The User Group Network  /  UG Resources  /  Adobe Photoshop Elements  /  2  /  3  /  4 continued from page 1 Ideally suited for anyone who wants their digital image prepared for end use in 20 minutes rather than hours. Photoshop Elements is a nice solution for those who have scanners, digital cameras or digital capture cards in their computers but aren't interested in becoming certified by the digital image association. (If there is such a thing.) It's ideally suited for anyone with a digital image (picture, photo, or scan) who needs the image well prepared for the end use in ten to twenty minutes rather than ten to twenty hours. It's ideally suited for web development; for the family with a digital camera; for the secretary wanting a photo in the newsletter; a trainer doing a Powerpoint presentation or the overstressed graphic designer who's gray hair count seems to grow with each new day. Simply put, anyone who is not satisfied with the software that came with the scanner, yet not ready to lay their entire life on the line for geek status in special effects and pre-press hall of fame, should at least take a sober look at Elements. _ The beauty of Elements lies in the way Adobe has reevaluated the use patterns and tasks required to get simple jobs done. This is pretty brilliant, considering the mess some developers have made in other competing software. (Although, duh, Adobe should have thought of it four years ago!) Taking a task approach to image manipulation makes the processes quick, easy and understandable. For photos, you capture and correct. Notice a tab in the tool bar presents a "recipes" book which walks you through the steps required to accomplish the final goal. Even without using the recipes, the list of topics alone tells the user what will be needed in what order. Brilliant! _ Here's the "Color Correction" recipe. Without knowing anything at all, the user would be able to decide which to read and act upon. In my case I wanted to fix an image of Andy taken in a dark room, with the flash twenty feet away and color-tinted stage lights. So I needed "Remove Color Cast." Color Correction _ I proceeded to the Enhance > Color > Color Cast command and used the eyedropper tool to select an area that should have been gray, white or black. (open "Colorcast" in a new browser window) Since there is no such thing as black, and gray is a difficult color to define, I looked for anything that should be bright and close to white. Perhaps the highlight in Andy's cheek. Click, and Presto, the image is color corrected. (You'll want to see the technical notes.) _ This very same operation took 16 clicks and trips to 8 dialogs to accomplish this in Photoshop 6. It required 11 clicks and 4 dialog visits to accomplish it in Photoshop 3.5. Even then, there was a lot of trial and error. Continues next page with "Super easy Panoramas". . . Save more than 30% on Photoshop Elements when you purchase through UGNN Back to the TOP... User Group Network Register Your User Group, Subacribe to UG email lists * Get the News * Submit a Site * Submit an Article * Rumor Manager . . . . . Thank you for visiting the User Group Network at http://www.user-groups.net. Copyright 1994 - 2001 User Group Network. * For information about the UGNetwork, UGNN, The User Group Academy, or to get involved, please contact us. Send an e-mail message to: hospitality at the user-groups.net ! The User Group Network is rated as a 98-to-1, or 98% content website -- high content, low noise -- 100% Smoke-free, fat-free. no spam, no cookies, no ads, no javascript, no blinks, no scrolling banners. No animals were harmed in its creation. Only recycled materials were used for this web site. Get involved in the User Group Network, and participate in the user group community. The User Group Network is a completely independant Spam-Free community supporting Apple Macintosh, Apple II, Apple Lisa, IBM, Compaq, Microsoft Windows, Amiga, Dell, Gateway, UNIX, and other computer platformstoo numerous to mention, however we are NOT a part of those commercial corporations, and the info and content provided herein does not necessarily reflect the opinions of any commercial organization, unless otherwise noted. We do not discriminate race, creed, sexual preference, or computer platform. The User Group Network does not share, sell, rent or otherwise purvey the User Group Database List. So don't ask. The User Group Network Bookstore is an AMAZON Associate Bookseller. All books sold through the "Buy It" links here will generate a slight percentage, thereby helping support everyone's favorite online user group resource. __ We have selected only those books we feel are genuinly beneficial to the user group community. If you plan to buy the book, please click the link here and make your online purchase work harder for you. Clicking here is the only way we'll be registered for the commission. Thank You.