Mastering Adobe Photoshop Elements 2022 E-Book

Robin Nichols

• Herausgeber: Packt Publishing
• Kategorie: Wissenschaft und neue Technologien
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 518

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2021

Beschreibung

Managing thousands of images while producing perfectly edited results has now become a must-have skill for bloggers, influencers, all social media users, and photography enthusiasts.
Photoshop Elements 2022 has all the right tools to help you manage your growing multimedia assets and significantly boost your creative output.
This fourth edition is updated with Elements 2022's latest features, including Adobe's AI-powered tools that perfectly complement its entire creative workflow. Each chapter is designed to help you get the most from your image files in a simple, easy-to-follow way. You'll find out how to add significant visual improvements to your projects using brilliant AI-driven single-click edits or through more complex manual adjustments, all depending on your skill level and requirements. The book is packed with clear instructions to guide you effortlessly through the hundreds of processes, tools, and features in Photoshop Elements 2022. You'll cover everything from developing your organizational skills through to creating remarkable images using photos, text, graphics, downloadable content, animation, and a range of fantastic AI-driven features.
By the end of this Photoshop Elements book, you'll have learned how to leverage the impressive tools available in Photoshop Elements 2022 with confidence.

Leseprobe

Mastering Adobe Photoshop Elements 2022

Fourth Edition

Boost your image-editing skills using the latest Adobe Photoshop Elements tools and techniques

Robin Nichols

BIRMINGHAM—MUMBAI

Mastering Adobe Photoshop Elements 2022

Fourth Edition

Copyright © 2022 Packt Publishing

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First published: August 2018

Second edition: April 2020

Third edition: December 2020

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To my wonderful wife, Natalie, whose great love of life has continued to be an immense source of encouragement to me while working on this new book...

– Robin Nichols, Sydney, 2021

Contributors

About the author

Born in the UK, Robin Nichols has always had a great love for recording the world with a camera. After finishing school, he studied fine art, before moving on to study at Nottingham Trent University, where he gained a degree in creative photography. He subsequently worked in the advertising industry for several years, before emigrating to Australia in 1985. Robin has always worked in photography: as a black and white printer, a cameraman, a stock photographer, and a freelance photographer.

During the 1990s, Robin contributed to several photo-centric publications in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, and the UK. This led to a full-time position as the editor of the Sydney-based Commercial Photography magazine, and later, Australian Photography magazine, a post that he held for 5 years.

In 1997, he founded the critically acclaimed Digital Photography and Design magazine. During this period, he also authored books for Focal Press and Octopus Press, lectured at seminars in Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane, as well as in Seattle and Chicago, and ran highly successful photographic workshops in Dubai for 7 years.

In 2000, he started his own publishing business, launching what became Australia's best-selling specialist photo publication: Better Digital Magazine. With this publication, he pursued the goal of presenting clear, well-illustrated information written in jargon-free English.

Two years later, he launched a second magazine, also a first: Better Photoshop Techniques. As a publisher during this period, Robin was lucky enough to interview some of the biggest names in photography, including Elliott Erwitt, David Doubilet, Joe McNally, Gregory Heisler, David Hobby, and even keen photographer and jazz legend Don Burrows, on one occasion.

Both magazines ran for more than 10 years, but as distribution and paper costs spiraled and access to free information on the internet exploded, he made the move into teaching. Robin now concentrates on teaching everything photographic, both locally through Sydney University's Center for Continuing Education as well as through several online institutions, including Udemy, Skillshare, and Eduonix.

Pandemic permissable, Robin plans, organizes, and conducts specialist small-group photographic tours at a wide range of photogenic locations, locally in Australia and internationally in places such as South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Oman, Japan, Iceland, Bali, Sri Lanka, Madagascar, and Cuba.

About the reviewers

David Asch is from Haywards Heath, England. He works as a content designer and is also an artist with a passion for digital art and technology.

David has been working with digital imaging tools for over 20 years. In that time, he has authored several titles on Adobe Photoshop Elements and Adobe Muse, as well as numerous articles for digital photography publications and online resources. He is an Adobe Certified Expert in Photoshop CC and teaches Photoshop and Photoshop Elements.

Authored publications:

Creative Web Design with Adobe Muse (Focal Press)How to Cheat in Photoshop Elements (Focal Press)Focus on Photoshop Elements (Focal Press)Digital Photo Doctor (co-authored) (Reader's Digest)

Liz Staley is a visual artist and blogger who loves horses, animation, comics, and true crime. She began her digital art journey using Adobe Photoshop, but in recent years has started using Clip Studio Paint. She is the author of Mastering Manga Studio 5, Manga Studio EX5 Cookbook, and Learn Clip Studio Paint. When she isn't creating art, she can be found in a barn taking care of, riding, and training horses. She currently lives in Pennsylvania, USA, with her husband.

Table of Contents

Preface

Chapter 1: Photoshop Elements Features Overview

What's New in Photoshop Elements 2022?

