In summary
The latest version of Adobe’s popular consumer image editing application. Adobe’s Photoshop Elements has been a popular image editor since it was introduced in April 2001 because it offered many of the features of the professional application (Photoshop) at roughly one sixth of the cost. Version 10, which was released in September 2011, maintains the key elements of the previous versions but updates or fine-tunes some of them and adds the ability to share images and video clips via popular social networks. . . [more]
Full review
Adobe’s Photoshop Elements has been a popular image editor since it was introduced in April 2001 because it offered many of the features of the professional application (Photoshop) at roughly one sixth of the cost. Version 10, which was released in September 2011, maintains the key elements of the previous versions but updates or fine-tunes some of them and adds the ability to share images and video clips via popular social networks.
By our estimation there are only eight new features in the latest version of Photoshop Elements so potential upgraders will need to think carefully about whether they will add useful new capabilities or improve the existing capabilities of the version they are using. The table below, sourced from Adobe’s website, lists new additions plus common features in the three latest versions of Photoshop Elements to help you to decide.
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Elements 8 |
Elements 9 |
Elements 10 |
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Quickly find and organise your media |
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Find specific things in your photos with Object Search |
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|
Yes |
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Tag faces in photos faster using your Facebook Friends list |
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Yes |
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Find photos of specific people fast with automatic People Recognition |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
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Quickly find your best photos and video clips with the Auto-Analyser |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
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Edit photos in full-screen mode directly from the Organiser |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
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Easily find and organise your photos and video clips from one convenient place |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
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Organise photos and video clips with visual tags |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
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Make every photo look its best |
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Simply paint on any of 100 effects, including 30 new options, to enhance areas of your photos |
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Yes |
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Create the Orton Effect as well as depth of field and picture collage effects |
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Yes |
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Improve photo composition with crop guides |
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Yes |
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Instantly unclutter and repair photos |
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Yes |
Yes |
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Match the style of a favourite photo automatically |
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Yes |
Yes |
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Recompose your photos to any size without distorting key subjects |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
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Create perfectly lit shots with Photomerge technology |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
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Preview a range of adjustments before choosing the best one |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
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Whiten teeth and make skies bluer in one step |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
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Create stunning panoramas |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
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Edit raw image files for the highest quality results |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
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Create great group shots with Photomerge technology |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
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Fix red eye and improve skin tones with one click |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
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Make and share creations that reflect your style |
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Give photos and creations added flair with text that curves or loops in any direction |
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Yes |
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Save photo creations in JPEG or PDF file formats |
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Yes |
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Upload video and clips directly to YouTube |
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Yes |
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Quickly share photos and videos on Facebook |
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Yes |
Yes |
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Print calendars, cards, and photo books with your home printer |
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Yes |
Yes |
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Share photos via fun Online Albums |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
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Use flexible layouts to create scrapbook pages, CD/DVD labels, and more |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
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Easily share photos via email and websites |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Installation
Regardless of whether you buy it in a box from a retail store or download it directly from Adobe’s website, installing Photoshop Elements 10 should be straightforward. A 30-day trial download is available from Adobe’s website (http://www.adobe.com/cfusion/tdrc/index.cfm?product=photoshop_elements&loc=en_xap). The trial version can be converted into a purchase online.
The download file is large (1.5GB) so you’ll need a fast broadband connection, but the trial version is fully functional and offers every feature of the product for you to test-drive. As with previous versions, installation is wizard-based and takes just under 10 minutes.
Once the application has been installed a welcome screen appears each time the application is opened. You can’t stop this from happening; all you can do is click on the Organise or Edit buttons to access either workspace or ‘discover what you can do’ by clicking on the ‘Top features’ or ‘What’s new’ buttons.
The welcome screen provides links to the Organiser and Editor.
The Organiser
The Organiser hasn’t changed much in recent versions and handles image uploading and all aspects of file management. Be warned: it will take over when you connect a camera to your computer. You can also import files that are already stored on your computer into the Organiser, which takes a while if you specify a folder containing a couple of gigabytes of images.
The Organiser interface.
The default setting for the Organiser is to show thumbnails, catalogued according to the date/time on which they were imported (not when they were taken). You can click on any image and use the Properties window to display full image metadata.
Two new features have been added to the Organiser: Object Search and the ability to tag faces in photos using your Facebook Friends list. The Object Search function can be used to locate pictures containing a specific element; for example, if you want to locate shots of flowers or a favourite pet.
If you’re not a Facebook fan, the latter will be of more interest. You start by selecting a picture containing the object you want to search for. (The simpler and more easily classified the object, the shorter the search time will be.)
