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This article is from April 17, 2001, and is no longer current.

Photoshop Elements: Almost-Photoshop Image Editing at a Bargain Price

Adobe‘s image-editing product line has always addressed the high and low ends of the market place well, with Photoshop dominating among professionals and PhotoDeluxe targeting consumers. But with the exception of Photoshop LE (for “Limited Edition”) bundled with select desktop scanners and digital cameras, Adobe has largely ignored the mid-level marketplace.

All that has changed with the introduction of Adobe Photoshop Elements. As the name implies, Elements is based in large part on Photoshop — specifically, Photoshop 6.0. Its low, $99 price (compared to Photoshop’s $600 street price), its almost-Photoshop image-editing feature set, and its more helpful interface are meant to entice photo enthusiasts and small-business users.


Adobe Photoshop Elements adds some helpful new interface elements but retains much of the look and feel of Photoshop.

We were amazed at just how many of Photoshop’s features found their way into Elements. The new Photoshop variant includes the full complement of Photoshop filters, ranging from artistic effects (like Fresco) to image enhancement filters (like Unsharp Mask) to a filter that lets you move pixels around like wet paint (Liquefy). And in addition to standard image-editing functions such as selection tools and multiple layers, Elements boasts advanced features including adjustable layers (to correct tonal and color imbalances) and editable layer effects (think of things like drop shadows and bevels).

If you dig a little deeper you can access even more advanced compositing functions, such as the ability to change the blending mode or to edit layer masks manually. Many of Photoshop’s long standing features — such as the History palette (which allows users to roll back to a previous state of the current editing session) and the Variations dialog box (which provides point-and-click color correction) are especially useful for Elements’ audience. And all Photoshop plug-ins pertaining to RGB files should work just fine with Elements.

Look and Feel
The underlying image-editing engine is pure Photoshop, and Elements shares many interface elements with Photoshop. For example, Elements sports the same tabbed and dockable palettes, and key functions like Navigator and History are identical in both programs. You can even regain workspace by collapsing unused palettes in the palette well at the top of the screen. But Adobe has tweaked the Elements interface to make the program’s functions more accessible to the casual user. For example, instead of requiring a neophyte to understand how the Levels command can correct under- and overexposures, Elements provides two functions — called Fill Flash and Backlighting — that accomplish the same thing with much less hassle. Those users who understand the concepts of shadow, mid-tone, and highlight tonal values can still drill down in the menu structure to find the standard full-featured Levels dialog box.


Visual browsers such as the Effects palette shown here let users choose items based on a thumbnail representation. The photo frame shown here was created by dragging a predefined Effect onto the image. Notice the History palette, which details all of the actions performed by the Effect.

Many of the new interface features come in the form of helpful hints. For example, the Quick Start screen gives users explicit choices such as acquiring an image from a scanner or digital camera, starting a new blank picture, or pasting the contents of the clipboard. Likewise, there are visual browsers that let users choose image files and filter effects based on thumbnail representations. Of less use is the new Hints palette, which occupies too much screen space and provides only cursory information.

Several of the interface improvements have potential as true learning tools. For example, Recipes provide step-by-step instructions for common tasks, such as adjusting hue and saturation or removing dust and scratches. Users can manually follow each direction or click the “Do It For Me” button to automate selected tasks. We were especially impressed with Elements’ collection of Effects (not to be confused with filters). Experienced Photoshop users will recognize that Effects are nothing more than repackaged Actions. Effects provide an easy way to perform complex tasks, such as creating photo-frames or generating realistic textures. But savvy users can invoke an Effect and then browse through the History palette to see exactly how the effect was created.

New Tricks
Elements is not merely a subset of Photoshop. In several instances, Adobe has added features to make common image-editing tasks easier for the average user. For example, there is now a specific brush to remove red eye, as well as a one-click command to crop and straighten skewed scans.

The PhotoMerge feature is especially intriguing. This function opens all of the image files in a designated folder and stitches them together to form a panorama, by intelligently matching overlapping image areas. It isn’t perfect — there are no controls to compensate for different exposures between the segments, for example — but it does offer some advanced features, including the ability to set a single vanishing point for all of the images in order to create a seamless, coherent vista.


The PhotoMerge command in Elements can create seamless large-format images by intelligently merging multiple image files.

Out of Java
If your primary focus is Web graphics, you’ll find that Elements offers only basic output options. You can generate GIF, JPEG, or PNG images and use a side-by-side preview window to compare trade-offs in quality and file size. Simple GIF animations can also be created by converting each layer of a multi-layer file to a separate frame. But don’t expect advanced Web-graphics functions such as JavaScript rollovers or image slicing in this low-end product. Adobe has reserved those functions for its flagship bundle of Photoshop and ImageReady.

Adobe does sweeten the pot a little by allowing you to upload images directly to the Web (via a partnership with Shutterfly). And like Photoshop, Elements can automatically generate an HTML-based Web photo gallery. Still, if you’re looking for a low-end tool that can handle a wide variety of Web-graphics chores, you’re much better off with Jasc Paint Shop Pro or Ulead PhotoImpact.

What’s Missing
There are several important high-end Photoshop functions that Adobe has not included in Elements. But in truth only power users would ever notice that Elements does not offer channel operations, bezier drawing tools, or vector clipping paths. And in our opinion, these features would be inappropriate for a non-professional audience. One key omission that will keep many print types keyed into the real McCoy: Elements does not support CMYK images. If you want to generate high-quality, 4-color pictures for commercial offset printing, you’ll still need Photoshop.

Sizing It Up
Adobe Photoshop Elements is a great bargain. It provides a majority of Photoshop’s features and all of Photoshop’s superior image quality at a fraction of the cost, making it a compelling choice for home users, photo enthusiasts, and small-business users. And it’s similar enough to Photoshop to make it a good stepping-stone solution. Two classes of bargain hunters will need to look elsewhere: those who need lots of advanced Web-graphics capabilities and those who need to generate CMYK images for print.

 

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