How Elements is designed to work

A typical workflow example

How I edit images

The five faces of Adobe Photoshop Elements 2022

The Home screen

The Organizer

The catalog

Photo Editor – the Quick Edit mode

Photo Editor: the Guided Edit mode

Photo Editor: the Expert Edit mode

Working with panels and the Panel Bin

Panel Functions

The Create and Share menus

Enhance menu

Working with video and Premiere Elements

Summary

Chapter 2: Setting Up Photoshop Elements from Scratch

Setting up a photo editing computer

Importing media into the Elements Organizer

Reviewing the media

Media backup

Star rating photos

Searching for pictures using Metadata

Organizing your work – Keyword Tags

Organizing your work – Places

Organizing your work – Events

Organizing your work – People

File formats: JPEG and RAW

File format characteristics

Managing catalogs

Color spaces

Color management options

Screen and printer calibration

Organizer keyboard shortcuts

Summary

Chapter 3: The Basics of Image Editing

The editing workflow and best practices

Overview: editing RAW files

Editing Raw files: the Basic tab

Editing RAW files: the Detail (sharpening) tab

Editing Raw files: Noise Reduction

Editing Raw files: Other Features

10 ways to open a photo for editing

Understanding picture resolution

Cropping for better composition

Resampling

The Straighten tool

Instant photo-fixing in the Organizer

Saving Files

Version sets

File Formats

Using Auto Correction tools

Mastering contrast with Levels

Shadows/Highlights

Adjusting color using Hue/Saturation

Smooth Skin

Simple retouching – spot removal

Additional resources

Summary

Chapter 4: Easy Creative Projects

Simple visual effects: using Filters

Instant Artistic Effects

Colorize: AI-driven creativity

Photomerge Panorama

Making a multi-deck panorama

Photomerge Scene Cleaner

Photomerge Faces

Slideshows

Creating Photo Calendars

Simple greeting cards

Lomo Camera Effect

Effects Collage

Create menu features

Summary

Chapter 5: Advanced Techniques: Layers and Masking

Introduction to Layers

Other features on the Layer panel

Layer opacity

Merging layers

Adjustment Layers

Adjustment Layer Masking

Layer masking

Transformations: Pictures in a Picture

Smart Objects

Transformations: Correcting perspective

Warp Transformations: Creating a 3D Shadow

Warp Overview

Blend Modes

Keyboard shortcuts

Summary

Chapter 6: Advanced Techniques: Retouching, Selections, and Text

Retouching: Spot Healing Brush and Clone Stamp Tools

The Smooth Skin feature

The Object Removal tool

Retouching: the Burn, Dodge, and Sponge Tools

Blur, Sharpen, and Smudge brushes

Simple selections: Subject Selection

Advanced Selections: Selection Modifiers

Saving a selection

Feathering selections

The Refine Selection Brush tool

The Refine Edge tool

Advanced selections: the Marquee and Lasso tools

Advanced selections: the Magic Wand tool

The Quick Selection tool

The Selection Brush tool

The Auto Selection tool

Adding text basics

Adding text with the Type tool

Text styles and special effects

Custom fonts

Keyboard shortcuts

Summary

Chapter 7: Additional Tools and Features

Image Modes

Adjust Color Curves

Eraser tools

Smart Brush

The Paint Bucket tool

Gradient tool

The Haze Removal tool

The Content-aware Move tool

Recompose tool

Extend Background feature

Move & Scale Object

Moving Photos

Quote Graphic

Convert to Black and White

Duotone Effect

B&W Color Pop

Old Fashioned Photo

Perfect Landscape

Perfect Portrait

Perfect Pet

Adjust Facial Features

Adjust Facial Features – Face Tilt

Open Closed Eyes

Using plugins

Keyboard shortcuts

Summary

Chapter 8: Advanced Drawing and Painting Techniques

The View menu

Controlling Brush behavior

Brush and Pencil tools

Color Replacement brush

Basic drawing techniques

Working with graphic elements

Text graphics

The Cookie Cutter tool

Impressionist Brush

Custom brushes

Adobe vectors

Custom vector illustrations

Using a graphics tablet

Keyboard shortcuts

Summary

Chapter 9: Exporting the Finished Work

Online – web and blogging

Facebook

Instagram

Flickr

Print resolution

Local printing

Page Setup

Save for Web

Unsharp Mask

The Shake Reduction tool

High Pass sharpening

General sharpen filters

Export as New Files

Process Multiple Files

Keyboard shortcuts

Summary

Chapter 10: Troubleshooting

File-saving issues

Finding lost or disconnected files

Using the Find menu

Adjusting dates for different time zones

Reinstating your catalog

Resolution issues: adding pixels

Fixing Skin Tones

Remove Color Cast

The Liquify filter

Using the Help Menu

Summary

Feature Appendix

Home Screen

Organizer – Import

Organizer – its five view spaces

Quick Edit mode: Tool bar

Quick Edit: Adjustments

Guided Edit mode

Basics

Color

Black and White

Special Edits

Photomerge

Expert Edit mode: Tool bar

VIEW tools

SELECT tools

ENHANCE tools

DRAW tools

MODIFY tools

COLOR Picker

Drop-down menus

File menu

Edit menu

Image menu

Enhance menu

Layer menu

Select menu

Filter menu

View menu

Window menu

Helpmenu

The Panels (Quick and Expert Edit Modes)

Layerspanel

Effects panel

Filters panel

Styles panel

Graphics panel

Actions panel

Color swatches

More tabs

Histogram panel

History panel

Favorites panel

Navigator panel

Info panel

Create Menu

Slideshow

Photo Collage

Photo Prints

Quote Graphic

Photo Book

Greeting Card

Photo Calendar

Instant Movie

Video Story

Video Collage

DVD with Menu, CD Jacket, DVD Jacket, and CD/DVD Label

Share menu

Email

Twitter

Flickr

Vimeo and YouTube

Burn Video DVD

PDF Slideshow

Other Books You May Enjoy

Preface

Welcome to Mastering Adobe Photoshop Elements 2022 - Fourth Edition. This book is designed to profile, explain, and teach you about the most important aspects of this comprehensive, powerful, and ever-popular image editing application.

Who this book is for

Mastering Adobe Photoshop Elements 2022 - Fourth Edition is written by a photographer for photographers of all skill levels. Its target audience is anyone with a thirst for knowledge and a desire to take control of their file organization and improve their visual creativity through the incredible power of photo editing.

Although novices are advised to start at the beginning, the book's structure is one that allows you to sample the chapters almost at random, depending on your skill level and the direction in which you might want to take your work.

It's certainly not an attempt to be the only book you'll ever need on the subject, but I hope it will entertain and inform those of you who want to escalate your level of expertise, from basic through intermediate levels, and eventually toward being a professional in the fields of image editing, photography, and even design.

What this book covers

Chapter 1, Photoshop Elements Features Overview, firstly introduces you to the new features in this latest version. Not surprisingly, this includes several new artificial intelligence (AI) tools that I'm sure you will be impressed with.

To fully explain Elements, this chapter sets out how the program has been designed to operate and includes a full workflow scenario as well as a clear explanation of the roles of all five sections of Photoshop Elements: the Home Screen, the Organizer, and, in the Photo Editor section, Quick Edit mode, Guided Edit mode, and finally, Expert Edit mode.

It also explains the importance of the application's Catalog, its panels, panelfunctions, and the Panel Bin, along with the Create, Share, and Enhance menus. Finally, the chapter wraps up with a look at the relationship between Photoshop Elements and Premiere Elements, its video editing sibling.

