 Product Review: Adobe
Photoshop Elements 9
If you've always wanted to work with Adobe Photoshop, but you
found it too intimidating, or if you currently don't have the cash
flow to invest in the high-end version, Adobe Photoshop Elements 9
(Adobe Photoshop's little sibling), is the perfect solution. If you
are currently a Photoshop Elements enthusiast, and/or a Mac user,
Adobe Photoshop Elements 9 is a "must have" upgrade.
Adobe Photoshop Elements is a powerful editing tool for your
photos, as well as a time-saving way to organize all of the images
on your computer. Once your images are organized and edited,
Photoshop Elements 9 also gives you several new options to present
and share your photos and images.
Â
Adobe Photoshop Elements 9 Welcoming Screen
Organizer
Adobe Elements is divided into two parts: the Organizer and the
Editor. The Organizer has always been an essential part of
Photoshop Elements, and now, with version 9, Mac users can take
full advantage of the Organizer. As in past versions, "tagging" is
an important part of categorizing your image catalog. The tagging
features allow users to identify, People, Places and Events; as
well as attach star ratings to individual photos and/or image
thumbnails. The Organizer then provides you with the option to
choose specific tags or ratings that you wish to individually
view.
Organizing your photos and images has never been easier
The Integrated Map is another feature that is not new, but is
still fun. It's especially useful for taking photographs while on
holiday. The Integrated Map allows you to drag a photo onto a
location, where pushpins appear with thumbnails of photos taken at
that location.
Within the Organizer, you can also do a minimal amount of
editing, using the auto-fixing and cropping tools. Autofix does as
its name indicates; automatically adjusting lighting and color
(with a slider that gives you additional control of the auto
function). Also, the red-eye removing tool worked well with a
little tweaking. In future versions, I wish they would include a
red-eye fix for animals, not just people (as well as face
recognition for animals).
Within the Organizer, you can do a minimal amount of
editing
The downside: organizing takes time. Not unlike cleaning a
cluttered house. However, once you are organized it is a true
time-saver to locate specific images, especially if you are like me
and have images/photos scattered throughout your hard drive.
As computer performances rise, and prices drop, more users are
working on 64-bit monster machines. Unfortunately, Elements 9 is
still a 32-bit application. This can cause the Organizer to crawl,
rather than race, when initially organizing your images. Yet,
getting organized is a vital part of the Elements software for both
Photoshop Elements 9 and Premiere Elements 9.
Editor
As in previous versions, Adobe Photoshop Elements 9 offers three
edit options: Full Edit, Quick Fix, and Guided Edit.
Three edit options: Full Edit, Guided Edit and Quick Fix
One of the more exciting new features in this version is the
ability to work in layers. As anyone who has ever worked in
Photoshop knows, utilizing layers is an invaluable artistic tool,
allowing for complex editing. Layers also provide you with the
options to work and view individual layers, as you combine
different elements in each layer for your final composition. Along
with layers, Photoshop Elements 9 now also offers the advanced
editing features of Masks.
Create Layers and Masks in "Full Edit"
New to both Photoshop CS5 and Photoshop Elements 9, is
Content-aware Fill (located within the healing brush tool).With
Content-aware Fill, you select an area or object within a photo
that you want to remove. Then Photoshop analyzes the surrounding
area, filling the missing gaps. As with all new features, a lot of
practice mixed with an equal amount of patience, will garner you
the perfect (or near perfect) results.
Looking for the fun factor? New to Photoshop Elements 9 is a Fun
Edit library: Pop Art, Reflections, Portrait Effects, and two of my
favorites: "Lomo Camera Style Photography Effect" and "Out of
Bounds."
Lomo Camera Style Photography Effect created in "Guided Edit,"
applies an "other-worldly" effect to your image
"Out of Bounds" created in "Guided Edit," does just as its name
implies. It allows the user to create an image that goes beyond the
photo's original edge, utilizing Photoshop Elements 9s new Layers
and Masks functions.
The Pop Art effect, created in "Guided Edit," has two options:
convert image to Bitmap and add red, blue, green, yellow, or
Posterize your image and add colors with a neon glow. Either
conversion gives your image an Andy Warhol Pop Art effect.
