for “sharing files” I am sure you can come up with some tutorials online.

Good luck!!! And thank you for visiting and taking the time to write!
Comment by debbieT on December 3rd, 2007