Adobe Photoshop Elements 2018
Entry-level photo editing software gets its yearly refresh
$99.99 From Adobe, adobe.com Needs 64-bit multi-core Mac, OS X 10.11 or later, 4GB RAM, 5GB drive space
Photographers can set their watches by Photoshop Elements’ update every year — Adobe has clearly nailed some complex logistics. More complicated: coming up with an annual refresh that appeals every time. Photoshop Elements 2018 is either an $80 upgrade from an earlier version, or a $100 purchase if you don’t have it already. So what has Adobe added to keep photographers tempted?
There are no huge interface overhauls here, something that has been true for the last few updates of Elements, and it’s starting to make the software look and feel dated, particularly since Apple’s Photos app has been given a new lease of life in macOS High Sierra. All of Elements’ existing appeal is there, though — the interface is clean, and there are easily enough tools that if you’re unwilling to give the full-blown Photoshop a try, you’ll still be able to get started fast.
Guided edits are effectively interactive tutorials to help you do things, such as creating layer masks with shape overlays, or double exposures. Both these, and a few others, are new and work well.
There are a few new features. Auto Selection attempts to isolate a subject when you draw a marquee selection around it, while “Open closed eyes” attempts to rescue images where your subject has been caught mid-blink. The former works reasonably well, providing rough-and-ready cutouts and getting a selection ready for the Refine Edge dialog faster. Opening closed eyes requires two photos — one with a subject blinking and one without. We had trouble with this — “No face found” is a common error message. When it does work, on virtually identical images where closed eyes are the only difference, it works nearly perfectly, but then the question is why you would need to open a subject’s eyes when you have a similar photo with them open.
If you’re not already an Elements user, this is a powerful photo editor and a worthy alternative to a Creative Cloud subscription, although the Photos app may serve you just as well. For upgraders, this is one to miss.
The bottom line. A usable, powerful photo editor. But it’s expensive, so look around elsewhere first. Dave Stevenson