Photoshop Elements 3: The Missing Manual

Rotating Your Images

Owners of print photographs aren't the only ones who sometimes need a little help straightening out their pictures. Digital photos sometimes need to be rotated. For example, not all cameras output photos so that Elements (or any other image-editing program, for that matter) knows the correct orientation for your picture. Some cameras send portrait-orientated photos out on their side, and it's up to you to straighten things out.

Fortunately, Elements has rotation commands just about everywhere you go in the program. If all you need to do is get Dad off his back and stand him upright again, here's a list of where you can perform a quick 90-degree rotation on any open photo:

• Quick Fix (page 83). Click either of the Rotation buttons at the top of the Control Panel.

• Standard Edit (page 11). Select Image → Rotate → Rotate 90° Left (or Right).

• File Browser (page 39). Click the left or right arrow at the top of the File Browser window.

  Note

  Remember that in the File Browser, you're actually rotating a thumbnail replica of your image; the actual image won't be rotated until you open the image file.

• RAW Converter (page 189). Click the left or right arrow at the bottom of the Preview window.

• Organizer (Windows only; page 30). You can rotate a photo almost any time in the Organizer by pressing Ctrl+the left or right arrow key. Another way to rotate is to go to Edit → Rotate 90° Left (or Right). Finally, there's a pair of Rotate buttons to click at the bottom of the Photo ...