What kind of retouching can be done w/elements?

SH
Posted By
Susan Hawthorne
Aug 10, 2003
Views
100
Replies
4
Status
Closed
Hi all,
I am a rank beginner with digital photo’s. I’ve had a digital camera for a couple of years and really love it. I’ve had a couple of different little photo programs that would do things like auto-correct color or balance, remove red-eye, and had tools like smudge.
I want to be able to re-touch a bit more. Like brush out blemishes, double chins, etc without wrecking the picture and ending up with someone who looks like one side of their family comes from outer space 😀
Is this possible with Adobe Elements? Or do I need a different program? What can you recommend ? I’d like a program that is user friendly but that offers some good options.
Thanks, Meenie
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BH
Beth Haney
Aug 10, 2003
Elements is exceptionally good at doing all of those things. There are some automatic features like you’re used to, but there are also some very powerful manual tools to use for color adjustments, cloning out artifacts, etc. I’m sure it’s everything you want and/or need and more.

There’s a demo download available, so you could play with it for 30 days. If you decide to check it out, just remember that if/when you decide to buy the full program, you’ve GOT to do an uninstall and remove all traces of the demo version from your hard drive before installing the full version, whether you download the full version or purchase a CD. That includes a Find to locate any straggling folders and taking them off manually. Buying the B&M version and getting the CD is strongly recommended. And it’s usually available for less than what Adobe charges for the download.

Try it! You’ll love it! There is a learning curve, but everybody here on the forum loves to help new Elements users get going.
MR
Mark Reibman
Aug 10, 2003
Meenie,

What a lot of people don’t realize about digital photography is that image editing is an extension of the camera. Most images straight out of the camera will be so-so, but with some basic skills you can turn them into something so much better. There is a learning curve but the results can be gratifying and the process can be a lot of fun. Even addictive.

We will answer your questions on this forum and direct you to good resources for learning if you do decide to go with Photoshop Elements.
SH
Susan Hawthorne
Aug 11, 2003
Hi Mark, Kenneth and Beth,
Thanks so much for your help! I’m so new to this that I don’t even know what some of the terms I see hopping around in here are!! But I’m willing to learn.
Elements will actually allow you to airbrush out things? The description on it’s web page just talks about the basics that are on every photo program. But the description of Adobe Photoshop specifically says "re-touch photos"
Is there a big difference between the two programs (other than price)? Or are they just trying to aim you at the higher end product when the smaller one will do??
It’s so confusing!
And Kenneth, thank you so much for the info about the book. If I get this program (and I probably will) I’ll get a copy asap!!!
Thanks again!
Meenie 🙂
BH
Beth Haney
Aug 11, 2003
Yep, Meenie, you can get rid of all kinds of stuff using Elements. There isn’t an "airbrush" per se, but that Clone Stamp is fantastic!

The full version of Photoshop was designed primarily for professionals and includes some advanced editing options that few of us using Elements would know what to do with if we had them! We have some professional photographers on the forum who find it does everything they need. If you’ve never done any of this digital editing stuff before, Elements will keep you busy for a very long time. Since Adobe released Elements, people have also been designing addons and plug ins that can replace some of the tools missing from the full version. Many of them are free downloads.

You won’t be sorry if you get it. And you’ll like our forum a lot better, too. 🙂

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