Chapter 2, Setting Up Photoshop Elements from Scratch, helps you overcome the first hurdle of buying and installing the software. The next step is to learn how to set up the application to produce the quickest and most efficient results. This chapter deals with how to prepare your camera (setting the correct color space in its menu), the best practices for imaging computers (Windows and Mac), how to review all your media, as well as the all-important backup strategies.

Following that is a description of the best ways to import picture files into the Organizer, plus all the techniques Elements provides for organizing media, using organizational tools such as places, people, events, keywords, albums, tags, and metadata.

You'll also find a section on the different characteristics of the most popular file formats, how to manage catalogs, how to set up the correct color space in your camera, and how to manage the basics of color calibration.

Chapter 3, The Basics of Image Editing, discusses the editing workflow and suggests a number of best practices. It illustrates how to get started with photo editing by covering a range of topics, including an in-depth look at RAW file editing, then 10 ways to get an image file opened in Elements, plus a look at pictureresolution (and its impact on image quality). This last topic includes a section on how to resample files to make them larger or smaller.Other techniques discussed here include cropping image files, leveling photos with the Straighten tool, applying "instant" photo fixes in the Organizer, and file-saving basics.

Besides getting up to speed with these basics, the chapter also covers how to work with version sets and auto tone correction tools, as well as showing you how to master contrast, color, sharpness, and clarity using the Levels, Hue/Saturation, and Shadow/Highlights features.

At the end of the chapter, you'll discover how to create perfect skin tones using the Smooth Skin feature, plus basic but effective retouching techniques using the amazingly effective Spot Healing Brush tool.

Chapter 4, Easy Creative Projects, looks at some truly impressive, highly useful, and easy-to-apply Photoshop Elements features.

In this chapter, features covered include simple but effective "looks" using the massive range of creative filters found in Elements, including the new range of artistic effects, making your own hand-coloring effects using the Colorize Photo tool, creating wide-screen and multi-deck panoramas with Photomerge Panorama, and delving into Elements' amazing Photomerge Scene Cleaner and its fun-to-use Photomerge FacesGuided Edit feature.

The chapter finishes with an overview of the easy-to-make slideshow, calendar, and greeting cards projects, wrapping up with a couple of very cool retro effects found in Guided Edit mode: the Lomo Camera effect and the elegant split-screen Effects Collage feature.

Chapter 5, Advanced Techniques: Layers and Masking, moves on from the basics described in Chapter 3, The Basics of Image Editing, and the techniques highlighted in Chapter 4, Easy Creative Projects. You're now ready to turbo-charge your creativity using the power of layers and masking.

The chapter introduces you to the nuts and bolts of image layers, layer panel features, adjustment layers, adjustment layer masking, and layer masking.

If that isn't enough, we also demonstrate how to combine and resize pictures to make a poster, take a look at smart objects, and then see how to correct perspective distortion using the power of layer transformations, how to take transformations to the next level with the new Warp Transform feature, and finally, layer blend modes.

Chapter 6, Advanced Techniques: Retouching, Selections, and Text, moves on from the power to layers to look at fine-tuning the use of retouching tools in examples of simple beauty retouching, using the powerful CloneStamp tool, the magical HealingBrush and Spot Healing Brush tools, and the highly underrated Burn, Dodge, and Sponge tools.

We also tackle the complex world of selections, which, like layers and masking, once mastered will change the way you view image editing forever. This chapter includes the MagicWand tool, the SelectionBrush tool, the QuickSelection tool, the AutoSelection tool, the RefineSelection brush, and the RefineEdge function.

What many never appreciate is that Elements also features some great graphics tools, including the handy Horizontal Type tool—used, of course, to add text to images—plus all the different type and font options, as well as how to find, download, and use cool custom fonts for special projects.

Chapter 7, Additional Tools and Features, moves on from the power of RAWfileediting and the basics of the Levels and Hue/Saturation tools and shows that there are dozens more really excellent features to be found in Photoshop Elements. Some are AI-driven, while many others stem from the mightily handy Guided Edit mode.

In this chapter, you'll find a selection of more than 20 fabulous features that you might have passed by when performing routine edits. Some are hugely visual in their nature, some are designed for fixing photo problems, while others are there just for fun.

These include to Adjust Color Curves, the Blur, Sharpen, and Smudge brushes, the Eraser tools, SmartBrush, PaintBucket, the Gradient tool, the HazeRemoval tool, the Content-aware Move tool, the Recompose tool, the useful new Extend Background feature, the MoveandScaleObject tool, MovingPhotos, QuoteGraphics, ConverttoBlackandWhite, DuotoneEffect, B&W Color Pop, OldFashionedPhoto, PerfectLandscape, PerfectPortrait, the new Perfect Pet feature, AdjustFacialFeatures (including its scary FaceTilt feature), and OpenClosedEyes, plus an introduction to plugins.

Chapter 8, Advanced Drawing and Painting Techniques, explains that, interestingly, Elements ships with a wide range of credible graphics and illustrationtools, making it more of an all-around creative powerhouse than many might give it credit for.

To kick off this chapter, we highlight the best ways to master the handy design and layouthelpers that you'll find located under the View menu, the benefits of using brushes (and their various behaviors), as well as the Impressionist and ColorReplacement brush features.

The chapter then shifts gear to highlight how to find and use custom brushes, plus how to employ Adobe vectors, and then how to customize vectors for specific applications. There's also a short section on graphics tablets.

Chapter 9, Exporting the Finished Work, encourages you to consider export options once your masterpiece has been fully edited.

In this chapter, we look at the various resolution requirements for different social media platforms, as well as how to prepare files for print. Because so many photographers are now so reliant on the internet, it's important to get a handle on how to prepare pictures for display (using the Save for the Web feature), as well as how best to sharpen files for different print and online applications using the industry-standard UnsharpMask tool, the generic sharpen filters, and HighPassSharpening, including how to use the amazing Haze Reduction tool.

Finally, this chapter takes a good look at how to export multiple instances of your work (with the Export as New Files feature), as well as how to bulk-process files using the effective Process Multiple Files utility.