The Reflection effect, created in "Guided Edit," allows you to
create a variety of mirror reflective effects.
On their surface, each of the above Fun Edits appears to be
nothing more than a quick and easy, point and click function.
However, if you open the finished image into Full Edit and click on
the layers functions, you may be surprised to see just how
complicated, and how many layers and masks were applied to each
image.
Although it is not a new feature, Photomerge (another one of my
favorite features) has been enhanced. Photomerge allows for
seamless merging of elements within a photograph, as well as
adjusting the varying exposures within the photo, or combination of
photos. Photomerge also allows you to match a style of your
favorite artist, and apply that style to your photograph.
Of course, anyone who has ever tried to take "the perfect group
shot," will appreciate Photomerge, as it can replace a smile on a
grumpy face, or open closed eyes. For family gatherings, this
feature alone would make Adobe Photoshop Elements 9 an essential
tool for your digital editing arsenal.
Presenting and Sharing
Now that you have organized and edited your photographs, you may
wonder, what now? Adobe answers that question with not only a
reasonable answer, but a fun one as well. Within Photoshop
Elements' grab bag of goodies, you'll discover easy and fun ways to
unleash your creative side with a variety of templates for:
calendars, greeting cards, collages, stamps, slide shows, video
CDs, online albums, photo books, photo layouts and scrapbook
pages.
My favorite option is the Photo Book creator. Once you have
composed your photos in book format, you can then easily and
conveniently upload your composition to be bond and printed into a
professional book format. This is an excellent idea for gift
giving.
Once your creative side has been satisfied, you can then export
your creations instantly from within Adobe Photoshop Elements 9 to
a plethora of social media outlets (Facebook, Flicker, etc.).
Also, don't overlook the option of storing your photos on
Photoshop.com, with its 2GB of free online storage (additional
storage is also available at a reasonable yearly rate).
In Conclusion
Compared to past versions, there are not a lot of new bells and
whistles in version 9, but the new and enhanced features are well
worth the upgrade. If you are new to Adobe Photoshop Elements, you
won't be disappointed. Many of the editing features that are within
Adobe Photoshop, are also included within Photoshop Elements 9
(plus some features that are unique to Elements 9) making this a
must have editing software for your creative library.
Adobe Photoshop Elements 9 produces professional results, even
for the novice photographer or scrapbooking enthusiast. Adobe
Photoshop Elements 9 is the little program with a big heart; and
reasonably priced to meet any budding artist's budget.
New and Enhanced Features
- Organizer now available for Mac users
- Instantly un-clutter and repair photos
- In Organizer, enhanced performance of the auto-analyzer and
people recognition features
- Layers and Masks
- New Guided Edits (Lomo, Out of Bounds, Perfect Portrait, Pop
Art, Reflection)
- Content-aware Fill, Panorama PhotoMerge, Photomerge Style
Match
- Basic and Advanced modes for creations
- Editing raw image files for highest quality
- Additional printing options
- New direct-share options for your photos and videos (Facebook,
Flickr, YouTube etc.)
- Print a variety of items with your home printer
- Additional help menus and tutorials
Adobe Photoshop Elements 9 Plus
- Automatic online backup
- 20GB of online photo and video storage
- Exclusive tutorials, tips and tricks delivered regularly to
your software
- Exclusive artwork, templates, and Online Albums delivered
regularly to your software
- Automatic syncing of your photos and video clips on multiple
computers
- Access to your photos and videos online at Photoshop.com
- A personal access URL for sharing your photo and video
albums
OS Compatibility Windows Vista, Windows XP, Mac
OS, Windows 7
Retail Price:
- Full Version: $99.99
- Adobe Photoshop Elements 9 Plus: $119.99
- Bundle with Adobe Premiere Elements: $139.99
- 30-day Trial Version: Free
We invite you to explore:
• Adobe Photoshop Elements 9
• Review of Adobe Photoshop Elements 8
Adobe
All supporting images are copyrighted
Images cannot be copied or printed without permission.
|
Get to know industry
leaders and professionals
Comments