Tutorial 1

Let Photoshop Elements 15 guide you through a variety of effortless effects – with a little help from James Paterson…

Master new Guided Edits in Elements 15 for effortless effects

one of the best developments in Photoshop Elements in recent years has been the evolution of different editing modes, tailored to suit varying degrees of expertize. There’s Quick mode for beginners, and Expert mode for those comfortable with key Photoshop concepts like layers. Bridging the gap between these two extremes is Guided mode. As the name suggests, this offers a variety of ‘Guided Edits’ that each take you through a technique, one step at a time, with all the tools you need conveniently at hand. For those looking to expand their skills, the Guided mode offers a chance to make fun effects while offering a gentle learning curve.

Guided Edits are rather clever in that, once complete, you can switch to Expert mode and pick apart the effect by looking through the layers used to create it. It lets you see under the hood, which is a great way to learn. It also offers ultimate control, as you can redo any part of the effect.

There are 45 different Guided Edits to choose from, five of which are new to Elements 15. These range from painterly effects to collages and text tricks. In this tutorial, we’ll explore the new options and explain how to get the most out of them. We’ll also take a look at another new feature – Adjust Facial Features – that lets you turn a frown into a smile...