Photoshop® Elements 8 After the Shoot

Chapter 1. Understanding the Purpose of Photoshop Elements

At first blush, Photoshop Elements 8 can seem overwhelming to the new user. That's because its powerful set of tools provides so many possibilities when working with photos. However, after you get a basic understanding of how Photoshop Elements (PSE) is intended to be used, and how it compares and contrasts with other products in the Adobe Photoshop family, you'll have a better understanding of the intended purpose of PSE and how it will best serve you and your photo editing needs.

Division of Labor

The first thing to understand about PSE is that it's really two programs in one. The first program is the Organizer, used to import and organize photos. The second program is the Editor. The Editor is used for lots of things, such as developing photos, inkjet printing, and sharing your photos with others through books, online albums, and calendars.

Note

Unfortunately, the Organizer isn't part of the Mac version of PSE. A scaled-down version of Adobe Bridge, which is Photoshop's file browser, is included instead. Due to space limitations, Adobe Bridge is not covered in this book.

You can open the two programs separately. For example, you can import some photos using the Organizer without opening the Editor, and fix a photo using the Editor without opening the Organizer. However, the two programs are generally used simultaneously. When the Organizer and the Editor are combined, they create a complete photo workflow that enables you ...