Chapter 10, Troubleshooting, deals with how to fix all the things that can go wrong when trying to manage a database of thousands, or tens of thousands, of images, and how to deal with image files that are not quite perfect. The chapter starts by explaining file- saving protocols: what options to go for. We also investigate what to do if files get lost or disconnected from the catalog, how to fully utilize the features of the powerful Find menu, adjusting dates for different time zones, as well as how to re-instate a lost or damaged Catalog.

You will also find a section on how to fix skin tone color (Adjust Color for Skin Tones), fix a color cast (Remove Color Cast), use the amazingly quirky Liquify filter, and finally, how to access more information via the Help menu.

Feature Appendix, highlights all the tool features, panels, processes, and menus in Photoshop Elements. Use it to get more information on all the features in Elements, and check out the author's personal feedback on how effective or important many of these features might be for beginners.

To get the most out of this book

The point of this publication is that you don't need to have extensive experience before starting out in the world of photo editing. That was the premise of the original Adobe application many versions ago, and today, that idea, with the introduction of so many new AI-driven features, is stronger than ever.

That said, it would be immensely useful to have a fundamental knowledge of how computers operate, including Mac or Windows operating systems, and perhaps an inkling of basic image editing, just to get started. Also, be prepared to experiment with your images as much as you have the time for. It's the best way to learn.

Develop a network of friends or mentors who might be able to help you if you get stuck. To do this, you may find that it's a good idea to join a camera club in order to get help with both your photography and postprocessing questions.

Above all, have fun, and experiment as much as you can.

Download the color images

We will provide all the color images and screenshots/diagrams used in the book for you to practice. You can download it here: https://static.packt-cdn.com/downloads/9781803238241_ColorImages.zip.

You can also find the image bundle here: https://github.com/PacktPublishing/Mastering-Adobe-Photoshop-Elements-2022-Fourth-Edition.

Conventions used

There are a number of text conventions used throughout this book.

Code in text: Indicates code words in text, database table names, folder names, filenames, file extensions, pathnames, dummy URLs, user input, and Twitter handles. Here is an example: "TIFF files can end up being larger than the same file saved in the .psd format."

Bold: Indicates a new term, an important word, or words that you see onscreen. For example, words in menus or dialog boxes appear in the text like this. Here is an example: "Start the program and from the Home Screen, click the Organizer button."

Tips or important notes

Appear in boxes like this.

Get in touch

Feedback from our readers is always welcome.

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Chapter 1: Photoshop Elements Features Overview

Adobe Photoshop Elements is a pixel-based graphics photo editing application that was first released in 2001. Its appearance followed on from an entry-level program called Photoshop LE, a light edition of Photoshop, which was a product made available mostly for students and teachers, though it's sometimes bundled with other hardware products at the point of sale. If you count its LE predecessor, Photoshop Elements 2022 is now in its 22nd version.

Initially, Photoshop Elements was released as a basic, entry-level tool for the consumer, moms and dads trying to get their collective heads around digital technology. But over the years, it has dramatically expanded its feature set, inheriting many significant professional-level tools from its more complex sibling, Adobe Photoshop.

So, how different is Elements from Photoshop? Interestingly, Adobe maintains that the principle difference between the two is that Elements is still essentially a screen-based, RGB (Red, Green, and Blue) program, whereas Photoshop CC is designed to convert RGB files for work in the commercial CMYK print space—making it the go-to graphics application for all professionals working in print.

However, the market has changed significantly in the past 15 years, with so many more businesses trading online; therefore, the demand for print-ready conversions has reduced significantly. In my own experience, I have found that any good commercial print shop will gladly convert Elements' RGB files to its preferred CMYK color space, usually with only a nominal prepress charge, thus enabling everything produced using Elements to be commercially printed to the highest degree of quality.

In Elements 2022, you'll find a terrific range of sophisticated tools, features, and creative capabilities packed into an affordable editing package, making it a serious professional tool, as well as having the advantage of being simpler to use than Adobe Photoshop CC.

As you will quickly come to appreciate, this software is, in fact, made up of two separate applications, plus a number of different modes that are designed to address different user experience levels, all rolled into one bundle called Elements. Although it has technically evolved from other products, such as Adobe Photoshop LE and Photoshop Album, it's now an incredibly powerful and cohesive standalone tool designed for transforming photographic images, while remaining both affordable and, with each new version, increasingly easy to use.

What's important to learn in this chapter is that it's not necessary to know everything about Elements to succeed in editing your work—you can use just one, or a combination, of its components, to produce impressive, vibrant edits, depending on your experience, creativity, and, indeed, your drive for editing perfection.

As you will see in the following sections, this chapter is all about learning what each bit of Elements does—and therefore its relevance to your own photo editing workflow. And if you are indeed just starting out, the sections here will help you understand what's important right from the outset—and what can be tackled later, when you have more time, and experience, to take more advanced features on board.

What you'll learn in this chapter:

What's new in Elements 2022?How Elements is designed to workA typical workflow exampleThe Home ScreenThe OrganizerThe CatalogThe Edit modes: Quick EditThe Edit modes: Guided Edit The Edit modes: Expert EditPanels and the Panel BinPanel functionsCreate and Share menusThe Enhance MenuVideo and Premiere Elements

Wow! New Artistic Effects: Want to add a high octane color effect to your snaps? Try one of the 30 new Artistic "looks" in the Effects Panel. A single click adds the color and texture to the subject only, the background only, or both. You choose...

What's New in Photoshop Elements 2022?

As I suspected, Adobe Photoshop Elements 2022 continues to build on its range of AI-driven features—tools designed to expand the program's existing lineup of impressive creative effects. (Note: Artificial Intelligence-driven editing transforms manual tasks into simple-to-use, semi-automated processes, thus making the edit process faster and a lot more fun.)

This new version introduces us to more great features, such as the expanded Effects Panel (in both Quick and Expert Edit Modes). Choose between the original 'Classic' effects or the new 'Artistic' effects—30 painterly "looks," based, in some examples, on existing masterpieces by artists such as Edvard Munch (The Scream), Katsushika Hokusai (The Great Wave off Kanagawa), and Leonardo da Vinci (The Mona Lisa). OK, these click-and-enjoy effects won't transform your photos into true masterpieces, but they are great fun and easy to use.

