Photoshop Elements 11
© Adobe
It's that time of year again... the temperatures are getting cooler, leaves are turning, and a new version of Photoshop Elements is appearing on store shelves. Yes, today Adobe is releasing Photoshop Elements 11.
Adobe has been going around and around with the user interface colors and design for several versions now, but I think this time they finally got the message users have been trying to send for several years now. They have done away with the white on black menus, interface text and icons are larger, and the icons are simple and distinct. You immediately notice that the interface is less cluttered, brighter, visually pleasing, and easy to get around. Even for those of us with older eyes.
The user interface has been revised once again in Photoshop Elements 11. Did Adobe get it right this time? I think so.
In fact, ease of use was a big focus in this release, and Adobe did manage to make things better for beginners while not removing any features the more seasoned users may have grown to love. For starters, users opening the Editor for the very first time will now start out in the Quick Edit mode instead of Expert mode, so they won't be overwhelmed. As the users gains experience, however, they will be able to move into a Guided and Expert modes just as before.
The Organizer is now streamlined to four distinct views centered around the way most users want to organize pictures--people, places, events, and media. Media allows you to browse by folders and albums as always, but the people, places, and events views are new, and are accessed by switching tabs at the top of the screen. The People view shows photos grouped by face, Places puts your photos on a map, and Events stacks your pictures according life events.
The people view in the organizer is a fun way to view stacks of photos by face. Dragging your mouse over a person's stack shows a time-lapse slideshow of all the photos you have for that person.
It's too soon for me to say if the Organizer's performance is significantly enhanced, but Adobe tells me they did work on this. The interface changes, though, are most definitely a step forward and I really like what they did with the people, places and events views. The folder view is no longer hidden away, which I know some folks will appreciate.
I have not had a chance yet to dig deep into Photoshop Elements 11, but I like what I've seen so far. Here's a quick run-down of some of the other new features you can expect:
- Four new Guided Edits: High Key (whitewashed), Low Key (dark background), Vignette, and Tilt-Shift (miniature) effect.
- New Filters: Pen & Ink, Comic, Graphic Novel, Lens Blur
- Refine Edge controls carried over from Photoshop CS5.
- Action player is no longer hidden in Guided edit mode. A new "Load Actions" command has been exposed, so you no longer have to much about in system folders to install downloaded actions.
- New templates for printed photo keepsakes and online albums.
- Video sharing to Vimeo.
I think you'll have a lot of fun with the new Comic and Graphic Novel effects in Photoshop Elements 11.
Pricing remains the same-- $99 for new users and $79 for upgrades. The Photoshop Elements and Premiere Elements bundle is available for $150. The software is available today from Adobe.com and will appear in stores very soon.
Buy Direct:
Also see:
• Photoshop Elements 11 Now Available. Free Shipping till Oct 26.
• Photoshop Elements 11 & Premiere Elements 11 Bundle. Free Shipping till Oct 26.
• Photoshop Elements 10 Review
• Adobe Photoshop vs. Photoshop Elements: A Comparison
Images © Adobe, used with permission.
This version of elements has taken a step back. With elements 9 we were just getting to the stage where it was a useful companion to lightroom for those that did not want to or could not afford to pay for the full version of Photoshop. It seems that adobe has had to cater for the lowest common denominator, I suppose this is the way of the world we live in. It would be better if people took the time to learn rather than requesting the easy route. One wonders if adobe has seen a decline in sales of full photoshop and it has made them more willing to simplify the product for financial reasons. Rant over.