Adobe’s Photoshop Elements 2021 Released

It has been sometime since I last posted anything. One would think that with COVID-19 running wild, I would have more time to do this. Not so, it seems. I have been actively pursuing my photography to be sure. For one thing I have been busy beta testing the latest version of Photoshop Elements, PSE 2021, which Adobe just announced on Thursday.

Below is a link to where you can learn about this latest version, beyond what I can cover here. It includes several videos.

https://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop-elements/whats-new.html?trackingid=XFWLHJ9Z&mv=in-product

As I generally do, I am going to provide a short description of what is in the latest version. It includes performance improvements and some new features as well.

Here are some of the highlights:

In the Organizer there is a new Catalog database only backup command.

Three new Guided Edits, Perfect Landscapes (added a more dramatic sky in this example), Creative Dualtone Effect, and Move and Scale Object.

Moving Photos (2D and 3D camera motion) command in the Photo Editor.

Fix Face Tilt option has been added to the Enhance > Adjust Facial Features command. Note, the animated GIF here is just to give the idea of the results. There is no animation.

New Creation, Quote Graphic, which is accessible from both the Organizer and the Photo Editor, which has numerous templates, including animation.

Option to save photos to the Adobe cloud. You can also edit a photo stored on the cloud.

Use GPU to improve performance when using certain filters in the Photo Editor, for ezample, Liquify filter.

Adobe Camera RAW (ACR) editor was upgraded to the new look of Version 12.4 allowing the film strip of opened photos to be either at the bottom or the left.

In the coming weeks I will be demonstrating these and other improvements to Photoshop Elements 2021, as well as Premiere Elements 2021, which also had significant new features added this round. Stay tuned.

Until next time…

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How Photoshop Elements has Changed Throughout the Years

As I read the discussions in various forums and Facebook groups, it is apparent that many users continue to use older versions of Photoshop Elements. Many users are even using older versions than PSE 11, released in the Fall of 2012. This version is significant, because Adobe changed the complete look and feel of the program in that version.

One of the most commonly asked questions from users of older versions is whether or not it is worthwhile to upgrade to the then current version. The answer for a given user depends upon their circumstances. It is often driven by changes in the computer they use, its operating system, and/or the camera they use.

Today, we are probably about half way through the product life cycle of PSE 2020. If history repeats itself, PSE 2021 will be released sometime this Fall. So the question many users ask is should I upgrade to the latest version. Adobe has a excellent table that compares PSE 2020 features with previous ones going back to PSE 15. You can access it at the link below:

For several years now I have maintained my own table. It is more detailed than the one in the above link and goes back to PSE 11. The link below is to my current version. It is an Excel spreadsheet. 

Feature Comparison PSE 11 Through PSE 2020

If you have been struggling to decide whether to upgrade or not, I hope you found this information helpful. If so please star-rate it or Like/Share the post. Also, I am always open to comments.

Until next time…

Addendum: Some were not able to open my spreadsheet. I have converted it to a PDF file. The link to it is below.

Photoshop Elements Feature Comparison PSE 11 through PSE 2020 PDF File.

 

Creating High Contrast Landscapes Images Using Photoshop

In this post, I am going to demonstrate how to bring out detail in landscape photos using traditional/legacy commands in Photoshop.

In more recent versions of Photoshop, we have new commands such as Clarity and Texture that essentially do this. But sometimes it is fun to revert to the old way. Besides, there is always that potential to better control the final result.

In this demo, I will be using Photoshop 2020, but the same techniques can be used using Photoshop Elements as well. I learned this technique from Dave Seeram in a magazine article he wrote several years ago.

Click on the figure below to view the tutorial.

If you found this AppTip Sheet to be helpful, please give it a star rating, or click on the Like or Share buttons at the bottom.

Until next time…

Photoshop Elements & Premiere Elements 2020 Released!

Adobe has released their latest version of Photoshop Elements and Premiere Elements. They have continued their march to add improvements each year to both programs that make organizing and editing your photos and videos easier.

Applying advanced techniques to your photos and videos that typically take multiple steps have been reduced to either a single click or a few well of well defined steps called Guided Edits. Photoshop Elements 2020 now includes 55 Guided Edits, and Premiere Elements has twenty-three.

In the coming weeks I will highlight some of the new features, but in the meantime, check out the Adobe website for multiple short videos highlighting the capabilities of both programs.

Click on the figure below and scroll down to see several videos describing new and existing features of Photoshop Elements 2020.

To see the features included in Premiere Elements 2020 click on the link below.

Check back here soon for additional demonstrations of the various new features in both programs.

Until next time…