Getting started: Get photos from a digital camera

You can use this tutorial with Adobe® Photoshop® Elements versions 7 and 8.

Get photos from a camera or card reader into your computer and indexed in Adobe® Photoshop® Elements. See why it's best to import from a USB card reader (rather than directly from a camera).

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Requirements

To complete this tutorial, install the following software:

Adobe Photoshop Elements 7 or later

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Selecting the source of your photos

If you have the option, place the camera’s data card into a card reader. Otherwise, connect your camera directly to the computer.

There are two reasons for using a card reader is better. First, if you try to download from your digital camera, Photoshop Elements can't recognize that particular camera unless you have installed its drivers. Second, there is always a chance of damaging photo originals when you download from a camera if the battery dies in the middle of transferring.

The recommended option is to use an inexpensive USB card reader. The camera’s data card goes into the reader, and the reader plugs directly into the USB port on your computer.

Bringing photos into the Organizer with Photo Downloader

To get photos from a camera or card reader, Photoshop Elements uses a separate program called Adobe Photoshop Elements 7 Photo Downloader.

1. Start Photoshop Elements and open the Organizer workspace.
2. Plug the camera or card reader into your computer. If you're using a card reader, make sure that the data card is inserted into the card reader.

   Windows recognizes the device and opens a dialog box asking you to choose what to do with these pictures.

   Note: If you don't have Auto Play set up on your computer, you can open the File menu in the Organizer. Then, choose Get Photos and Videos from Camera or Card Reader.

3. Click Organize and Edit using Adobe Photoshop Elements 7.

   The Adobe Photoshop Elements 7 Photo Downloader dialog box appears, as shown in Figure 1. The first field shows the location of the source photos.

   

   Figure 1: The Photoshop Elements 7 Photo Downloader dialog box

4. Click Browse, select a location to store the files, and then click OK.

   Note: The default location is a new subfolder inside the My Pictures folder. You can also create new subfolders for storing the photos. The new subfolders are named based on the selection you make in the Create Subfolder(s) pop-up menu, as shown in Figure 2.

   

   Figure 2: The Create Subfolder(s) pop-up menu

5. To place the photos in a new subfolder with a custom name, open the Create Subfolder(s) pop-up menu, and select Custom Name.
6. Enter a name for the new subfolder.

   Notice that you can choose to rename your files. You can choose filenames that either start with today's date, the date the photos were shot, or a custom name. If you change the name of the files and redownload them, there will be two copies of the files in your computer.

   If you do decide to change the filenames, also check Preserve Current Filename in XMP. When you do so, Photoshop Elements remembers the original filename as it came from your camera.

7. In the Delete Options pop-up menu, select After Copying, Do Not Delete Originals (the default).

   Do not delete your originals until you are sure that the files are stored safely on your computer. A safe practice is to put the data card back into the camera. Then, use the camera menus to delete the photos only after the photos are safely in your computer.

8. Leave the Automatic Download checkbox deselected. Selecting Automatic Download starts the Photo Downloader and begins copying photos without asking you to fill out the fields in the dialog box.

   To bring in all of the photos on the camera or data card, you can click Get Photos. If you want to bring in only a portion of the files, open the Advanced dialog box and indicate which files to get.

9. Click Advanced Dialog. The dialog box expands to show advanced settings, as shown in Figure 3. Thumbnails of each photo appear on the left, and advanced options appear on the right.

   

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   Figure 3: Photo Downloader advanced options

10. Click UnCheck All at the bottom of the dialog box. Photoshop Elements deselects every photo. You can now select only the files you want to add to the Organizer.
11. Click the check box for each file you want to get from the camera or data card.

    Notice the advanced options on the right side of the dialog box. The Apply Metadata section includes fields for adding information about your photos. This information isn't visible on the face of the photo. However, it is carried along with the file as you move it from device to device.

12. Enter any additional metadata, such as copyright or the name of the photographer.
13. Click Get Photos. A message tells you when the photos have been copied from the camera or data card to your computer. However, Photoshop Elements hasn't yet indexed them in a catalog.
14. Click OK to index the photos in the Photoshop Elements catalog. A message tells you that you are viewing only the new photos.
15. Click OK to dismiss the message. To view all photos in the Organizer, you can click Show All.
16. Click Show All. Now all photos in the Organizer are shown in the Photo Browser pane on the left of the Organizer workspace.

Where to go from here

If you enjoyed this tutorial, check out these other resources to help get you started using Photoshop Elements.

• Photoshop Elements Essentials for Windows tutorials on lynda.com
• Photoshop Elements shows on Adobe TV
• Photoshop Elements Help and Support
• Touring the Organizer interface
• Viewing photos
• Selecting photos
• Rotating photos
• Hiding and deleting photos
• Moving files

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