GetIntoGear
126 PRACTICALPHOTOGRAPHY
ADOBE
Adobe’sPhotoshopElements
is theslimmed-downcousin
of PhotoshopCC,andsheds
its featuresaccordingly.Its
simplicityand reducedprice
ha ve madeit idealforediting
newbies.A handyGuided
Modewill walkyouthrough
basicalterationsandeffects,
or selectExpertto go it alone.
You willalsofindElements
Organiser,whichallowsyou
to catalogueyourshotsand
br owsethroughyourwork–
it’shandy,butnota patchon
thelibrarysystemsofferedby
Lightroomor Luminar3.
There’sa rangeof basic
to ols,suchas thePaintBrush
To ol,LayerMasksandCrop
To ol.Youcantakeadvantageof
moreadvancedfeatures,such
aspanoramicor exposure
photomergingandeven
us e LevelsandGradient
AdjustmentLayers.Forthose
photographerswhoonlywant
tocarryoutbasicediting,such
asaddingcontrast,converting
RAWfilesor addingsome
sa turation,it will do thejob.You
ca n alsocreatephotocollages
an d add creativeborders.
But forall its features,given
therecentadvancementsfound
in somesimilarly-pricednon-
Adobe alternatives,Elements’
re strictionsareall tooobvious.
Youlosevitaltoolscompared
toCC,suchas thePenTool
an d theContent-AwareMove
To ol.Thearrayof usefulcolour
correctionand enhancement
AdjustmentLayersfoundin
PhotoshopandAffinityare
absenthere,andthere’sno
all -importantCurvesTool.
El ements’limitedfeatures
wi ll inevitablysteersome
us erstowardsAdobe’s
moreexpensivesubscription
al ternativeandits widerrange
ofoptionsandtools.In today’s
market,whereyoucanpickup
Af finityPhotoforlessmoney,
El ementsmaynotbe fully-
featuredenoughto feellike
va lueformoney.Thatsaid,it
ha s its placeif you’reusedto it,
ar e satisfiedby its featuresor
don’twantto be drawninto
upgradingyoursoftwareyear
onyear.If youfindyourself
ru nningshorton tools,or
fol lowingtutorialsthatrequire
fe aturesnotfoundin Elements,
th enyoumaybe overduean
upgradeto oneof theother
gr eatsoftwarepickson thislist.
PROS
Inexpensive
Boastssome
handy tools,such
asPhotomerge
CONS
Somepartsfeel
datedfor 2019
Lacking some tools
and power of other
examples in test
R ATING
AboveThelayoutis cleanandeasyto navigate,especiallyif youfindothersin testto be a bit daunting.
Thetoolsareon theleft,layerson therightandfiltersin thefile bar.
AboveElementsfeaturesa handyuserguideforbeginners,which
walksyouthrougheditingtechniques.
MINIMUMSPEC
OS:Windows7,
Mac OS 10.12 64-bit
RAW conversion: Yes
System requirements:
4GB RAM, 2GHz
dual-core processor
PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS 2019 £85
LAYER MASKS
As with Photoshop,
Elements offers a
Layers panel allowing
you to use
Adjustment
Layers,
BlendingModes
and evenLayer
Masks – allvery
handy for
making image
composites.
TOOLUP
Althoughit’s
not in thesame
le ague as
ot hers found
here, Elements
st ill has a
comprehensive
li st of basic
to ols, which
sh ould prove
capable of
making the
edits you
re quire.
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