Click on a photo to open the Photos section of the Control Panel:
See the function descriptions below for more details.
Click on this icon or choose Insert > Add Photo from the menu to add a new photo to the current album page. See Adding Photos for more information.
Click on this button to add a mat (a border or frame around a photo) to a photo, or to edit an existing mat.
In the Mat Properties dialog:
• To remove the mat from a photo, clear the check in the box next to Enable Mat.
• Drag the Size slider to change the size of the mat (the numbers represent the width of the mat in pixels).
• Click on the Color square or the Change... button to choose a color for the mat. See the Choose Color topic for more information on choosing colors.
• Click on the Apply to all photos: On this page box to add a mat with the same settings to each of the photos on the current page.
• Click on the Apply to all photos: In this album box to add a mat with the same settings to all photos on every page in the album.
• The Remove button is another method for removing the mat from the selected photo. This method also allows you to remove mats from all photos in the album or all photos on the page. After clicking the Remove button, click on your choice in the new window that appears.
• Click OK to apply the mat.
Click on this button to add a shadow to a photo, or to edit a photo's existing shadow. A shadow makes the photo stand out and gives it a sense of depth on the page.
In the Shadow Properties dialog:
• Ensure that the Enable Shadow box is checked. Clear the check in the box to remove the shadow.
• Use the Opacity slider to affect how dark or light the shadow is.
• Use the Blur slider to increase or decrease the sharpness of the shadow's edge.
• Click on the Color box or the Change... button to choose the shadow's color. See Choose Color for more information on choosing colors.
• Click on the shadow in the area to the top right and hold the mouse button while dragging to adjust the shadow's placement. You may also use the arrow keys on the keyboard to nudge the shadow.
• Click on the Reset to Default button to clear the current settings.
• Click on the Save as Default button to save the current settings as the default.
• Click on the Apply to all photos: On this page box to add a shadow with the same settings to each of the photos on the current page.
• Click on the Apply to all photos: In this album box to add a shadow with the same settings to all photos on every page in the album.
• The Remove button is another method for removing the shadow. This method allows you to remove shadows from all photos in the album, all photos on the page, or the selected photo. After clicking the Remove button, select your choice in the new window that appears.
• Click OK to place the shadow.
Click on the Box icon to add a new photo box to the page. The photo box will appear in the center of the page. You can then drag it to a new location, resize it, or fill it.
Note: The difference between this and the Add Photo function is that if you delete a photo from the page that you added by filling a photo box, the photo box will remain (allowing you to maintain the layout and fill the box with another photo). On the other hand, if you delete a photo that was added using the Add Photo function, no photo box will remain.
Use this tool to display the desired part of a photo.
1. With a photo selected, click on the Crop icon from Photos in the Control Panel. The Crop window opens with the photo in it.
2. If the photo is already cropped, it will show the current crop area. Skip to step 3. If the photo does not have a currently defined crop area, the mouse cursor becomes a crosshair. Position the crosshair, then click and hold the mouse button down while dragging the mouse to define the crop area, and release the mouse button.
3. You can drag the crop area around by clicking on it and holding down the mouse button as you move the mouse. You can also increase or decrease the crop area size by clicking on the box with the arrows at the bottom right corner of the crop region and holding the mouse button down as you drag the mouse.
4. To start over, or to display the entire photo, click on the Clear Crop button in the bottom left corner of the window.
5. When you are satisfied with your crop area selection, click on the OK button. The grayed out parts of the photo will not be shown on the page. Your photo will be the same size as the crop area and will not resize to fit a photo box (if originally added from a template).
This tool allows you to adjust the position of the photo within the crop area without reopening the Crop Photo window. Click on an arrow to nudge the photo in the direction of the arrow. Clicking on the corners of the icon will nudge the photo diagonally.
Note: This tool will have no effect if the photo is not cropped.
Red eye is the undesired effect that causes the irises of a person's eye to appear red in a photograph. To reduce this effect:
1. With a photo selected, click on the Red Eye icon under the Photos heading in the Control Panel.
2. The red eye reduction tool will open in a new window.
3. Click on the area of the photo where the red eye appears, hold down the mouse button, and drag a rectangle over the affected area.
4. When you release the mouse button, a light gray rectangle will indicate the area you have selected. The area does not need to be exact, as long as you do not include any portion of the photo with red that you would like to keep (lips, red earrings, red shirt, etc.).