Then click on Object Search and drag the marquee until it encompasses the object. Clicking on Search Object below the marquee begins the search.
Our search based on the image of a lupin flower yielded varying results. While it certainly identified shots containing flowers, it also roped in a lot of shots of quite different subjects (birds, rocks, waterfalls, clouds, ice formations, to name a few).
A search based on a picture of a lupin flower yielded fairly poor results.
Searching on a picture of a puffin provided a better set of matches.
Retrieved images are rated on the basis of resemblance to the original and ranked accordingly. Each search appears to cover and rank the entire database and images are ranked from 100% (the original) to 0% for no resemblance. Edited versions of the original are often ranked well below it, as shown above.
We didn’t try using the Facebook Friends list to tag faces in photos as we’re not a Facebook user. However, the interface appeared to be simple and straightforward to use. The system relies on face recognition technology and uses the tags you have already set up in Facebook, saving you the trouble of manually tagging shots.
New Editing Functions
As in the previous versions, Photoshop 10 provides both full and Guided editing options, the latter leading users step-by-step to achieve a defined objective. New additions to the editing palette include the Smart Brush, which comes with 30 new patterns and effects for adding to pictures.
You begin by selecting an image in the Organiser and clicking on the Fix tab then selecting Edit Photos. Next click on the Smart Brush icon (circled in red below) and select Textures from the drop-down menu.
We’ve chosen Broken Glass to apply to the sky in our picture. Set the diameter and hardness of the brush to suit the size of the image and the area you wish to paint over. Then apply the texture with the brush and watch as it is transformed.
Applying a texture effect with the Smart Brush.
The end result.
You can undo the effect if the result isn’t as you want and use the Refine Edge controls to fine-tune the selection area. These tools let you smooth, soften, expand or contract the edges of the selection. You can also modify the strength of the effect with the Opacity controls. When you’re finished, save and close the file.
There are some interesting – and potentially useful – effects in the drop-down menu, including ‘artistic’ effects and tonal reversals. Examples are shown below.
The Pencil Sketch effect in the Artistic drop-down menu.
The B&W reversal effect.
The Orton Effect is another addition that lets you modify images to achieve a pre-determined result; in this case a selective softening of parts of an image. It’s named after Michael Orton who sandwiched two negatives – one sharp, the other unsharp and with different degrees of over-exposure – together. The end result is impressionistic, which makes this effect popular for portraits.
Begin by selecting a suitable image and opening it in the editor. Then click on the Guided tab and scroll down to Photography Effects, where you select Orton Effect. Sliders in the window to the right of the screen allow you to adjust blur, noise and brightness of your photo and you can view before and after versions of the imager by clicking on the menu below the image and selecting Before & After – Horizontal.
Before and after views showing the Orton Effect.
Picture collage effects are another new addition, this time in the Photo Play section of the Guided editing menu. The effect aims to create the appearance of a collage from a single photo. It works well on most shots showing groups of people and can add interest to the standard front-on shots.
From the Edit tab, choose Guided, then scroll down to Photo Play and select Picture Stack. In the right hand panel, select the number of pictures to divide the frame into, matching it as closely as possible to the number of people (or elements) in the shot.
Adjustments in the Picture Stack menu.
The image will be automatically split into the selected number of frames. If some frames run through people’s faces (or there are other factors that make the divisions unsatisfactory), clicking on the Full editing tab allows you to see each frame in the Layers palette, select them individually and move them.
Frame adjustments available in the Full editing mode.
When you’re happy with the end result, click on the green tick at the corner of the frame to apply the changes and save the image.
Owners of small-sensor digicams can blur backgrounds in shots with the new Depth of Field effect, which is located in the Lens Effects section of the Guided editing menu. This effect lets you blur backgrounds while keeping the important areas in a scene sharp and you can control the degree of blurring with a simple slider.
Start by selecting the image to work on then choose Lens Effects and Depth of Field. In the Simple mode, clicking on Add Blur causes the entire image to go out-of-focus. Then click on the Gradient Tool and drag it from the centre of the area you wish to keep sharp outwards towards the edge of the frame.
Adjusting depth-of-field in the Simple mode.
When you release the mouse, the selected area will come into focus. You can adjust the degree of blurring with the slider near the lower edge of the effect panel.
Selecting the Custom mode gives you more control over the area that remains sharp. In this mode you use the Quick Selection Tool to define the sharp area. As with the Smart Brush, you can adjust your brush or add or subtract your selection using the tools at the top of the screen.
Selecting the area to keep sharp in the Custom mode.
