Home > Consumer Reviews > Adobe Elements 2.0 [OLD VERSION]

Photoshop Elements is a truly outstanding photo editing program. Here are seven of the tools that I use all of the time:

1. Auto Levels -- With one click, colors pop and become more vibrant. Skin tones are optimized. The color cast from indoor or fluorescent lighting is eliminated. To do this manually would be much more time consuming (and definitely hit-or-miss).

2. Auto Contrast -- Also with one click, the light/dark contrast (and tonal range) of a photo is optimized giving the image much more richness.

3. Sharpen -- This takes a few clicks, but this command will make digital photos somewhat sharper. (This also happens automatically when one uses "Auto Contrast.") Sharpening digital photos, especially at longer focal lengths (or when using lower megapixel cameras), is always welcome.

4. Fill Flash -- This command is absolutely amazing. When used, it will brighten all surfaces (in shadow) facings towards the camera (even in the background). If faces are too dark, this will lighten them. If details are lost in the shadows, this will restore them. Brighter areas are unaffected. This command almost eliminates the need for outdoor fill flash or reflectors, and results in much more natural (and more softly lit) portraits. If you take a lot of people pictures, (or if you like to shoot with natural light), this tool is indispensable.

5. Sunset Light -- This digital filter will give a photo taken during bright sunlight the warm glow of an evening image. The sky and all reflected surfaces will look warmer (and more romantic). This is a great way to add drama to scenics (turning cliches into works of art) -- especially if hanging around 'til dusk isn't an option.

6. Perspective Adjustment -- Using a wide angle lens and looking upwards will make buildings appear (on film) as though they are leaning backwards. This tool remedies this. I've found that I won't enlarge photos with leaning buildings -- but I will once they are upright again. Fixing a photo on the computer is also much more convenient than carrying a special shift perspective lens or lugging around a heavy view camera.

7. Color Cast Correction -- This is a really cool tool. For photos where the color is seriously off due to indoor incandescent or fluorescent lighting (beyond what can be remedied by the Auto Levels feature above), this tool fixes it with just one click. Simply put the cursor on an area you know to be black or gray -- and Photoshop Elements will adjust all of the colors (in the entire photo) accordingly. It works fantastically. If you're not satisfied, just keep clicking around other portions of the black or gray area until you get the overall color balance that you're seeking.

For my own use, I've found that I won't print a photo -- until I run it through Photoshop Elements first! I'll usually apply tips #1-3 to every photo. (This takes but mere seconds.) I'll use the Fill Flash feature when faces are too dark (or when the contrast between light and dark is too high.) Lastly, I'll use tools #5-7 only when the situation requires it.

Photoshop Elements also has a convenient "step backwards" function which will delete the effects of the last command (in case you like the previous image better).

(I learned to use most of the above tools, incidentally, by reading Photoshop Elements Solutions by Mikkel Aaland -- which makes the software as easy to use as the folks at Adobe intended. I highly recommend it.)

Other photo editing programs provide a lot of special effects or photo album-type backgrounds. I just want my photos to be better! Adobe Photoshop Elements is perfect for my needs.

I had used a friend's Adobe Photoshop 6.0 and was contemplating the purchase of the newer 7.0 when I spotted an ad for this version for amateurs. At one sixth the price it was sure worth a try. All I can say is that I got more than my money's worth. This simpler version has everything the non professional would want and more.

It is easy to install and uses less computer space than its big brother.

Helps to easily import photos from cameras, CDs or scanners.

It has all the simple fix-its you might need- such as auto enhancers, red eye reduction,ability to crop, straighten, focus, fade,blur, change the background, layer, create panaramas etc.

Easily compresses photos and attaches photos to emails or helps create web galleries using templates and even animations for your web site.

Creates dozens of special effects.

Prints multiple photos on one page to save photo paper.

My only complaint might be that there is too much that you can do and it gets daunting at times. It is however far simpler and user friendly than the professional versions.

I had always meant to learn Photoshop, since it seemed to me to be the best way to learn about how digital imaging really works. I wanted to learn layering and masking and all those arcane things I had read about. However, I wasn't quite ready to make the $... investment that Photoshop requires. Instead, I struggled with Photoshop LE and Photo Deluxe. Neither of these was very satisfying, and Deluxe was especially geared to the greeting cards and "projects" audience.

Elements 2.0 is really Photoshop with the pre-press taken out. It has all the layering and filters and plug-ins that you are likely to need for photo retouching and other uses you would normally need Photoshop to handle. I've been very pleased wiht the results I've had from it.

If you need more power, buy Richard Lynch's book (Hidden Power of ....). He includes a CD with lots of additional tools like curves and RGB channels etc. that Adobe probably didn't want you to get in PS Elements.

There are still some limitations. A few commercial plug-ins for PS don't work in Elements, and some instructions that you read for doing things in PS won't work in Elements. But this is the program to have if you want to get serious about photos.

As an aside, let me strongly recommend a plug-in that works in Elements and regular PS. It's called iCorrect, and it lets you make very accurate color corrections with just a few clicks. It's really magic. check it out at Picto.com.

I upgraded to Photoshop Elements 2.0 from 1.0 after it's release. Version 2.0 was slower on my computer (PIII 600 with 256 MB memory) than the original and seemed to demand more of the available memory. The quick editing features were particularly slow on my machine, making them more difficult to use than they were on the original. File management was also quite slow.

I purchased Version 2.0 envisioning that new filters and effects would be offered, but really nothing substantive in that domain was added to the product. The end result was a product that runs more slowly than version 1 with no dramatic additions to the feature set.

For new users who want powerful photoediting software at a very reasonable price, Photoshop Elements is the product of choice. For owners of Version 1.0, an upgrade to Version 2.0 has marginal value.

I received Photoshop Elements 2.0 a few days ago and was a bit intimidated. I also purchased Mikkel Aaland's book, Photoshop Elements 2 Solutions, The Art of Digital Photography. I don't recommend buying the software without this book. I read the book first and it made the software much easier to use. I have had a digital camera for a little over a year, and just upgraded to a better camera. For the extra money I spent, I wasn't seeing dazzling improvements in my photos. My salesperson recommended that I buy this program in the hopes of improving my pictures. The software did just that! No more blurry faces, no more pale faces. The shrubbery in the background looked "good" before using the software, but after, it popped off the photo paper! What an incredible difference!

If you've been using the software that came with your digital camera or scanner, toss it in the trash and buy Photoshop Elements 2.0. It is well worth the money you will spend! My results were amazing!