Artistic Effects:

I specifically chose a photo of a Japanese temple (inset, right) for the Hokusai 'Artistic' look. The result was unexpected!

However, the effect labeled 'Modern' worked brilliantly, producing a surprisingly pleasing result (main picture, right).

Perfect Pet: Another 'new' feature is essentially a spin-off from PSE 2021's Perfect Landscape feature. It's used, unsurprisingly, for enhancing your pet pics. Like all Guided Edits, this is a simple-to-use feature—but I think it falls a little short in its delivery. Its Lighting/Enhance button misses color saturation boost; but you might have better luck with it—a lot depends on the image that needs enhancing...

If you have been using Elements for a while, you'll probably detect two things about its new features: firstly, most are powered by its ever-expanding AI technology, and secondly, many new features are designed to be 100% internet ready, producing animated files designed specifically with social media in mind.

Oh! And you'll also notice that its interface (the GUI or Graphical User Interface) has also changed ever so slightly to being a little simpler to read and appearing a bit lighter in color...

More Slideshows: The original slideshow feature was incredibly complex for an enthusiast application. Recently it was seriously dumbed-down to the point where it was, in my opinion, just too simple.

Now, if you like making slideshows, you'll be pleased to see new show themes added to the new software.

Moving Layers: This is another social media-ready feature that cleverly combines, in this case, animated layers with Layer masks, producing GIF or MP4 files that can then be uploaded to any social media site.

Choose from moving overlays (top left), graphics (top right) or frames. Like most of the new stuff in Elements 2022, this is fun to use and easy to achieve.

Extend Background: Although this feature has been present in Elements for several versions as the Recompose Tool, I was pleased to see an easier version released for 2022. While previous versions worked reasonably, I always found it hard to get convincing results. This new version, tucked away in the Special Edits part of the Guided Edit mode, is 100% easier and produces excellent results in seconds! Also watch out for the ever-so-useful Warp Transform command, which that has finally drifted over from Photoshop CC and allows you to distort images to almost any size and shape. In this example, I added a custom 3D shadow to the final extended canvas to give this 3D effect. An extremely versatile feature (See Chapter 5, Advanced Techniques: Layers and Masking for more on this feature).

How Elements is designed to work

Elements' designers have produced an application that offers everything, from a comprehensive method of file organization (vital in such a media-rich environment) to a highly sophisticated level of editing prowess. It'll look a bit scary if you have not used this program before, but all I can say is don't let this get in the way! Elements can be used in any number of different ways, from super easy, to super complex. It's entirely up to you which path you choose—and of course, you can chop and change your editing style whenever the situation suits. Its "official" workflow might be something like this.

With your images already transferred to a computer, install and start Elements. Start the program and from the Home Screen, click the Organizerbutton:

Use the Organizer to import your media bit by bit so as not to overwhelm yourself—you can import stills, music, and even video clips.Sort your media into small, manageable groups using features such as Albums, Keywords, Tags, Metadata, Face recognition, and GPS co-ordinates—but there's no need to do this all at once. This is more a project for a rainy day.

Once your images are sorted, move on to the following:

Perform basic edits on files displayed in the Organizer—using, for example, the Instant Fix tab (bottom left of the screen) or bringing them across to the Elements Photo Editor (a separate app from the Organizer). To bring them over, right-click the thumbnail image and choose Edit with Photoshop Elements Editor from the pop-out menu. This opens the file in either the Quick, Guided, or Expert Edit mode. (Note: you can easily chop and change between these edit windows at any time.) Edit pictures using the Quick Edit mode. This part of Elements contains a wide range of easy, one-click photo fixes plus loads of special effects.Or, try editing your work using the more complex Expert Edit mode.Once finished, save the file as a .jpg (if destined for a photo book), a TIFF (.tif) file, or a Photoshop (.psd) file, if destined for print or more complex editing processes (such as retouching or adding text).

If you are not 100% sure about how to go about your picture editing, Elements offers the excellent Guided Edit mode, designed to hold your hand while it escorts you through the edit cycle in a clear step-by-step process. This is easy to follow and effective.

I hope that by reading through the various chapters and sections in this book, you'll begin to devise your own workflow. Remember, there's no right or wrong way to edit pictures, just the one that works best for you. Experiment with the different edit modes using the same file and you'll quickly come to appreciate what works for you—and what doesn't.

Guided Edit mode: The Guided Edit mode is as perfect for simple tone fixes as it is for more complex and creative project-type effects, like this striking Painterly Effect—which took me all of two minutes to complete.

Expert Edit mode: Even if you jump into the deep end and choose Expert Edit, many of its features, such as the excellent Haze Removal tool seen here, are easy to use and produce, in most picture examples, really impressive results (inset).

A typical workflow example

For your reference, here's how I use Elements.

First off, I always transfer images from a card reader directly into a prenamed folder on my computer or external hard drive (Mac or PC, whichever I am using at the time).

After each download, I try to remember to back up everything to a second drive—by dragging and dropping from one drive to the other (my external hard drives are formatted to be 100% readable by both PC and Mac computers—a tech term called ExFAT formatting).

Card reader: Here's a glimpse of how I work with images. I manually download images straight into labeled folders. This is my travel file—so folders are labeled by year and destination. Inside each are more folders corresponding to each day of travel in that location.

As I always specifically name folders each time I download a new batch of files, I don't need to use the Organizer a great deal—but I would recommend that beginners use it because, when it comes to making sense of all your work, you'll find it incredibly helpful.

I work almost exclusively in Expert Edit mode and always open images for editing using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl/Cmd + O for file open (PC/Mac).

Opening images for editing: From the Open dialog window, I navigate to the folder I'm after, then double-click the icon to open it, then double-click the image icon to get started. I'm lucky in that although I cannot always remember what I did last week, I can usually remember exactly where all my photos were saved to. This somewhat old-fashioned technique has worked well for me for many years.

How I edit images

I've learned from years of picture editing that even though nearly every digital file might look fine on the camera's LCD screen, they are usually a bit lackluster once on the computer. This could be because the original lighting was poor, or because the screen is not calibrated. But it's most likely caused by the camera's operating software.

Editing Raw Files: Double-click a RAW file and it must open first in this special edit window. Here, you can achieve an amazing range of tonal improvements—from simple contrast and color boosts to noise reduction, cropping, and sharpening. The original is on the left, and the edited version (right) has had five sliders adjusted (in red) to add visual drama to the file.

