What You Need to Know
The first step in this process is obvious: Actually take a photograph. Since digital cameras (and smartphones) don’t use film, you can take as many photographs as you wish at no cost whatsoever. So go out and click away, practice, try different angles, lighting, and camera settings, and take a lot of pictures. It’s free!
As an alternative to using a digital camera, try your cell phone or smartphone. Many smartphones—such as Apple’s iPhone 4S and various Android-based devices—can rival the quality of a good digital camera, and have as high as 10 megapixels, but they do lack other useful features, such as optical zoom and macro mode (for extreme close-ups). You can also use your digital video camera set to still photography mode.
Next, transfer your photographs from your camera to your computer. The cable (usually USB) and software, if you need it, will have been provided to you by the camera manufacturer. If you are using a film camera, then you can have your photo processor deliver your photos in a digital format or store them on a CD. If you want to share older photos that have already been printed on photo paper, then you will need to digitize them using a flatbed scanner. If you still have the negatives for those photographs, then you can save time and effort by having your photo processor print from the negative directly to a digital CD.
Once you’ve finished transferring, you can use a variety of software to crop, brighten or darken, sharpen, correct red ...
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