Adobe Photoshop Elements 8
Adobe continues their legacy of developing the world’s best photo editing software in this latest release of Photoshop Elements. Once again they have produced a powerful photo editing tool that allows you to accomplish professional results without frustration. If you are looking for an easy to use solution and don’t want to sacrifice excellence, check out Adobe Photoshop Elements 8.
One of the most powerful features in Photoshop Elements 8 is the user interface. This is what really separates this program from the competition. Tools are easy to find and use and clutter is kept to an absolute minimum.
If you are new to Photoshop Elements there is a Welcome section accessible from the open screen that explains how to find and view your photos and videos. This tutorial also explains how to apply edits, share finished projects and how to use your photos to create postcards, calendars and photo books.
When you start using Adobe Photoshop Elements, you're going to see why it's considered the best photo editing software in the business. A lot of programs rely on their reputation to make up for their lack of useful features, but that's not the case when you're dealing with Adobe Photoshop Elements. Everything involved with this program justifies the price you're going to have to pay for it. Luckily, you breathe easy knowing you won't have to pay as much as you would for regular Photoshop. That reason alone is proof that you need to buy Adobe Photoshop Elements.
Ease of Use:
When you're dealing with the best software in a particular category, odds are you're going to run into some problems with ease of use. Adobe Photoshop Elements is no exception. It's easier to use than the prestigious programs in some of the other categories, but it still comes with a bit of a learning curve. You get a sense that Adobe was trying to satisfy the photo editing experts that use their software while simplifying its feature set to make it more accessible to the less experienced users. While Adobe Photoshop Elements is a lot easier to use than regular Photoshop, you can't get around that learning curve. A learning curve of any size can lead to more time being spent learning how to use the software than actually using it.
Importing:
By default Photoshop Elements 8 imports photos to the My Pictures folder on your computer. You can change this in the preferences screen if you would like.
The Elements Organizer can import images from a digital camera, flash drive, scanners, screen capture, camera phone and can even capture still images from video.
Editing:
The main focus of this application is obvious; photo editing. For this Adobe has included a set of tools and features that is unmatched in this category. You will find basic tools for cropping, minor cleanup, red eye removal and even a cloning tool. The Quick Fix tool is where most people start in Photoshop Elements 8. This lets you apply basic edits like color and lighting adjustments with one click. A preview window displays a before and after comparison of the image prior to actually applying the correction.
A project wizard is available to walk you through creating custom projects like photo books, calendars, greeting cards and photo slide shows.
Photoshop Elements 8 has advanced selection tools that allow you to extract portions of a photo and insert that clipping into another shot. Also, the High Pass filter can be used to extract line art and large black and white portions from scanned images.
Layer masks and clipping masks are both available in Photoshop Elements 8. A layer mask can be used to protect a portion of an adjustment layer where as a clipping mask can be used to apply a gradient without actually altering the photograph.
Photomerge Exposure is a new feature in Photoshop Elements 8. This tool can be used to adjust photos with exposure issues by seamlessly blending two or more photos, thereby eliminating under, or over exposed portions. Photomerge can also be used to enhance facial features by using elements from other images. An example of this would be extracting the eyes, mouth and nose from one photo and inserting those features on another photo. This also works to insert (or remove) other people into a shot in case you were left out of a picture and want to correct the mistake.
If you have taken several shots of a scenic view you can use Photomerge to combine the shots into one perfect image. You can also combine a series of individual shots to create a panoramic image.
The recompose tool is a new feature in Photoshop Elements 8. This lets you resize photos without losing important visual elements like people or buildings. Normally when scaling an image the result includes squatty or lengthened objects in the photo. Recompose identifies important objects in the shot and scales everything around them, resulting in a resized image with correctly proportioned objects.
People recognition is another new tool in Photoshop Elements 8. The Auto Analyzer automatically tags images that contain faces. Once this process is complete you can begin identifying people in the photos. The program will learn what people look like and will start making suggestions about who is in each photo. Eventually it will actually find groups of photos of a particular person and allow you batch tag them to save time.
Sharing:
Once you have tagged and edited your images, Photoshop Elements 8 offers a variety of tools to help you share them with friends and family. Templates are available to walk you through creating professional looking photo projects. Simply select the photos you want to use and the software will place them for you. As a final touch you can arrange the photos and apply clipart or even audio files to your digital creation.
Digital content can be shared on popular social networking sites like YouTube and Facebook, or you can send photos and videos via MMS using your compatible mobile device.
Photoshop.com provides every licensed Photoshop Elements 8 user with 2GB of online storage space. This space can be used to share your projects or to use the new multi-machine synchronization tool. This lets you access and edit photos and video located on other computers.
Output Capabilities:
Images in Photoshop Elements 8 can be saved in sixteen different formats including GIF, JPEG, JPEG 2000, Photoshop EPS, Photoshop PDF, PNG and TIFF. You can also use this program to create scrapbook pages, greeting cards, CD/DVD Labels and jackets, and photo collages.
Organizing:
The enhanced media organizer featured in Photoshop Elements 8 allows you to easily import and manage any number of photos in one convenient place. Also, the new Auto-Analyzer can tag photos as they are imported to identify the most interesting and important aspects of an image.
Stock photos are still not available in Photoshop Elements. If you are looking for royalty free images to use in a project we suggest Getty Images or Jupiter Images.
Help/Support:
Photoshop Elements 8 is supported in Windows XP and Vista environments, and is Windows 7 compatible.
Adobe offers several support options for Photoshop Elements 8. Technical support via telephone is available Monday – Friday from 5 a.m. to 7 p.m. (Pacific Time) by calling 1-800-642-3623. Your questions and concerns may also be addressed by accessing the FAQ section on the Adobe website. Further support can be found in the user’s manual, online tutorials and in online user moderated forums.
Summary:
Photoshop Elements 8 Plus is an optional upgrade that allows licensed users up to 20GB of storage for online backup and sharing. Plus also provides access to tutorials, tips and tricks, seasonal artwork and interactive online templates. Photoshop Elements 8 combined with Plus costs $139.99.
Photoshop Elements 8 consistently produces professional quality results across a variety of photo projects. This is absolutely the best easy-to-use editing tool for photo achieving, creative edits and photographic art.
So try it...........Once
Download Adobe Photoshop Elements 8.0.0 Free Trial - Powerful yet easy-to-use photo editing software for print, e-mail, and the Web - Softpedia
Adobe Photoshop Elements Plus - Software.com