5. The Red Sensitivity slider determines the reduction tool's interpretation of red. The higher the slider setting, the broader the interpretation (more shades of red will be replaced). Start by using low settings (2 or 3) and increase as needed.
6. Checking the Round Shape Filter box will limit red replacement to circular areas (recommended). Removing the check will replace all the red in the selection area, regardless of shape.
7. The Reset Photo button returns the photo to its original state (before any red eye reduction).
8. After choosing your settings, click on the Remove Red button. It may take a few moments for My Memories Suite to process the red eye reduction.
The reduction tool may be used several times while the window is open. When you are finished, click OK to apply the changes or Cancel to exit the window without keeping the changes.
These buttons allow you to increase or decrease the amount of the photo that is shown, while maintaining the photo's size. Click on the plus icon to make a portion of the photo larger (zoom in). Click on the minus icon to display more of the photo (zoom out).
This feature makes it easy to correct photos that were taken in different orientations (portrait and landscape) so that everything is right side up. The left button rotates the photo 90° counter-clockwise, and the right button rotates it 90° clockwise.
Click on this button to open the Add Photo Effect dialog. Click on an effect to preview it.
• Black & White — Transforms a color photo into a black and white photo.
• Sepia — Applies a brown and white coloration to the photo like early 20th century photographs.
• Blue — Applies blue coloration to the photo.
• Red — Applies red coloration to the photo.
• Brighten — Moves the balance of light and dark shades in the photo more toward the light shades.
• Darken — Moves the balance of light and dark shades in the photo more toward the dark shades.
• Mirror — Turns the photo around horizontally, as if you were seeing it in a mirror.
• Flip — Turns the photo upside down.
• Blur — Softens the focus, reducing the definition of the photo.
• Sharpen — Increases the focus, or definition, of the photo.
• Negative — Reverses the colors in a photo, as if viewing a film/photo negative.
• Gamma Correction — Changes the brightness values of the gray tones without dramatically altering the shadows and highlights.
• Emboss — Makes the photo look like foil has been placed over the photo, sculpted to the photo's contours, and then colorized.
• Sketch — Simulates a pencil drawing of the photo.
• Impressionist Painting — Gives the photo an artistic, brushed look.
• Fish Eye — Simulates the photo through a fisheye lens, a lens that distorts photos to make the middle portion of the photo appear larger and the outer edges smaller.
• Choosing some effects will activate the Effect Amount slider. Drag this to increase or decrease the amount of the selected effect.
• Click the Apply button to add the effect to the photo. You can add more effects after clicking Apply.
• Click OK once you have finished applying effects.
By default, the Photo Shape is a square/rectangle. To change the Photo Shape, click on this button and choose a new shape.
After selecting a photo shape, if you would like to modify the shape without affecting the photo, click on the Crop button (instead of using the gray boxes on the sides and corners of the photo).
To rotate a photo, drag the slider to set the angle of rotation. The number in the box at the top right will show the angle in degrees. Negative numbers represent counter-clockwise rotation. You may also type the angle of rotation in the box by clicking in the box, entering the number, and hitting Enter (Return on the Mac) on the keyboard.
This allows you to make photos semi-transparent (the original state of the photo is 100% opaque — not transparent at all). Drag the slider to the left to make a photo more transparent or drag the slider to the right to make a photo more opaque (less transparent).
Clicking on this button will bring up the Object Settings dialog, which allows you to make exact adjustments to the size and location of the photo.
Click on the up or down arrows next to each field, or select a number and type in a new value to change the settings.
• X — Changes the horizontal position of the selected object.
• Y — Changes the vertical position of the selected object.
• Width — Changes the width of the selected object.
• Height — Changes the height of the selected object.
• Keep Proportions — When checked, this option automatically adjusts the photo properties (as you change the width or height) to keep it from becoming distorted, such as looking stretched or squished. If you change the width, the height will also be adjusted to maintain the proportions of the photo, and vice versa. Clear the check to allow stretching.
Click on this button to put a different photo in the place of a current photo. See Adding Photos for instructions. The new photo will inherit the size, position, and photo shape of the current photo.
Clicking on this button will delete the selected photo. If the photo was originally a photo box, the photo box will remain in place of the deleted photo. You can select the photo box and delete it also.