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Tuesday 15th March 2022 at 16:37 By Rob |
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We are often asked what's the easiest and quickest way to copy photos from a camera or phone so that they can be easily edited and then uploaded to your website.
Whilst using a computer to upload items to your website isn't the only way (you can always do it from your phone or tablet), it is still the preferred way for a variety of reasons we'll cover shortly.
Have a read through our article below showing you the quickest and easiest ways to get photos from your camera or phone onto your computer so you can put them on your website. This article is longer than most so we've seperated into sections below for your convenience.
Click to jump down to the relevant section
1) Why copy photos to a computer?
2) Managing your website on a computer VS a phone or tablet
3) Cameras - getting photos onto your computer
4) iPhone - gettings photos onto your computer
5) Android phones - getting photos onto your computer
There a number of reasons why you might want to copy your photos from your camera or phone to your computer. Here are a few:
a) To edit the photos in photo editing software
b) To upload to your website easily
c) To free up space on your phone or camera
d) For backup
e) So you have them handy to easily attach to an email to a customer
If you have your own website (or are thinking of getting one) then a lot of websites these days (including our website designs) can be managed from a phone, tablet, or computer. So why would you even want to use a computer to manage your website if you can just do it on your phone?
Here's a few reasons:-
a) If you take photos on your phone then copying them to your computer first allows you to edit them in photo editing software before uploading to your website
b) When adding items (stock) to your website you'll need to add a description. It's usually quicker and easier to type this on a proper keyboard than on a phone. So having pictures of your stock on your computer ready to upload helps with this.
c) We recommend as best practice to add as much information as possible when adding items to your website. Information like a detailed description, dimensions and multiple pictures not only gives visitors the info they need but it can be beneficial for Google rankings too.
So whilst you can just take photos on your phone and upload them straight to your website, there are important benefits to copying them to your computer first and adding items on your computer.
If you use a standalone camera (eg not a camera that's on your phone) like a compact camera, a DSLR or mirrorless camera then there's a few ways to copy the photos you take onto your computer.
Our favourite and the easiest.
Most cameras have a removable memory card which will either be an SD card, Micro SD card, or Compact Flash card.
A lot of computers these days (including the MacBook above) have got a built in card reader so it's as simple as putting the memory card in the slot and then it will show up on your computer.
If you don't have a memory card reader built into your computer then they're cheap to buy. Have a look on Amazon for "SD card reader" or "Compact flash card reader" depending on which type you have.
Usually the second easiest, but it can sometimes be a bit convoluted.
Simply take the USB cable which came with your camera and plug one end into the camera and the other into your computer.
If you have a computer without a USB port and instead uses the more modern USB C, then you can buy a USB to USB C adapter quite cheaply from places like Amazon or ebay.
If you use Microsoft Windows, then usually once you've plugged the camera in it will show up as a drive/folder in Windows Explorer (aka "My Computer").
If you use an Apple Mac, then it will show up as a device in Finder on the left. Alternatively you can use Apple's Image Capture software.
Or, for more detailed instructions, please see the following:-
Canon
Nikon
Sony
Some cameras now allow you to transfer photos wirelessly to your computer.
But, and this is a big BUT, in our experience we've always found that this method is hard to get set up, unreliable, and time consuming. We're passionate believers that computers and the web should be easy (it's the whole premise behind our company), so whilst this is an option we wouldn't necessarily recommend it just because it's not easy.
In terms of how to do a wireless transfer, this varies greatly depending on the type of camera you're using. We recommend consulting the manual for your particular make and model of camera for further information.
Windows 7 & 8
Windows 10 & 11
Option 1) Using a USB cable
Further info from the Apple website here - https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT201302
Option 2) Using iCloud
This is probably one of the easiest methods as it doesn't require you to plug any cables in and you can do it with your feet up on the sofa; we like easy!
The caveat is that if you have more than 5GB of photos and videos (which you most likely do as 5GB isn't much these days for photos) you'll need to upgrade your plan with Apple. Personally we find it good value for money in the respect that if your photos are backed up to the cloud then even if your phone gets broken, lost or stolen then you'll have your photos. At the time of writing, plans range from £0.79 to £6.99 per month ($0.99 to $9.99 USD or €0.99 to €9.99 euros). You can find more info on Apple's website here.
Step 1 - Enable iCloud Photo Library on your iPhone (or iPad)
Step 2 - Enable it on your Mac
Note
Other methods & info
You may also find the following resources handy:-
Android phones cover pretty much any non Apple phone; eg Samsung, Huawei, Google, Sony, OnePlus, Moto etc. Android refers to the software these phones run (aka the "operating system"). The Android operating system is actually made by Google which is why a lot of Google's services (such as Google photos) integrate pretty seemlessly with Android phones in the same way that Apple iPhoto integrates seemlessly with the iPhone.
Option 1)
Copying photos to your computer using Google Photos
This is personally our favourite method.
We usually find it better value for money than Apple iPhoto as prices range from free (for 15gb) to £7.99 / $9.99 per month. You can find pricing here:-
https://one.google.com/about/plans
If you have a Google account set up on your Android phone and Google Photos enabled then each time you take a photo then your photo will be saved on the cloud using Google Photos. This is great for a couple of reasons. First; it means your photos are backed up to the cloud if your phone is lost, broken or stolen. Second, it makes it easier to copy the photos to your computer!
Option 2)
Copying photos to your computer using a USB cable
Further information
This article covers the main ways of copying photos from your camera, phone or tablet to your computer but it is not a complete list. There are many other methods however we have focused on what is EASY. Life is too short to spend your life slaving away in front of a computer; after all computers were invented to make our lives easier and not the other way around.
Everything we do as a company is focused on making things easy. That's why as part of our website design setup process we'll show you how to easily add items to your website and how to easily upload your pictures. Regardless of whether you're a technophone or techie genius, we'll help you get online quickly and easily.
* Pricing is correct at time of writing
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