Pictures in Windows 8

This time we bring to our space Welcome to Windows 8 information about the possibilities that this operating system offers the user natively when working with images For this, we have the applications Photos and Camera, which allow us to view and capture our images with great ease.

The fact that we talk exclusively about these two does not mean that they are the only ones available. In the Windows 8 Store we can find a wide variety of applications that offer features similar to those presented here, allowing the user to choose from a wide range of possibilities.

Camera, to capture the best moments

Windows 8 has a standard account with the Camera application, which allows us to capture images and videos from a camera built into our device, as well as from a webcam connected to our PC.

As soon as the application is opened, it will show us what our camera is capturing. Taking a screenshot or starting recording is as easy as tapping on the screen or left-clicking Sliding your finger up or down (right-clicking if using the mouse), the available options will appear at the bottom right.

In camera options we can change the photo resolution (or video if we are in video mode), the capture device audio, image stabilizer if available, brightness, contrast, exposure, etc.

The timer option will activate a countdown of 3 seconds from when we trigger the camera capture, which will be visible at all times by above the image. Finally, video mode will change the recording method so we can start capturing videos instead of photos.

To see the files saved with the camera, just slide your finger from the left to the right, or click on the date that appears on the left side of the screen.

When we are viewing a saved photo or video, if we bring up the lower menu, we will see that the crop and delete options now appear.

If what we are looking at is a photo, Crop will allow us to select an area of ​​the image and discard the rest, to save only our selection. If we are watching a video, we can choose a time interval for it and save it.

Photos, our image store

With an application to take photos and videos, we could not miss another that allows us to manage these files easily, wherever they are. And it is that the Photos application not only allows us to manage those that are located in our Library Images folder, but also we can synchronize with those saved in SkyDrive, Facebook, Flickr and any of the devices who are in our HomeGroup

We also have the option to import images from any device we have connected to our PC, and the images we select will be copied to our Image Library. This option is available in the lower menu of the application.

If we enter a category, the folders that are in it will be shown as rectangles, whether they are the ones we have on our PC or those created in cloud services such as SkyDrive, together with a preview of an image inside.

We can also click on the "-" symbol in the lower right corner to see all the folders in a smaller way, and avoid having to scroll to the right in those groups where we have many , and the same while we are directly viewing the images inside a folder.

Folders can be sorted by date, an option available in the lower menu, as well as the Import option that I mentioned before.

If what we are seeing are images, the following options will appear in said menu.

The presentation mode will show us all the images of the folder in which we are automatically, with an interval of 4 seconds between each one.

The option select all allows us, as its name indicates, to select all the images that we are viewing. When selecting one or more images, the lower menu will show us new options on the left, which allow us to undo the selection of images (Delete selection) or delete all the selected ones, as well as information on the number selected.

We can also select images individually by right-clicking on them or holding down our finger on touch screens on which we want to select.

If we right click on one of them, or press and hold on touch screens, we will go to full screen view of that image.From here we can move between the different images by sliding our finger to the left to go back, or to the right to go forward (using a mouse we can do the same with the arrows that appear on both sides of the screen).

Here, the lower menu allows us to perform various actions with the image we are viewing, such as the presentation option with the same function as the previously commented one, or eliminate the one we are seeing.

In addition, we can establish it as an image for the lock screen, as an icon for the Photos application, or for the background of said application which is displayed upon entering.

There is also the rotate option, which for each press or click that we make on it will rotate the image 45 degrees to the right.And finally, the crop option, which will bring our image into edit view, from which we can choose an aspect ratio for the crop selection from those that are available (original, panoramic, square, 4:3) or personalized, which would be free selection.