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 - New Version Lives Up To ReputationInstallation For this review of Photoshop Elements 6 I headed to www.adobe.com, which offers download links. The site requires an account to download software. After signing-in, I downloaded the executable and the install occurred. I let it use the C drive after making sure there was enough space. A quick reboot and I was on my way! First Impression The first thing that you will see is the welcome screen which you can change so that you open in either the Editor or the Organizer. There are links to "create" and "share" as well. Once you are inside PSE6, you will notice that the interface is different from previous versions. With its gray-on-black color scheme, PSE6 has a sleek, no-nonsense look, and is easy to get around once you are familiar with it. The features are designed to help anyone to step through any project, while offering enhancements to existing components. Upgraders will enjoy these enhancements, while newcomers will benefit from the straightforward, friendly interface. Organizer Since the Organizer is the first link, let's start there. This is a powerful, useful and feature-packed media organizer, which can stand on its own as an application. Photos can be divided into one or several catalogs. Either way, the Organizer is quite efficient and keeps everything tidy. A Backup Reminder will help you to back up your media, if you wish to use PSE6 for that purpose. Advice - do backups regularly using something! A new feature is Smart-albums, which make it easy to automatically search for certain criteria such as date and folders. Another way to manage your photos is to use albums or keywords, which let you keep related photos together for special projects. Since these work on filenames and other criteria, the photos must be identified as you add them to your computer. Use the Organizer, to see versions of a photo, change thumbnail size, view photos full-screen, and compare photos side by side. The Organizer allows you to also Fix, Create and Share your photos. However, you must move, copy, delete from this screen, or you will "lose" the photo. If that happens, PSE6 and previous versions allow you to reconnect photos, thereby "cleaning up" the catalog. The Organizer is a powerful, easy way to manage and edit your photos library. Editor A new feature is the Guided Edit, designed to walk the user through an editing function. For instance, if I wanted to crop a picture, I would answer the offered question, i.e., choose crop from the list, and the program will begin to interact. This feature takes the mystery out of trying to figure out the various tools and menus, and is a great incentive for the novice in PSE6. I like the way it lets you see the before and after results of your editing; don't worry - your original is not lost; a Stack is created, saving the original photo. Or, you can simply do a Save As and rename the photo after you are done. In my workflow, I use the Guided Edit, then go into the Full Edit to fine-tune my results, utilizing the best of both worlds. Lastly, there is the PhotoMerge, which will allow you to pick and choose faces and parts of one picture, and paste them into another, creating an effortless picture of groups. Create This is my favorite part - with a few clicks, you can create a Photo Book, Photo Calendar, Photo Collage, Online Gallery or Slide Show, and many other items by clicking on More Options. Here is where I began to understand the monumental amount of available features. Everything is centralized; you can use PSE6 exclusively to create any type of available media for sharing or uploading to the Internet. I found this to be easy and fun. Share Ultimately, one would probably want to use this program to easily share photos once they are edited and completed. Again, for starters, there are the Online Gallery, E-mail Attachments, Photo Mail, Print Ordering, or CD/DVD options, or...I did a Photo Mail, which connected directly to my Outlook client, and looked good with the addition of the provided template. My Project I wanted to enhance a shot I'd taken in Las Vegas. First, I opened the picture in pSE6. Then I duplicated the Background Layer. I chose "guide for editing a photo" and just went with it. First, I was able to straighten my picture using Basic Photo Edits. Then I cropped my picture. Any edits made in the Guided Edit are done by sliders, and they can be reset. Also, you can view the Before & After results. I really like that; rather than a Preview, the results are easier to see. At any point, you can switch to Full Edit, and I did when I was ready to apply some excitement to my scene. Next, I went to Full Edit, where I could adjust some color and apply interesting filters. First, I created my Background copy as a new layer, and selected the sky with the Magic Wand. I then used more layers to create a background blend. With the addition of filters and additional cropping, a final product was achieved. Now, this would probably not get an award at a photo competition, but PSE6 lets you be creative and experiment with different effects on your photos. As a long-time user, I prefer to use the full edit, which allows me to choose my tools and work in layers. I also enhance my photos, and to experiment with different filter effects. PSE6 creates layers by just dragging or clicking inside the layers palette. IMHO As a beginner, you can use the Guided Edit. If you are more adventurous or want to use all the features of pse6, you can use the Full Edit. There is also a Quick Edit as well, for automatic corrections on pictures. I also like the flexibility of pse6, where you're not limited to a full knowledge of the program to begin using it. Sharing is easy and fun, and flexible. My overall impression is that, as a seasoned user of this program, it is fun and productive. If you haven't upgraded in a while, this is worth taking a look. If you are looking for a photo editing program to work with your new digital camera, this is a perfect choice. No matter what your needs, be sure to try this out first, as I did. I strongly believe that current users should know what the new features are. There will be plenty of time in 30 days to decide if it is what you want. My guess is it will be. Rating:  - Hate the grayI have used Elements 2.0, 4.0 and PS CS2. My favorite is 4.0, although I am trying to get used to the changes in 6.0. I HATE the gray background and have not figured out if it can be changed...mainly because there is no manual. It definitely needs a printed manual as it is a royal pain to have to try to find and print the help screens. Rating:  - Not Happy!This product clashed with Vista and crashed my computer!! So I returned it for a refund. Rating: - It can't get any betterI have been a user of Elements 2,3,4,& 5 and Elements 6.0 puts them all to shame! Rating: - Power for the PriceThis is the first time I have ever used a Photoshop software program, and I wasn't too sure how easy it would be for me to start using it right off the bat. But I needed to get a picture from my camera chip and get it prepped for emailing. So I had to jump right in without much chance to really explore the program. I was pleased at how easy it was for me to figure out the basics I needed to get my picture into the editor and just do a few quick fixes on it, and then get it ready for emailing. I have since purchased a book to help me really get to know most of the features I will be using in the program, and I have to say that I'm having fun exploring and experimenting. I like the way the screens are organized and how you can hide the palettes to get them out of the way when you don't need them. The black background helps make the picture stand out, too. There's a lot there to learn, but it's a fun program to work with. I'm very glad I made this purchase!
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