Page 3 - Photoshop Elements 8 Feature Highlights
PhotoMerge Exposure
Features in Photoshop Elements have always been one of the biggest assets for Elements series of software. This makes it easier for first time users and enthusiasts alike to easily do things like crop a photo, or in this case, merge two photos together. In the Exposure part of PhotoMerge, it is possible to take multiple pictures -- up to a maximum of ten -- and combine them together in a special way. The importance of this is to merge the lighting effects of the photos together. Using some of the sample photos from Adobe's Assets disc, the photos above demonstrate this with the left side using the flash, and the right side without it. The left side clearly has a better focus on the foreground, while the right features the landmark in the background. Using PhotoMerge Exposure, and a little bit of guided help from the Adobe Photoshop Elements 8, it is possible to get the best of both worlds into one photo. As aforementioned, all of the photos taken for demonstration purposes above and below are provided by Adobe in their Assets disk.
After applying the PhotoMerge Exposure tool, it is possible to have the focus on the foreground, as well as the focus on the landmark. This is especially useful in low light situations, since one picture can be taken with flash on, and the other without it. By combining the pictures together, we will get a better picture even when the originals were only good in one aspect. In addition, by 'photomerging' multiple photos, we can make even better photos even when the original is not taken correctly or has degraded quality.
Recompose Photo
Usually, when a photo is resized to a different aspect ratio, there may be a loss of quality, or a distortion of the image itself. With Photoshop Elements 8, Adobe has thought of a solution for that in the form of the Recompose tool. It enables the user to take a picture and "recompose" the image, which is basically a resize, but with additional features embedded into it. Using two different colored brushes, it is possible to highlight focused entities in the photo such as people, places, or objects. The green brush keeps the focus in the picture, while the red brush does the opposite, and removes the highlighted areas. This is especially useful for photos with random spectators or people that happen to walk into the photo as it is taken, and you don't want them.
After the tool is applied, the photo can be set to preset printing dimensions, or be manually resized by the user. A good example is the photo above, which had the woman with the camera removed to have a smaller photo that can be printed. Using the green brush, the man and the child were kept in the resized image, while the lady at the back was removed entirely using the red brush. Although the tool is not necessarily perfect by any means, it works reasonably well enough to have some potential use in the examples listed above.
Photoshop Create (Collage)
Finally, using the Create tab (Located next to the Edit tab) has many useful and fun features such as automatically creating photo books, photo calendars, greeting cards, slide shows, or even a photo collage. I have decided to take a look into the Photo Collage feature, as this may prove to be a useful tool for those looking to compose a quick art project, or post onto social networking websites. The Photo Collage tool features a collection of templates for the location of photo placement, as well as default backgrounds for the collage as well. Pictures can be inputted into the image by either double-clicking the photo areas, or dragging and dropping into the work area itself. This feature is not only fun to use, but has a whole lot of different combinations and templates, which is even further enhanced if you have a Photoshop.com Plus account. Again, we'll go over in detail of Photoshop.com Plus access later on in this article.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging
2. Photoshop Elements 8 Interface and Usage
3. Photoshop Elements 8 Feature Highlights
4. Premiere Elements 8 Interface and Usage
5. Premiere Elements 8 Feature Highlights
6. Photoshop.com, Conclusion
