The upgraded Guided Edit has several improvements to the existing tools, such as the capacity to correct levels and fixing Keystone Distortion. However, the two chief additions to Guided Edit are the new Actions Player and the Photographic Effects.

Action Player is found in the Automated Actions section. Basically, an action is a set of commands, tasks, and other functions that can be automatically applied to an image, making common tasks much simpler. While using actions in Elements has been possible in the past, VeUsing Photoshop Element 7’s Guided Edit

PS Elements 7’s upgraded Guided Edit adds quite a few improvements to existing tools, such as the ability to correct levels and fixing Keystone Distortion. However, the two principal additions to Guided Edit are the new Actions Player and the Photographic Effects.

Action Player can be found in the Automated Actions section. Actions are sets of commands, tasks, and other functions that are automatically applied to an image, making ordinary tasks much simpler. While using actions in Elements has been possible in the past, Version 7’s implementation makes it easier.

Elements 7 comes packaged with a few preset actions, but I am guessing that there will be several new ones cropping up to take advantage of the feature.

Adobe has also updated adjustment operations through the use of Smart Brushes, which consolidate multi-operation adjustments, such as selecting then creating a new effects layer, into a single selection operation that automatically generates the layer and mask.

Still, I can't get around how confusing the user interface remains; I think the main reason is that everything seems organized by technology, rather than by task. A hodgepodge of stuff lives on the Guided palette, some of which you can't find elsewhere in the program, like the Photomerge tools, or which don't seem guiding at all, like the Saturated Slide Film effect or the Action Player.

The latter runs scripts that request user input, which is why I suspect they're considered Guided, but in that respect they're no different than dialog boxes or Wizards. Before and after views are still only available in Quick Fix and Guided modes. I just can't remember where to find things a lot of the time.

Regrettably, these are the options that usually never change prior to the product shipping. Things that I assume will improve are the performance (the beta version is slow) and the selection of presets, actions, and templates (they're pretty thin). Price is in the range of $79.99 or $99.99, depending on if you buy it via the Adobe store and/or believe in mail-in rebates. Add $40 for the plus-membership option.

The main advantage to the program is that it's less expensive than Photoshop and Lightroom, yet is powerful enough for most photo editing tasks.

Consequently, the improved raw workflow is quite improved; basically you now can bypass it entirely if you want. For instance, in order to create a slide show of NEF files, the program will simply apply the default raw-processing settings and treat them like JPEGs.

There is also a new text search box in the organizer, which is a fast, easy way to filter by keywords or basic metadata. Be warned however that it is very basic metadata only; you can only search on time, data, camera, and caption text. But that should be sufficient for basic home users.

Obviously there is always one new and incredible feature per version; Elements 7 is no different and has the Photomerge Scene Cleaner which is an extension of Group Shot. It allows you to seamlessly combine variations of a photo to eliminate unwanted objects in the scene.

Typically features like these never work for me without a great bit of work on my end; amazingly enough this one did, on two random photos (which met the similarity criteria). I haven't tried the other variations, Photomerge Faces, or Panorama–but those are derivative of existing Photoshop CS3 tools.

One very nice thing is that it is easy to upgrade to Photoshop without having to learn an entirely new interface should you feel that you have out grown the Elements.

Adobe was one of the first companies to create image editing software, and their products have become the industry standard for photo and graphic editing.

Their various lines of software are routinely being updated and improved. Because of this, Adobe offers updates to their software at lower prices if you already have a copy. This holds true for both Adobe Photoshop and Photoshop Elements.

For the average user the full version of Adobe Photoshop contains many high-end features and tools that you have paid for but will undoubtedly never use. Unless you are doing a large amount of professional work, routinely using custom color separations and color management, Photoshop Elements should satisfy your photo editing needs without the extra cost.

If you have been looking into editing your own digital photos you may find the variety of programs available for the purpose confusing. It can be hard to tell which program offers the best bang for your buck.

Widely reputed to be the best is the full version of Adobe Photoshop, unfortunately many of its features often go ignored by the average user. There are other quality programs on the market offered by less well known brand names.

While these programs may be nearly as high quality as Photoshop it can be difficult to know which image editor offers good value and reliability and which is a waste of time. Luckily Adobe offers Photoshop Elements for those who want a known, high-quality image editing program, but don’t want to pay $500 or more.

Photoshop Elements has many of the same features as its namesake, Photoshop CS, and has the same user interface, but has a much lower price tag.

