Software Review: Adobe Photoshop Elements 9.0

Adobe Photoshop Elements 9 is the latest release from the Adobe Photoshop family and it is the little brother of the industry standard digital imaging software product Adobe Photoshop. Adobe Photoshop Elements 9 has been released for both Windows and the Mac and has incorporated many new features.

Photoshop is considered by many to be the best image editor on the planet but unless you are a professional it may not be the best choice for the general consumer for a couple of reasons. First, with a high end product, there is usually a high end learning curve that can take months; even years to become accomplished with such an all encompassing product. Second, a high end product usually comes with a high end price. In the case of Photoshop CS5, purchasing it new that can mean $699 for the standard version, and $999.00 USD for the extended version. For Adobe Photoshop Elements 9 it is $99.00 USD, or bundled with Adobe Premier Elements 9, it is $149.00. You can check out what you need to run Adobe Photoshop Elements 9 from their website?

So what is new with this version of Adobe Photoshop Elements?

• Guided Edits – will take the work out of your photo editing, so you can get professional results with less effort. This will give you simple ways to get to some of the powerful editing capabilities of Photoshop Elements 9 so you can incorporate stunning photo effects. New Guided Edits help you create pop art masterpieces, reflection effects,
Lomo camera effects, perfect portraits, and more.

• Layered masks – make it easy to control the transparency of specific areas of a photo to help you create richly layered looks. A layer mask controls the visibility of the layer to which it is added. You can edit a layer mask to control what is seen in the image.

• Photomerger Style Match – analyzes the stylistic qualities of any photo you choose and then automatically applies those qualities, like dramatic high contrast or beautiful color tone, to another photo.

• Photomerge Panorama – will let you create your best-looking panoramas yet. With its enhanced blending capabilities, Photomerge Panorama fills in jagged edges as it automatically stitches together multiple horizontal or vertical photos, expanding your panoramic scenes.

Article Author: T. Michael Testi

T. Michael Testi is a writer and a photographer out of Edmond Oklahoma. You can see his photographic and art work at T Michael Imaging.

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