By summate pro - level tools while maintain a surprisingly low toll , Adobe ’s Photoshop Elements 4 is an important acclivity for any digital photographer who does n’t want to — or but can’t — spend hundreds of dollars on a copy of Adobe Photoshop CS2 .
The $ 89 Elements typically invites comparisons to Apple ’s free iPhoto mental image organizer and editor program . But a more disposed comparison is between Elements and Photoshop itself . While element pack a pile of features that make it easy enough for the iPhoto user , the program is also a viable alternative to Photoshop for users who do n’t need CMYK support , access to individual channels , and some of its sib ’s other more knock-down features .
The Photoshop - esque capableness of Elements get another boost in this latest adaptation , as Adobe total a feature of speech that will be very conversant to anyone who has spend prison term with Creative Suite 2 — Bridge .
While chemical element 3 ( ) include a version of Adobe ’s old - school File web browser , version 4 ship with the simulacrum - browsing coating used by the Creative Suite apps . Bridge is an first-class Indian file - browsing putz and it integrates well with Elements 4 . Elements ’ take on Bridge leaves a few feature of speech that the Creative Suite version provide — there ’s no access to the Adobe Stock Photo Service , and no living for Version Cue . But these features are unlikely to be missed by the Elements hearing . Bridge does provide an excellent slide show feature , something Elements has needed .
Raw shooters will appreciate Elements 4 ’s support of the latest interlingual rendition of Photoshop Camera Raw , Adobe ’s excellent raw changeover software that allows you to use your camera in naked as a jaybird mode for higher - quality figure of speech and great redaction flexibleness . It ’s deserving observe that the version of Bridge that ships with ingredient can not host Camera Raw — something the high - ending adaptation of Bridge can do — so you ca n’t offload raw processing to Bridge while you do other work in Elements .
You ’ll note few changes in the Photoshop Elements Interface in version 4 .
With version 4 , Adobe has left Elements ’ interface mostly unchanged . As with late versions , the veridical strength of Elements ’ interface is not just that it ’s easy to use for newfangled users , but that vest the time to memorize Elements ’ user interface induce you a circle of basic Photoshop accomplishment that transfer directly to the full - blown Photoshop , should you ever decide to upgrade .
Clearing up skin
The human Einstein is very finely tuned for facial realization , which means that improperly - render hide pure tone can be super blatant . constituent 4 ply a new Adjust Color For Skin Tones feature that does an special job of correcting bad skin tone with a individual fare option . In the process making corrections , Elements may skew some of the other tonus in your image a small too far , but for most snapshot images , this is a utterly acceptable forfeit .
The new Correct Color for cutis Tones lets you select a skin tone in your image . element mechanically analyzes the skin tone in your source image ( demonstrate on the left field ) and corrects the image to render the skin more accurately ( shown on the right ) .
Once you ’ve acquire your tegument tone corrected , you may use Elements ’ new Red Eye Fix putz , which can automatically describe and fix any red eye hassle in an image . antecedently , Elements sported a Red Eye Brush that required interactivity ; the new puppet is a single - click fix .
Further boosting overall image quality is the new version ’s meliorate noise reduction capabilities . While doing a unspoilt job of reducing the dissonance that can come when photograph at high ISOs , the fresh version also does a capable job of dispatch bad JPEG artifacts . While JPEG artifacting is not really a problem on most seemly digital cameras , this lineament can number in ready to hand if you run to shoot a pile of image with a photographic camera phone .
Selecting and extracting
When it comes to picture redaction , one of the most significant differences between iPhoto and Elements is Elements ’ ability to make selective edits . The course of study has always include an assortment of basic selection tools — Lasso , Marquis , Magic Wand — but version 4 substance abuser now have access code to a Modern Magic Selection Brush .
To utilize the Magic Select Brush , you but select it and paint on the object you want to select . In some cases , you involve to apply small more than a single stroke . Based on the colors that you paint over , Elements will mechanically dissect your paradigm and figure out where the object that you painted on begins and stop , and will then select that area .
Using the Magic Extractor , we only postulate to paint these two lines …
When it work out , the Magic Selection Brush really does seem like conjuring trick , but it can be take in . If there ’s not enough remainder between the foreground and setting , the Magic Selection Brush will extract part of the background along with the area you require bump off . Overall , however , if you ’re working with an equally - exhibit mental image and if the object you want to take is sit on a moderately distinct backcloth , then the excerpt brushwood will work very well .
… to express the face from this scene . With a little tweaking , we can clean up the marginal areas along the edges .
The Modern Magic Extractor tool can automatically wind an object off of a background , to ease your compositing chore . Like the Magic Selection Brush , you use the Magic Extractor by just paint a few simple-minded strokes , first on the element you need to distill , and then on the background you want to pluck it from . When it ’s polish off extracting , Elements criticise the ground out to see-through .
The Magic Extractor is very standardized to Photoshop CS2 ’s Extract tool with one illustrious difference — it ’s easier to use . As with the Magic Selection Brush , if you ’ve engender a decipherable specialization between your foreground and setting element , it will do a honorable job of press out .
Other additions
constituent and iPhoto may not be vie products in the strictest sense . But element 4 does go head - to - head with the Apple course of study ’s printing process table service by add online impression capabilities via Kodak . In increase to print and photo books , you’re able to also tell cards , and calendars .
One critical conflict remains between iPhoto and component — while iPhoto 6 is available in a cosmopolitan - binary data formatting that can run natively on PowerPC and Intel processors , Elements only feed natively on PowerPC - free-base Macs .
At $ 89 , Elements 4 is price the same as the download of theWindows variation , and well lower than Photoshop CS2 . Though it may have a small terms ticket , Adobe has not been scrimpy with features , making Elements 4 an exciting Cartesian product for lensman looking for more editing power .
[ Ben Long is the author ofComplete Digital Photography , third edition(Charles River Media , 2004 ) andGetting start With Camera Raw , ( Peachpit Press , 2005 ) . ]
