With Windows 8, Microsoft’s operating system for laptops, tablets, and desktop computers, one of the things hardware makers have thrown away was the Camera. In doing so, the company may have created some confusion before, but the results speak for themselves. Taking a selfie or taking a quick photo with a Windows 8 device with a webcam is now easier than ever before. Here’s how.
Starting the Camera App from the Start Screen
Until Windows 8, Windows-based laptops and desktops never had a Microsoft-made photography experience. Instead, users relied on a mix of third-party apps that hardware manufacturers like Dell and Lenovo partnered with software companies to install on the devices they sold.
The camera app is installed on every Windows 8 device and anyone can use the Windows 8 Camera app whenever they want. Press the Windows button on your laptop or desktop computer’s keyboard to find it. Tablet users should press the Windows button next to their device’s screen.
Most Windows device manufacturers include the Camera app in their list of pre-installed apps. Search for it on the Start Screen and you’ll probably find it pinned somewhere. It is the circle seen in our example in the lower left corner.
Often times, the Camera app is not pinned to the Start Screen at all. Relax, that doesn’t mean it’s still not installed on your machine. If you are a tablet or desktop user, click the arrow in the lower left corner to open the list of applications installed on your machine. Tablet users should place their fingers anywhere on the Start Screen and look for the Camera app in the list of installed apps.
From the Lock Screen
In the free Windows 8.1 update, Microsoft added the ability for Windows 8 tablets to open the Camera app from the Windows 8 lock screen without having to unlock their device. To do this, turn on your Windows 8 tablet, place your finger anywhere on the Start Screen and swipe up instead.
Using the Camera App
Taking Photos and Videos
Once you open the Windows 8 camera app, it’s time to start recording your life with it.
Opening the app immediately activates your device’s camera. There is no real shutter button on the screen. Instead, touch users can tap their screen to take a photo.
Switching between taking a video or a picture is as simple as tapping one of the two buttons in the corner of your screen.
There isn’t much users can do to tweak their device’s settings to get a better view. In fact, the only thing most users with Windows 8 devices can do to make their photos look better before they are taken is to change the Exposure. Tablet users should rest their fingers on their screen and swipe up to reveal the button to adjust the exposure. Mouse and keyboard users can right-click anywhere. to see this option. There’s also a timer there if you want to pose before the camera app takes a shot.
Looking at Photos and Videos You’ve Taken Before
Once you’ve taken good photos, you’ll want to look at them. That’s where the Camera app’s Camera Roll comes in.
On touch tablets and devices, placing and swiping your finger anywhere brings up previously taken photos. Mouse and keyboard users should search one of their screens to take them to old photos taken with the Camera app.
Editing Pictures
The Camera app for Windows 8 is not only more useful and easier to use than third-party utilities. It also includes some lightweight editing tools that users who don’t have other editing tools will find very useful.
After you take a picture, check it out in Camera Roll. Touch users should place their finger on the bottom edge of the screen and then slowly slide their finger to reveal another App Bar similar to the previous one. Laptop and desktop users should right-click on images they have already taken to reveal this application bar.
Basic options to add effects, rotate, crop and get rid of red eyes are included in the photo app. The app also includes two additional effects: Vignette and a selective focus tool that allows users to blur everything around a particular subject in their photos for a bit of added artistic value. Users can also set a picture they have just taken as the lock screen background from here. Unfortunately, setting a picture as the Desktop or Start Screen background requires users to revert to the Desktop interface that previously dominated Windows.
If you’re an average user, the Camera app in Windows 8 is probably all you need to start taking and editing photos. It’s not a complete replacement for editing software like Photoshop Express, but it lets you do basic edits and take photos just fine.