Here's how I (try to) make each image pop on the page:

The first thing is to correct the global tones in the file (using the contrast slider).If it's in the RAW file format, it opens in the Camera RAW window—see the preceding before/after. (RAW files are large, and contain more picture information than the more commonly used JPEG file format.)Once there, I adjust the brightness and contrast, before fine-tuning the photo with the Highlight, Whites, Shadows, and Blacks sliders (but only if it needs it). This is normally enough to make the file look sharper, contrastier, and more colorful.I save the file, giving it a proper name, so it can be readily identified later.

When editing non-RAW files, I use Levels for contrast and brightness adjustments, the Hue/Saturation tool to add/subtract color where needed, and, if required, I finish by using the Dodge/Burn brushes to exaggerate local darkness or lightness areas, plus sometimes the Spot Healing brush to remove imperfections.

As with RAW files, I save the file with a proper name, either as a .jpg file (when it's being added to a photo book) or in .psd (Photoshop) format for when additional editing is required.

Let's move on to begin examining the different parts of this editing powerhouse.

The five faces of Adobe Photoshop Elements 2022

Here's a brief overview of the five main parts of Photoshop Elements that you'll encounter when working on your images—the HomeScreen, Organizer, Quick Edit, Guided Edit and Expert Edit. Generally, you might use just one or two of these windows—for example, the Organizer and the Expert Edit mode. But of course, you can freely chop and change between the editor and the Organizer, depending on your requirements—and skill level.

This is the Home Screen, the first panel you will see in Elements. Use it to gain inspiration from the range of auto creations, as a source of instruction (from the web links) or simply as a gateway to the other parts of Elements: the Organizer and the Quick, Guided, and Expert Edit modes.

This is the Organizer. Use this part of Elements to import and view all your pictures, Photoshop Elements projects, videos, and music clips. Use Organizer to sort your growing image collection into Albums, add Keywords, Tags, captions, and more. Or just use it as a jumping-off point to take images to one of the other three editing panels: the Quick, Guided, or Expert Edit modes.

This is the Quick Edit window. Use this to make simple, impressive edits to photos brought directly from Organizer (or from folders). This shows the new Effects>Artistic looks that can be applied to any picture just by a simple click.

This is the Guided Edit window. Use this to transform your photos by following the step-by-step instructions displayed on the right-hand side of the screen. Here I'm applying a jigsaw effect from the 'Fun' section in the Guided Edit menu.

This is the Expert Edit window. As the name suggests, this is the most complex part of Elements because, unlike the Quick and Guided Edit modes, it has few instructions and even fewer one-button "fixes." You have to know what you want to achieve first—then you need to know what tools and techniques are required to make it all happen—so some prior experience would be of considerable benefit. Here it's showing the brightness and contrast adjusting tool, Levels (Ctrl/Cmd + L or Enhance>Adjust Lighting>Levels).

This is Elements' Preferences panel (Ctrl/Cmd + K or Edit>Preferences>General). It's not one of the five main panels, but it's worth knowing about—it does have its uses. Here, you can change things such as how files are saved, units of measurement, grid size and color, some key shortcuts, computer resources, transparency settings, and plugin data.

The Home screen

What was referred to in Adobe Photoshop Elements 2018 as the eLive screen is now the Home screen. It's the first thing you see when Elements starts and, like its predecessor, is there to provide users with creative inspiration on how to edit images, embark on creative projects, and use its many auto creations (highlighted in red in the following screenshot). You can use it to learn how to accomplish basic editing tasks and for fun activities such as creating YouTube memes, automated slideshows, and movies, and more, simply by clicking any of the pictorial links on the Home screen—which then takes you to an online tutorial.

Getting started: This is the new Elements 2022 Home screen. Over time, the application adds effects (such as Pattern Brush, highlighted in red here) using your own images and provides online links (along the top of the screen) to more creative processes as a source of inspiration. It's also the go-to screen to open previously edited files (icons on the lower right), or to start one of the applications: Organizer, Photo Editor, or Video Editor.

The screen displays a short (text) list of previously opened files, which is a nice feature, plus shortcuts to open the photo editor, the media browser (called the Organizer), and the video editor, plus links to Adobe, Facebook, and Twitter.

It's important to note that if you've not bought Elements and Premiere Elements together as a bundle, clicking the third icon, Video Editor, will prompt you to download and try Premiere Elements. Buying the bundle saves a fair chunk of money and makes sense because so many of us shoot video—plus you'll find several new features in Elements 2022 are now animated and so must be saved in a motion graphic file format such as .gif or .mp4.

Auto creations are amazing—Elements picks random images from your Organizer collections and applies a selection of AI-driven features to them. I was quite surprised when I first saw this because I had forgotten that Adobe was doing the hard work for me! Though its image selection isn't always appropriate, it's still an effective preview feature.

If you are already using Adobe Premiere Elements 2022, you'll notice several new features, including the handy auto reframing feature, animated overlays (actually the same as those in Elements 2022), better shadow highlight controls, plus easier file compression for refining image quality over a range of different display media. But that's a topic for another book...

Photoshop Elements users will note that to begin with, the handy Auto Creations feature on the Home screen remains blank until you import images to the Organizer.

Because the Home page is linked to Adobe's servers, it also provides access to the Help menu, plus thousands more pages of inspiration covering a massive range of topics, from basic tone enhancement and scrapbooking to pro-standard retouching techniques and much, much more.

The Organizer

One drawback of digital photography is that we accumulate masses of digital images and other assets, such as audio files and video clips. Keeping track of everything on a monthly basis, let alone annually, is something of a nightmare, especially if you plan on upgrading your skill set from keen amateur status to something approaching a professional occupation.

Sorting everything into meaningful collections, therefore, is the main function of the Organizer. Once it's installed, you'll note that it runs as a separate application, albeit one with almost inseparable ties to the photo-editing part of Elements, and, indeed, with its video-editing partner, Adobe Premiere Elements (often sold with Elements as a bundle).

Images and other digital assets are imported into the Organizer and sorted into meaningful groups using a range of clever tools such as albums, keywords, labels, place and people tags, star ratings, and metadata. Because all of these attributes can be applied to your images, its organizational and file search capabilities are very extensive, making it one of the best asset management systems in the business.

