Software News

Improvements in capabilities and ease of use make the most popular pro image-editing program even better

Adobe Photoshop was introduced 11 years ago this month, and it's been the photo-editing tool of choice for most serious photographers and desktop-publishing professionals ever since. Does that make it the right one for you? Well, if you're serious about digital...

Adobe just released Photoshop Elements 2020, the most powerful derivative of Photoshop to date. Available for $99 (or bundled with also-new Adobe Premier Elements for $149 retail) the latest version features automation powered by Adobe Sensei, their amazingly potent AI engine, and three access levels to suit Beginners, Intermediate Users and Experts. If you haven’t seen Elements recently (and I suspect many of you fall into that category) you will be surprised by the range and capabilities of this inexpensive photo editor. What follows here is my recap.

By now you’ve caught on that Adobe updates, refines and improves Photoshop Elements every fall, adding more and more rich features each year. The 2022 version is the most powerful ever, and possibly the best dollar-value-bargain in the world of digital photo editing.

Should you upgrade from an earlier version? Read on to find out what we think.

Mention digital image editing and it’s likely that the first word you’ll hear is Photoshop. It’s become a general term, like Xerox. For many, the full-blown version of Photoshop (currently at CS5) is either overkill, with features that you’ll never need or use, or just too expensive. Adobe realizes this and has produced a more streamlined version for years. This “entry-level” version of Photoshop, named Elements, is priced like a basic editing program, but filled with features you’d expect to pay quite a bit more for. The latest version, Elements 9 has added several new features that photographers have been requesting for years, making this release an even more attractive option, and further blurring the line between CS and Elements features.

What’s New
There are normally a couple of new features in each release that make upgrading an attractive option for current users, and in this regard Elements 9 adds some interesting items in the sharing area, and a major feature that has been requested for years. Let’s take a look at what is new in Version 9.

Don’t you hate it when you straighten a horizon in Photoshop and ended up cutting off important parts of the photo in the process? Well, Adobe has an answer for that with its upcoming Content-Aware Crop feature for Photoshop CC.

Adobe has just announced that final releases of Lightroom 5.7 and Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) 8.7 are now available. These updates offer several key features including a new tool to import files from Apple’s now defunct Aperture professional software, and from its current iPhoto consumer imaging software to Ligthroom.