Assignment 2: Self-Portrait & Camera Procedures

This second photography assignment was intended to make us tap into our creative abilities by charging us with the task of taking self-portraits of ourselves with a digital camera. 

This is my favorite amongst the group of self-portraits I took as I believe it is is the most representative of me: a true food lover who adores not only eating but the art of cooking as well. I took this picture using my DSLR with a ten second timer giving me just enough time to position myself for the shot. Although most of the portraits were taken with the use of a tripod, this photograph was taken with the camera at rest on the table. 

The following are the list of steps I took in order to get my photos from my camera onto a Picasa web album:

1. I began by taking my self-portraits with my Sony Alpha DSLR.


2. Next, I connected my camera to my Mac computer via a USB cable.


3. As always, when I turned my camera on,my Mac detected that a camera was connected and it launched the iPhoto application that then prompted me with a message asking me which I photos I wished to import.


4. I selected the batch of 100 photos or so that I had taken earlier that day and hit the "import" button.


5. Once the pictures were imported, I sorted through them and chose my favorites. After doing so, I exported my top picks onto a USB stick into a designated folder entitled "Self-portraits".


6. The next step required getting my photos onto Picasa so that I could upload them onto Picasa web albums. 


7. I launched the Picasa application from my desktop and it immediately recognized the pictures that were on my USB stick and imported them into the program.


8. I retouched my images slightly in Picasa until they were to my liking. I then proceeded to create a new album entitled "Self-Portraits" by hitting the small button that looks like a book with an addition sign (located near the top menu). After creating my album I dragged and dropped my ten photos into it.


9. Next I right-clicked on the album I had just created and chose "Upload to Picasa Web Albums" at which point I was prompted with a message to provide my Google account ID. I did so and then simply hit the "Upload" button. The process was rather quick: taking no longer than a minute to complete the upload.


10. Finally I logged onto Picasa on the Internet and just as expected my newly created album had been posted to my account. 


All of my self-portraits can be viewed simply by clicking here.