The Organizer is also the place to go to for quick fixes—called Instant Fixes—as well as a number of other creative activities, such as these:

Making collagesCalendarsGreeting cardsQuote graphicsSlideshows

We also use the Organizer as a platform for uploading our creations to social media platforms such as Vimeo, Twitter, and YouTube.

The catalog

Elements refers to your image files using links—nothing is ever physically moved into the application. When files are imported, Elements makes links to where the images are kept (normally this is in the Pictures folder but it could also be other hard drives in the computer or external drives). This linking information, along with all the metadata, image thumbnails, tags, attributes, and keywords—in fact, everything you do with the program—is what is saved in the all-importantcatalog.

Occasionally, you will be reminded to "back up" this catalog. If you have simply downloaded and installed Elements and proceeded to get on with your image organization and editing, you might not even know that there was a catalog, or what it does. It's important to back up this catalog on a drive that's separate to where Elements is running. An external hard drive is a good choice for this task.

The Catalog Manager (Organizer>File>Manage Catalogs)provides the ability to monitor one or multiple catalogs. To start, I'd recommend just having the one catalog. Having multiple catalogs is a good idea if you share Elements with your partner, your kids, or perhaps your work colleagues, but, because you can only ever open one catalog at a time, it makes sense just to start with one.

Though your original high-resolution files are not stored in the catalog, copies of the files are. Catalogs should be backed up periodically onto a separate hard drive—preferably one that doesn't contain your original image file. We'll cover this in detail in Chapter 2, Setting Up Photoshop Elements from Scratch.

Tip:

Before you run the program for the first time, note that when Adobe states that you "import" assets into the Organizer, what it actually does is create links to your files wherever they might be stored. Nothing is physically moved or copied into the Organizer; instead, it's just linked to wherever the files have been stored. This is a good thing to do in case you ever have to reinstall the program because of a computer malfunction or hardware issue. But it can be bad if you habitually move or rename files using only the computer's Finder/File Explorer system, and not through Elements itself. We will cover this in more detail later.

Links: As you can see from this illustration, "importing" files is actually a process of "linking" files—from their original location—to the Organizer window. If you delete, move, or rename any imported files, it will break the link and you won't be able to edit them. If this happens, Elements should immediately search for the missing file based on the name it imported with the metadata. If it locates the lost file, it automatically re-links it. If not, then you can manually search for the lost files. (A single image will have multiple links if it appears in multiple Organizer albums.)

Lost an image? If, for whatever reason, you lose a few files—something that does happen from time to time—Elements can be sent in hot pursuit of the errant images. When files are imported into the application, although it never copies the actual image files, it does bring in data such as filenames, the metadata, and a thumbnail image—so Elements does know what that missing file looks like and what its name is. In my experience, provided that the missing files have not been renamed or deleted, the software will eventually locate them for you (Organizer>File>Reconnect All Missing Files).

Photo Editor – the Quick Edit mode

Adobe presents its editing features in three different windows or edit modes located in Photo Editor, which is a separate application from the Organizer. If you are a newcomer to Elements, I'd suggest starting with the simplest editing mode—this is the Quick Edit mode.

Quick Edit 'before' and 'after': As you can see here, in the Quick Edit mode, the image being edited can be displayed in different view formats: a before view, an after view, or, as seen here, the more useful before-and-after view mode. The right-hand side of the screenshot displays some of the excellent single-click effects available in this mode (accessed by clicking the Effects tab, arrowed, at the bottom of the screen). In fact, there are 55 to choose from (5 variants of 11 originals), plus 30 new artistic looks (accessed at the top of the tab). This is a fantastic feature, producing one-click results, many of which are quite inspirational.

During the edit process, you'll use the Organizer to search for and find images that are then opened in one or, depending on your creative requirements, several of the three edit modes. After editing, they are saved and appear updated back in the Organizer. The process of getting images from the Organizer to the editor is dealt with in detail in Chapter 3, The Basics of Image Editing.

(Note that all three edit modes are interchangeable. This means that you can easily transfer an image from Quick, to Guided, to Expert, and back again, if needed.)

The Quick Edit mode enables users to make simple but significant improvements to any picture using a range of tonal adjustments. These are listed in a specific top-to-bottom order so as to produce the best editing workflow. Adjustments include Smart Fix, Exposure, Lighting, Color,and Sharpness.

This screenshot shows an enlarged view of the Quick Edit mode's Toolbar (top left) as well as its tool Options panel (lower left, set for the Horizontal Type tool), and its basic but effective Effects panel, far right—opened by pressing the Effects tab (enlarged, bottom right). Effects now encompass the original list of Classic Effects plus 40 new artistic "looks."

This mode's tools include the following:

Zoom tool—used for enlarging/reducing the size of images onscreenHand tool—used for moving a greatly enlarged image around the screenQuick Selection tool—ideal for selecting/isolating specific parts of the imageEye tool—specializes in removing red-eye and (green) pet-eyeWhiten Teeth tool—selects and brightens teeth in one easy actionStraighten tool—an easy way to level wonky horizonsType tool—specifically designed for adding text to an imageSpot Healing and Healing Brush tools—powerful tools for retouching photosCrop tool—a ubiquitous tool for cutting bits off your image to recompose the frameMove tool—the ideal tool for repositioning elements such as text

The performance of each tool, throughout all edit modes, can be modified using the Tool Options panel, which pops up from the bottom of the screen when clicked.

Photo Editor: the Guided Edit mode

As the name suggests, the Guided Edit workspace is packed with step-by-step instructions that guide you through a range of tasks—from tone fixes to far more complex processes such as panorama stitching and special type effects; there are 47 to be exact, presented in a beautifully designed and easy-to-use format. All you need to do is choose one of the effects and follow the step-by-step directions—easy!

Topics include Basics, Color, Black & White, Fun Edits, Special Edits, and Photomerge (a mini-application designed for stitching images together into widescreen panoramas, among other things).

Guided Edit mode is a creative powerhouse: This screenshot demonstrates what the Guided Edit screen looks like (with the Fun Edits tab selected). Note that while this screen is visually quite busy, its interactive design makes it quite clear what each of these effects looks like when applied to the samples pictured. I think this is a greatly underrated feature.

