Forgive me if this has been answered elsewhere. Is there a detailed description of what Elements 2 is doing with each of the ‘quick fix’ options (auto focus or auto contrast, for example)? Are some of these ‘adaptive’ to the individual image while others use standard parameters? I think that understanding the steps and the parameters used for these ‘beginner’ tools would help me learn how to use the software more efficiently and effectively.
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All of the options are, as you put it, adaptive to the image displayed on the monitor. Elements doesn’t apply a cookie cutter correction.
I think the best way to learn about the various adjustments is to put an image up on the screen and methodically make your way through all the choices. The Quick Fix screen itself does a credible job of explaining in laymen’s terms what each option is for. If you click on the first item in the list of Adjustment Categories, you’ll get a description of what the category does as a whole, then as you work your way through the various adjustments available within that category that are listed in column 2 you’ll get a more detailed description of each one and how it will effect your picture.
The steps and parameters are all in there if you poke around long enough – although I think Adobe should have set up the order of the adjustment categories in the first column differently. Most people are going to rotate an image before they do anything else, yet it’s last on the list!
Thank you, Beth. Here’s my suggestion, then, for a software enhancement that would benefit us ‘newbies’: have a ‘what just happened’ button for these quick fix options. So, if I choose Auto Focus for example, the software can tell me what Unsharp Mask parameters it used (amount, radius, threshold). An alternative would be to list this info in the Undo History area. I often find that I want to tweak ‘just a bit’ from the quick fix, but end up spending oodles of time just getting close.
Ah well, no software is perfect. Elements is a GREAT start, however.
I haven’t tried this, but as a workaround you might try doing some manual comparisons. Make two copies of your original image (most of us always archive an original shot and work on a duplicate anyway.) Have both images open on the screen. Select one and use one of the Quick Fix options. Leave that image open and select the uncorrected image. Go to the corresponding area for manual adjustments and tweak the second image until it looks like the first. That will give you an idea of what the software is doing when it makes the automatic adjustment and also how much correction is taking place. It might even be more revealing than simply reading about what’s happening.
I think most of us have found we don’t really need to go this far. When we first start to use Elements the Quick Fix is great, but as you become more comfortable with it, you quickly get a feel for what kinds of corrections an image might need. Not all of them need something from each category. The settings used for one image might not be appropriate for a different one anyway. And personal preference is at work here, too. Often I don’t care for the way my image looks after the Auto adjustments. Sometimes I feel the outcome is too dark or has too much contrast, or… Quick Fix is a good overview of everything that’s available and helps you figure out what adjustment does what, but I doubt that not knowing exactly what’s being done to each image would prove to be quite as helpful as you think at this early stage in your image editing "career"! 🙂
Oh, and be careful with Unsharp Mask. Always use that one as a totally final adjustment, and you might also want to get into the habit of doing it on a separate layer. It can be a dangerous one to the quality of your image. (I can’t remember, though, if Quick Fix will work on a layer – I’ve never tried that.)
You sound like someone who needs to do just a tiny bit of work in Quick Fix and then move on to the study of Layers. That’s where the real power of this software is. Good luck!
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