This sleeker, simpler version of the classic image editing program contains all the tools you need to easily edit and change photographs and graphics for home or small-scale professional use. It is perfect for the beginner as it has fewer confusing menus and high-end features, while still keeping a wide variety of useful tools.

Following on from Monday's Post..

To get rid of any marks on the photograph you will want to highlight only the part of the photo where the scratches are located, not the entire photograph. To highlight these areas you can use the Lasso tool.

Once you have fixed the damaged areas you can use the feather tool to soften the edges of the selected area so that the fixed area will not be obvious on the picture. To use the feather tool you select the Feather option and choose the Scratch and Dust Filter again. You may want to do the radius and threshold adjustment process again to get the correct texture and make sure all the scratches and marks are removed.

To finish the restoration process and make the photograph appear professional I recommend you crop the image to remove any cracks or torn edges. You can also use the canvas to equally crop the image.

You can add drama to the picture by adding a drop shadow. This makes the photo appear as if it has been lifted off the page. You can also remove color from the photo using tools Shift+Ctrl+U. Once it is black and white you can then add color by putting a little amount of Sepia. This is done on the Hue or Saturation tab. The contrast may be adjusted using the Levels option.

This is only one very easy way to remove blotches and marks on an old picture. It is also a good way to make the picture look new but still appear classical. It will be a pleasant and easy way to display pictures kept on old albums and cabinets for a long time.

Take a look at this video I found on You Tube about Restoring old Photographs

Undoubtedly you have older photographs in albums or frames that have become damaged by the sun or general wear and tear.

Thanks to the technology available through the computer and photo editing software, including Adobe Photoshop Elements, it is easy to restore these cherished photographs.

Photoshop Elements is an easy to learn program. Using Elements you have options that can help restore your photographs. One of these tools is the Dust and Scratch Filter which can be used to remove any marks, scratches and blots on your old photos.

The Dust and Scratch Filter is found on the Menu Bar under the Filter Tab. A drop down menu lists your choices where you want to click on the Noise tab and then Dust and Scratches.

After selecting the Dust and Scratches menu, a pop up window opens with two control sliders. The first slider option is called the Radius and the other one is called the Threshold. If the preview box is checked you may also have another window open. The main options we use when restoring photos are radius and threshold.

Try to adjust the Radius slider which should remove any scratches. Please be aware that overdoing it may make the edges blurred as well. If blurring does occur you can adjust the Threshold slider. This should allow the details to return and make the picture clearer with the scratches disappearing. Also, be careful not to set the sliders too far or you will only create blotches on the picture.

Photoshop Elements computer software is perfect for altering and applying special effects to your digital images as well as helping you prepare your photographs for the web. If you wish to resize your images, add filters and styles, Adobe Photoshop Elements is the software for you.

For the amateur photographer or the professional who is new to digital photography and computerized graphics, Photoshop Elements is easy to learn and comes with a low price tag and a host of creative tools that assist with manipulating and altering your images.

If you wish to retouch your image Elements has a huge variety of brush sizes available in Photoshop. Images can be altered by painting with the brushes over the area you want to change. Red eye can be removed in less than two minutes. If you have photos that have poor quality there is a sharp tool to sharpen certain areas of an image. You can even remove unwanted background items from an image.

In Elements you have the option of saving your images in any one of 15 types of file formats, giving you the possibility of creating images for a variety of different projects. This includes images for the web, for slideshows, and for many different forms of printing.

Elements can also create images specifically for the web. Preparing your images for your website is simple and easy with Photoshop Elements. It also helps you to resize and compress images that are being attached to an e-mail.

Using HTML creating a web gallery can be a lot of work but with Photoshop Elements you can open a group of images, resize them, create a thumbnail gallery and create all the navigation HTML buttons for your site. It also creates a folder for your web files and saves it on your computer.

There is a fabulous new tool in Elements called the “Cookie Cutter Tool” It has many uses, but it comes in particularly handy if you are a scrapbooker.

Take time to check out this new tool, there are so many things you can do with it.

Firsly, Create a new project, any color and backround. Create a new layer with a different color or even use a different pattern, select the cookie cutter tool and highlight the shape you want to remove from the top layer.

Draw around the shape and check the checkmark icon on the top of the menu to finalize your selection. Id you don’t like the way it looks, then simply use the “cancel transform” icon at the top of the menu, or even simpler, just press esc.

Now you should have a shape cut on another layer, you can keep repeating this as many times as you want, or you can clone it, but remember to select the cut out layer at the beginning.

You can even use the cookie cutter tool to cut out a shape from a photograph.