All you do is swipe the cursor left or right over each thumbnail to reveal the effect in a before/after style. This is good, practical software design that should find its way into a whole range of other software applications.

The Guided Edit mode is a great source of creativity, more so perhaps than the current Home screen. For example, if you are a bit stuck with what direction to take your photo-editing in, just open a picture in this mode and try some of the effects offered; most of them are bound to get your creative juices flowing nicely.

Pattern Stamp magic: It's hard to illustrate the extent of Guided Edit mode because it's packed with so many great features, so where do you start? The preceding screenshot of a suit-wearing man perfectly illustrates a feature new to Elements 2020 called Pattern Brush. Interestingly, there's been a Pattern Stamp tool in Photoshop CC for years but I always found it hard to use—this new version in Elements is both dead easy and highly effective.

Now you see it, now you don't: Another Guided Edit feature introduced in the 2020 version of Elements is called Object Removal (find it under the Guided Edit Basic tab). As with many Guided processes, this tool combines a complex editing action involving selections and object cloning, with nothing more than a swish of the cursor. Brilliant! More on this feature in Chapter 6, Advanced Techniques: Retouching, Selections, and Text.

Photo Editor: the Expert Edit mode

Having played with the Quick and Guided Edit modes, you might find this advanced editing workspace a little challenging, especially if you are a newcomer to photo editing.

When using the Expert Edit mode, it's a good idea to have an editing plan—a basic idea of what you'd like to achieve visually once the image is open in the main window. Some experience with the tools is also important—but you'll have picked up a lot of experience using them from experience gleaned with the previous two edit modes. In some ways, the Expert Edit mode resembles Adobe Photoshop—although I'd add that it also contains a lot of processes that you will not find in Photoshop. We will cover this in greater detail in Chapter 4, Easy Creative Projects.

Don't let the name put you off; its basic tools (dealt with in more depth in Chapter 3, The Basics of Image Editing) are easily mastered, providing you with a raft of powerful creative options.

Essentially, everything offered here is more customizable than in the Quick and Guided Edit modes. Learning what everything does takes time and experience but, once you have played with some of the tools in the first two modes, moving into the Expert domain will be significantly easier.

Photo Bin: As in all the edit modes, the main window displays a Photo Bin (arrowed, bottom left), where currently open image files can be shuffled into the main edit space. There are also Rotate, Undo, and Redo buttons, and an Options panel (here it is floating in the center of the screen) for the current tool (in this example, it's the Rectangular Marquee Selection Tool. This panel allows you to fine-tune the tool's performance—a very handy panel to familiarize yourself with because it allows you to finely control the efficacy of each tool—and therefore, hopefully, your results.

Once your images have been edited to perfection, you'll need to either incorporate them into a project, such as a slideshow or photo book, export them to a printer, or upload them to your favorite social media site. This is where the Create and Share menus come in very handy. Let's take a look at what these menus offer.

Tip:

When it comes to operating systems, don't worry about the old Mac versus Windows dilemma. After years of producing two different versions of this excellent software, Adobe finally settled its differences with Apple (over iPhoto). Now, the only difference between Elements running on the two operating systems comes down to the names of two keyboard keys (Command and Control) making life for those of us switching between Mac and Windows a breeze. As to whether one operating system works better than the other, that's a discussion I can leave to these two TV advertising rivals from 2009, on the left.

Working with panels and the Panel Bin

You'll find the most important panels in the Panel Bin, located on the right-hand side of the main screen in the Quick and Expert Edit modes. While they might not be the most glamorous part of this application, panels still play an important part in your day-to-day workflow.

Using Styles – drop shadows and more:Styles, third panel from the right (arrowed), contains a lot of special effects—from a simple color filter to something a lot more sophisticated, such as the plastic "look" yellow neon effect seen on my La Habana, Cuba text layer. One click on the thumbnail and the effect is applied. Easy.

The principle panels in the Quick Edit mode are the Adjustments panel (Chapter 3, The Basics of Image Editing), Effects, Textures, and Frames (Chapter 4, Easy Creative Projects). The Expert Edit mode has a wider selection of panels, including Layers, Effects, Filters, Styles, and Graphics (Chapter 5, Advanced Techniques: Layers and Masking).

There are more panels to be found in the Expert Edit mode (Actions, Color Swatches, Favorites, Filters, History, Histogram, Info, and Navigator), accessed either by clicking on the More button (at the bottom and to the extreme right), or by using the Window drop-down menu (top of the page). Most panels have their own menus, designed to organize the features each holds and, most importantly, to help you find the stuff you really need.

Panels, Panels, Panels Everywhere: I have cheated a bit here—adding a bunch of panels onto the same screen to illustrate just how many functions this application has—there are hundreds of effects, graphics, styles, and filters available for your editing fun and creativity. Those used frequently can be dragged to the Favorites Panel which is located under the 'More' tab (arrowed) or under the Window drop-down menu, top of the page.

Tips:

- If you accidentally close a panel by clicking on the x icon at the top-right of the panel on Windows, or the top-left of the panel on a Mac, it's simple enough to reinstate that same panel from the Window drop-down menu.

- Some panels can also be reactivated using a keyboard shortcut, which is listed to the right hand side of all drop-down menus.

- Although panels 'live' in the Panel Bin, you can actually drag them out of the bin and arrange them so they 'float' over the work area by choosing Custom Workspace from the tiny tab on the right-hand side of the 'More' panel (see arrowed above) then clicking, holding, and dragging the appropriate tab to reposition it over the main edit window.

Panel Functions

Elements has many panels, each providing essential help with certain aspects of the editing process. Some refer to the Quick Edit mode only (such as Adjustments), while others only appear in the Expert mode (such as the Info panel).

Here's an overview of what each panel offers:

Adjustments: This provides sliders to adjust the Exposure, Lighting (contrast), Color, Balance, and Sharpness settings. Effects: Provides the user with a great range of looks—automated effects recipes that can be applied to an image with a single click; it now includes 40 new "artistic" looks. Textures: Elements has a wide range of assets, such as surface textures, that, once clicked, are added to the file as an overlay. Good for backgrounds, web pages, and so on. Frames