uploading troubles

Your permissions are probably not set right on the uploads or even the wp-content folder.

Using a program like filezilla

connect to your ftp
right click the wp-content folder
select permissions
and make sure they are set properly (775)

ill try that, thanks!

Try changing the permissions on the wp-content directory to 766. If you still have problems, try 767, 775 or 777. Once your uploads are working, change the permissions on wp-content back to 755 again and check that everything still works OK.
https://codex.www.ads-software.com/Changing_File_Permissions

how do i get to the wp-content directory?

ok

Did you read the page at the link I posted above?

I still get the error message… even after changing the permissions.

Did you change permissions on the right folder?
Do you have a pre-existing uploads folder? If “yes”, is it populated?