Digital Photo Tips by Duane Brovan

(Article also posted in the Ridge Rider News)

Tip #18: Photoshop Elements 3 (Digital Photo Editing Software)

In photo tip article #9 (Digital Photo Editing Software) I mentioned many different brands of software that help in your “Digital Workflow”. One of the most popular is Adobe Photoshop Elements 3 (retail $99). This is a great program for the beginner to semi-pro photographer. Basically, it is a watered down version of the most popular photo editing software Adobe Photoshop ($800). In past versions of this program Elements 1 and 2 a lot of the Photoshop features were left out. But Adobe wised up and gave the program some kick! They did put in lots of handy and powerful new features:

Spot Healing Brush & Healing Brush: It’s the fast fix for picture flaws. Use the Spot Healing Brush for a single click fix of smaller blemishes like dust on the camera lens. Brush away wrinkles and even entire unwanted objects with the Healing Brush. Smart Fix: instantly improves lighting, contrast and color problems with a single click, or use the simple slider for more precise control. Photo Browser: Quickly and easily organize your ever-expanding digital photo collection, and find the photos you want to use. Photomerge®: The second-generation Photomerge feature lets you keep your photos on separate layers, even after merging them into a seamless panorama. Cookie Cutter Tool: Cookie Cutter Frame your picture in a heart, a puzzle piece, a variety of geometric shapes, and much more. Photo Mail: Turn your e-mail into works of art! Instead of merely attaching your photos to a plain old e-mail message, Photo Mail lets you choose styles and layouts ranging from birthdays to sports to vacations. Dynamic Slide Shows: Create dynamic, eye-catching slide slows in a few clicks with the Creation templates and your photos.

These are only a few of the added features to Adobe Photoshop Elements 3. There are big advantages for using the most popular programs such as Adobe Photoshop Elements 3: many help books are written for them, many people use the same program and you can help one-another, many seminars and courses are given, they are readily available in most computer stores or computer departments. So, think wisely before you just go out and get a Digital Photo Editing Software program, not all are the same. A great place to check out the different programs is on-line. Just go to the company web site and look up their program and compare with other similar programs. For more information on the digital photo process go to web link: www.duanebrovan.com/digitaltips or go to www.GoShingletown.com and click on the Free Digital Tips Icon. Duane Brovan is available for digital photo consultations and tutoring: Call 474-4041 Email: Duane@DuaneBrovan.com