Your Photoshop options
Most of what’s in this guide applies directly not just to Photoshop itself, but Photoshop Elements too. What’s more, we won’t all be using the latest versions of either. Many people will have Elements 2 rather than Elements 3 (the latest), and there will be photographers out there still using Photoshop CS or even Photoshop 7, rather than the latest version, CS2. What are the differences between these programs, and how will it affect what you can do with them? As far as possible, we’ll try to stick to techniques common to all of them. Here are some principle differences and limitations, though.
Photoshop Elements
This is the ‘budget’ or ‘beginner’ version of Photoshop, but it’s not to be sneezed at – it’s actually very powerful. There are two principle differences, though, between Elements and Photoshop. The first is that Elements doesn’t offer Curves adjustments, and the second is that you can’t use layer masks to blend two or more image layers (we’ll come to this later). Neither limitation is a huge disadvantage, but it does mean that some of the techniques we describe can’t be applied directly in Elements. The main differences between Elements 2 and Elements 3 are found in the PC version, where a new Organizer window provides very sophisticated image cataloguing tools. The Mac version doesn’t have this. Both versions now support RAW files and 16-bit image editing, together with a revised interface which offers superior ‘quick fix’ options for those who don’t want to work with the in-depth tools.
Photoshop CS
Photoshop CS introduced built-in RAW file support, so that you could open and edit RAW files directly from a wide range of digital camera models. Previously, there was a Camera RAW plug-in, but that was only available separately. CS also introduced Healing Brush and Patch tools which made it easy to remove spots on scans and digital SLR images, and to repair large areas using textures and tones from adjacent parts of the image. None of these (apart maybe from RAW file import) are central to established image-editing techniques, though, and much of this guide will apply equally well to earlier versions of Photoshop. If you currently have CS or an earlier version of Photoshop, you can download an upgrade to CS2 for £144 via the Adobe Store (you will need a valid, licensed version of the earlier program on the same computer).
New features of CS2
Photoshop CS2 introduces a number of important new features. For a start, the File Browser in the previous version has been developed into a media management application called Adobe Bridge, which can help you browse, catalogue and search your images far more effectively. Secondly, a new Lens Correction filter can straighten your images, correct barrel distortion and tackle chromatic aberration (colour fringing at the edge of the frame) in a single dialog. The Camera RAW interface has been modified so that you can now view and process many RAW files at a time. The new Spot Healing Brush no longer requires a ‘source’ target for repairing spots – you just ‘dab out’ the spot. And a new ‘vanishing point’ option lets you apply Clone Stamp repairs, for example, that mirror the perspectives in the image.
