Photoshop and Premiere Elements 2019
Another year, another beginner-friendly suite of apps from Adobe
FOR THOSE WHO don’t want to partake of Adobe’s subscription model of software ownership, the Elements suite has always offered great value. You get functional photo and video editing tools, with a lot of new-user-friendliness and automation, and plenty of templates and tutorials thrown in, too.
The pricing for Photoshop is starting to look like less of an issue, however. Elements is on an annual release schedule, buying a new version is the only way to get updates, and Photoshop Elements 2019 costs $100. A year’s subscription to Photoshop CC, which also bundles the raw processing and organization app Lightroom, costs $120, and you get a constant flow of updates. Video editor Premiere is a different matter: The Elements bundle, which nets you both Photoshop Elements and Premiere Elements, costs $150. A year’s sub to just Premiere Pro is $240.
At first glance, the 2019 release doesn’t appear to bring much that’s new to the party. The interface is still the same as it was back in version 11, released in 2012, before Adobe started putting years on things—it’s dull gray and much too big, especially on a 4K screen. Its toolbars and palettes take up all four sides of its window, with areas of unused gray space that could have been used to display the information more efficiently, especially in the case of the left-hand toolbar. It’s past time this was overhauled, but we’re stuck with it for another year.
What has seen a change is the opening screen, which always offered the choice between the Editor and Organizer, but now adds much more. It’s been redesigned, too, displaying links to online tips and tutorials, and even creating a slideshow from any “events” it can identify in your Pictures folder, without you asking, then offering an “Open” button. The Home screen stays open while you’re using one of the Elements apps, so you can switch back to it from the Taskbar or by using a button in the app interface. It houses launch buttons for the apps, along with a list of your recently opened files, social media buttons, and a search bar for finding a tutorial for whatever it is you want to do.
The list of things within the apps that are actually new is a short one. The 2019 release naturally contains everything from 2018’s apps, such as face detection, camera shake removal, haze removal, tooth whitening and eye opening, red-eye removal, and automatic object selection, and many of the improvements are now under the surface. The apps now install and run faster, although we’d never seen this as something to complain about, but those running on more modest systems may appreciate the boost. Annoyingly, especially for those with recent iPhones, HEIC and HEVC support is only found in the macOS version of the apps.
EXPERT WITNESS
In both apps, Expert mode is the same as always, offering every tool possible, and holding your hand very little. Expert mode is as close to Photoshop or Premiere CC as you’re going to get from Elements, and 90 percent of the time, it’s good enough. While it may not have some of the finesse or power of the pro version, there’s a lot here, and it’s presented in a streamlined way tailored toward beginners.
Most of the new features are found in Guided mode, which takes you through the creation of effects-laden projects using photos and videos. Adobe is proud
of its Sensei AI and machine-learning tech, and finds every opportunity it can to deploy it. Sensei is behind the slideshow it makes for you on the Home screen, and also powers the Auto Curation that arrived in 2018. 2019’s new Auto Creations use the AI smarts, and it’s more integrated into the apps as a result. In Photoshop Elements, photo collages have been redesigned, so they’re created more quickly. There’s an emphasis on social media sharing, so Guided mode’s Fun Edits section contains a “Meme Maker” that automates the process of producing an image with text on it.
SKETCHY BENEFITS
The Partial Sketch effect is also new, and rather neat. It uses something akin to Expert mode’s edge-finding Quick Selection Brush to choose areas of your image, which are then immediately painted over with a hand-drawn effect. It’s a nice way of drawing attention to part of a photo, but like a lot of the Guided edits, it seems like some clever technology that won’t get a lot of use.
Over in Premiere Elements, the Quick Edit mode has had an overhaul. The Timeline has been simplified, making it easier to combine your footage with music and titles, and there’s a couple of new projects in Guided mode. Smart Trim, which arrived last year and uses the Sensei system, is probably the cleverest feature, as it analyzes your imported video, and attempts to automatically cut it, removing any bits it considers boring, to concentrate on the more exciting elements. Clearly, if you’re in the habit of shooting long and boring movies, this feature will return only a short clip, but it’s effective at removing the dull bits of setup you may capture before your subject starts speaking.
Elsewhere, there’s a nice new glass pane effect for transitioning between clips, and the same Sensei-powered Auto Creations as PS Elements, but otherwise there isn’t, on the surface, much difference from the 2018 edition. It’s nice to see the Windows version retain the ability to burn DVDs, though—it’s been removed from the macOS release.
The Organizer, Elements’s media organization and tagging app, benefits from the speed increases that have been put in place, but otherwise seems exactly the same as last year’s app. Its OpenStreetMap-integrated geotagging remains excellent, and along with face recognition, makes it easy to find exactly the photo you want from a large library.
SERIF SANS
The Elements apps remain excellent value, as they may last you for many years and, judging by past releases, mustbuy upgrades come along only rarely. Photoshop Elements is threatened by Serif’s Affinity Photo, a rival to Photoshop CC that retails for $50, but while Affinity will sell you a vector design package, too, and has a DTP app in beta testing, it has no movie editor. What it also lacks is the user-friendly presentation of Elements, and the wealth of guides and templates, although it must be said that Serif’s online knowledge base is excellent.
Premiere Elements has it easier in some ways, because it’s mainly competing against apps given away with digital cameras, as well as those available for free on the web. It’s a definite step up from such software, the 2019 release streamlining things for beginners, while its Expert mode offers to teach you video editing—a bold claim.
Whatever your skill level, there’s something for everyone here. The apps are fully featured, and perfect for the home user. While we wish they’d get an interface overhaul, some GPU acceleration, and maybe for some new features in Expert mode to trickle down from Creative Cloud, it’s clear Adobe knows its target market, and has built a suite that will satisfy it.