6 Options for Maximizing the Camera App’s Use

Previously, we’ve learned some controls and discussed the first three options and tweaks that you can use in editing the pictures that you took using the Camera app but just like all the other modern style apps built-in with every Windows 8.1 machine, there still are some other options and tweaks available that will help you work on video clips and do even more things to the pictures that you took with the app. All of these and some other tips are what we are going to tackle in greater detail on this tutorial.

1. Playing Your Pictures in a Slide Show

Before you can access the option for playing pictures in a slide show, you will first need to access the Camera app by clicking on its tile pinned on the Start Screen. To get familiar with the steps in working with the Camera app, you can read our tutorial that tackles the basics in dealing with the app for novice users. Once you’re able to open the app’s main screen, simply right-click anywhere on the screen and on the App bar that appears at the bottom, click on the option that says “Camera roll” and after doing so, you will be able to access the pictures that you’ve taken with the app.

Once you are able to access the pictures that you have taken with the app, simply right-click on the screen again and the App bar will appear again for the second time but now, it contains a new set of options. From these options, simply look for the one that says “Slide show” and once you find it, simply click or tap on it and the pictures will start playing in a slide show right away.

The slideshow will also play the videos that you took with the Camera app so you can have a complete run down with all the contents that you were able to create with the app.

2. Setting a Photo as Lock Screen Image

If you want your machine to look more personalized then you can use the Camera app in making a picture that you took with it as the Lock Screen image. The Lock Screen feature is a new addition to Windows 8.1 and is not found in any of the previous versions of the operating system. Whenever you open your Windows 8.1 machine, the Lock Screen is what you’re going to see first before you can proceed to the log on screen. To set your picture as the Lock Screen image, simply access the “Camera roll” and look for the image. Once you find it, you will need to right-click on it again and on the App bar that appears at the bottom, simply hit the option that says “Set as lock screen” located beside (to the left) of the “Slide show” option.

3. Open a Photo with a Different Program

The Camera app also offers an option for opening a picture using a different program aside from itself. You might want to do this especially if you’d like to make some advanced editing to a specific photo that you took with the Camera app. To do this, simply look for the photo that you want to edit on a different program by accessing it from the “Camera roll” and once you find it, just right-click on it and click or tap on the “Open with” option that appears on the app bar at the bottom.

After clicking on the “Open with” option, a white box will appear with a list of available programs that can open the photo you selected. From here, simply click on the one that you want to use.

If the program that you want to use does not appear on the list displayed inside the box, you can click on the “More options” link at the bottom and more programs will appear. To see what these programs are, simply use the scroll knob that will also appear at the right edge of the box after you click the “More options” link.

4. Trimming a Video

The Camera app doesn’t only offer options for editing photos but also allows you to do some edits to the videos that you took with it. For  instance, you can make a video become shorter by doing a process called “Trimming”. To do this, simply access the the video that you want to make shorter by getting to the “Camera roll” and once you’re able to access the video, just right-click anywhere on its screen and click on the “Trim” option located at the extreme-right end of the App bar that appears at the bottom.

After doing so, the video control pane will have a knob that will let you adjust the length of the video and choose how long of its playing time will be taken away. Just drag this knob to your desired length of the video and once you’re done adjusting the it, click on the “Save a copy” option at the bottom to finally save a trimmed version of the video itself.

5. Playing a Video with a Different Program

Just like photos, you can also use a different program in playing a video that you have recorded using the Camera app. To do this, simply go to the video’s screen by accessing it from the Camera roll section and once you are on it, you will need to right-click on the screen again to access the App bar and hit the “Open with” option in it.

After clicking on it, a set of options will appear inside a white box where you can simply select the one that you want to use. After clicking on the program of your choice, it will automatically open and play the video which you have selected to be opened.

If the program that you want to use doesn’t appear on the list, you can click on the link that says “More options” at the bottom and you’ll be able to get access to even more programs that can play the video you have selected.

6. Deleting a Photo or Video

Lastly, to effectively manage all your contents that you have taken using the Camera app in your Windows 8.1 machine, you will need to learn how to delete the ones that you don’t already need. To access the “Delete” option, simply access the “Camera roll” section and look for the photo or video that you want to delete. Once you find it, just right-click anywhere on the screen and hit the “Delete” option that appears on the App bar at the bottom.

To get back to the Camera mode, you can simply click or tap on the option that says “Camera” located at the extreme-left end of the App bar.

Do More with One Single App

As you can see, the Camera app allows you to do not just taking photos or recording videos but you can also editing them using some simple tools that are built-in with it. In our next tutorial, we will be discussing the steps involved in editing, cropping and doing some edits to the photos that you took with the app so you can finally master and use it every time!