Adjusting background blurring in the Custom mode.
Having made the selection, click on the Add Blur button and use the slider to adjust the background blurring.
New Create Functions
The test tool has been improved in Version 10 with the addition of new text path options that enable users to plot a path for text to follow. You can choose from Text on a Shape, Text on a Custom Path and Text on a Selection.
The new text path options are circled in red on the above screen grab.
Adding text with the Text on a Custom Path setting.
Options for editing text after it is in place.
The new text paths will come in handy for a variety of photo projects, including making greeting cards, photo collages and CD/DVD jackets as well as adding text to pictures in photo books. New templates added to the photo book offerings include Celebration, Designer Modern, Designer Elegant, School Notes and Wishes. They are selected via a drop-down menu that shows examples of the cover and page layouts.
The drop-down menu for photo books, showing the new Designer Modern template.
Once you’ve selected a template, producing a photo book is straightforward. You simply load the photos you plan to use into the Project Bin and drag and drop them into place.
Each frame in the template can be re-sized and moved by grabbing the handles on the frame. Right-clicking lets you select more options. Changes are applied by clicking on the green tick.
You can switch to Advanced Mode button above your Project Bin to access a full toolbox. In this mode you can also change the size and orientation of images to make them fit the template frames. (It’s best to re-size the frames first.)
Where the template includes text, you can enter your own text by selecting a suitable colour from the dropdown Text menu in the Create palette, as shown in the screen grab below.
Laying out a book cover using the School Notes template.
You can also add text using the Text tools in the Advanced Mode toolbar.
Adding text to a double-page layout using the Text on a Selection tool.
Sharing
Users can save their photo creations in JPEG or PDF file formats – as long as the files aren’t too big. When we tried to save a photo book we had created in JPEG format as a PDF slideshow a warning message appeared stating it would take a long time to save 86 files at 276MB. The application ‘froze’ after roughly 10 minutes.
Saving creations as PDF slideshows only works when the files are relatively small.
The same applies when creating Online Albums or sharing to Facebook or Flickr. Users can also upload video clips directly to YouTube via the Share menu. We didn’t try out these functions as we don’t use any of these social media.
Should You Upgrade?
Photographers who constantly upgrade to the latest edition of any image editor can end up forking out a lot of money for little real benefit. For most of us, it can pay to skip a couple of generations and catch up when the new version provides an important tool you’ve missed in the version you’re using.
Essentially, your decision on whether to upgrade to version 10 should be based on whether you’re using Photoshop Elements at all and, if you use it, which version you have. Users of versions before version 7 could benefit by upgrading, particularly if the new tools will add new capabilities or improve the existing capabilities of the version you’re using now.
If this is your first foray into ‘serious’ image editing, Elements 10 is unrivalled in ease of use and versatility. As such, it represents reasonably good value for money.
If you’re already using Elements 9 (or even Elements 8), your decision will depend on how much you want the new features. Enthusiastic users of Facebook (or other social networking sites) may justify the upgrade on its easy compatibility. However, if you’re simply looking for a Facebook uploader, there are plenty of freeware applications available.
If you have a Windows desktop and Mac OS X laptop (or vice versa), the single-user license allows you to install the software on both and, for the first time the Windows and Mac versions are being sold in the same package.
On the day we posted this review, the Australian Adobe online shop had the full version of Elements 10 listed at $132.50 for the download with the boxed version priced at $145.75. Upgrades from Elements 7 were listed at $112.50 for the download and $123.75 for the boxed version.
In contrast, the US website had both versions of Elements 10 listed at $99.99 with upgrades from Elements 7 at $79.99. Both are significantly less than their prices in Australia and our currency remains slightly above parity with the US dollar.
Adorama in New York had the full version priced at US$89.99, while Amazon (www.amazon.com) had it priced at $88.18 with free shipping. But they were ‘not able to ship this item to’ an Australian address. Interesting.
Specifications
Systems compatibility: Windows (XP, Vista & 7) and Mac OS (v10.5.8 through v10.7)
Systems requirement: 1.6GHz or faster processor. colour monitor with 16-bit colour video card,
Disk space requirement: 4GB
Minimum RAM: 1GB
Display requirements: 1024 x 768 dot resolution
Computer interface: DVD-ROM drive, internet access for web-based services
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Rating
Aust RRP: $145.75 (boxed), $132.50 (1.5GB download); upgrade $123.75 (boxed), $112.50 (1.5GB download)
Rating (out of 10):
- Features: 8.5
- Interface Design: 9.0
- Versatility: 9.0
- Ease of Use: 8.5
- OVERALL: 8.5