Photoshop or Elements

In a previous article (I Have Lightroom. Do I Need Photoshop?) I discussed whether or not a Lightroom user needs the extra power that Photoshop affords. A few readers asked if Photoshop Elements was enough or is Photoshop the way to go. So, let’s take a look at what the differences are and whether you need one or the other.

Photoshop is the gold standard when discussing pixel based image editing software. It has a broad and deep set of tools that address the needs of a wide variety of users. Whether you are a designer, graphic artist, 3D modeler, filmmaker, photographer, or forensics expert there are tools for you. Of course all this power and functionality comes at a price. The current list price for Photoshop is $699.00. If you need the additional tools of Photoshop Extended then you are looking at $999.00!

Elements, on the other hand, has a list price of $99.99! Literally 1/10th the price of Photoshop Extended. But if you don’t need all those extra features why spend that money?

Elements has the following features:

Smart Brush corrections
one-click fixes for color, contrast, and lighting
red eye removal has
surface blur
guided edit options
enhanced brightness/contrast control
clone tool
spot healing brush
drop shadows, bevel, emboss, glows, and other effects
paint tool for simulated media like oils, pastels, watercolor
warping
photomerge group shot capabilities
text and decorative edges
multiple undo/redo
panorama capabilities

In addition to these features Elements has tools to organize your photos, prepare layouts, print and more. Of course if you are already a Lightroom user you’ll want to use Lightroom for your organizational tasks. Just a note here; Element 7 is not yet fully compatible with Lightroom since they are on different update cycles and Lightroom has not yet caught up. However, this is only an issue if you are an Elements user thinking about switching to Lightroom and you want to preserve your organizational work. Lightroom user adding Elements won’t have to worry about that.

The full version of Photoshop adds these additional capabilities:

color balance
match color
channels
layer masks
layer comps
quick mask
CMYK and Lab color modes
smart objects
record custom actions
vanishing point
pen tool
paths
text on a path
advanced text formatting
customizable presets, keyboard shortcuts, menus, and workspaces
smart guides
HDR capabilities
rollovers and slices
additional adjustment layers

If you move up to Photoshop Extended then you’ll add the ability to work with video and 3D models among other advanced features.

I think that unless you are at a Pro level (or really dedicated super enthusiast level) Elements has everything you need to be your dedicated external editor for Lightroom. But don’t take my word for it. Go and try it for yourself! Adobe offers free 30 day trials for Elements and Photoshop Extended on their site.

Install one and Lightroom should see it. Then go and experiment. See what fits. Enjoy!

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Tags: Elements, Lightroom, Photoshop

This entry was posted on Monday, July 13th, 2009 at 1:21 am and is filed under Lightroom. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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About the Author: Gene McCullagh
Contact Gene

Gene is an Adobe Community Professional and and Adobe Certified Expert in Photoshop Lightroom, Photoshop, and InDesign, and an avid Lightroom fan. He belongs to the Professional Photographers of America (PPA) and the National Association of Photoshop Professionals (NAPP). Gene also the Co-Founder, Manager and a frequent blogger for the Dallas Fort Worth Adobe User Group (DFWAUG).

In addition to running Lightroom Secrets, Gene also contributes to O'Reilly's media blog, moderates on the Adobe forums, and helps out on lightroomforums.net.

craigl303

Actually, the difference is more like 255 vs. 65,536. That's another way of saying that PSE converts all images to 8 bits; but PS can work with raw files converted to 16 bits. Yes, the human eye can only see about 230-240 shades of gray at once. However, I prefer to make that selection myself. Using PSE only makes sense if you're capturing in jpg format, not if you capture in raw format.
Gene McCullagh

Was that ability dropped in the most recent version of pse, Craig? I was under the impression that pse still used ACR to process raw files which works in their native bit depth. Perhaps in the transition from ACR to pse they go to 8 bit but that still leaves the RAW file intact.

True, though, that if you want all the processing power then you need to step up to PS. However, pse remains a viable (and cheaper) alternative until you can justify the extra expense.

Thanks for the insights, Craig!
Chris

great advice, I too find the combo acceptable as an amateur photog. One other thing I wish PSE had was the ability to embed custom printer profiles to send out to places like Adorama or MPIX...but I'm trying to use LR more for that (print to file).
Mark Wilson

Great comparison Gene! I have seen so many people spend money on Photoshop when they only ever use functionality that is available in Elements...good for Adobe I guess.

I mainly use PS CS4 and run Elements 6 and 7 on other machines - the big 2 differences for me are restricted layers & masks and automation through actions, especially with Photoshop drops. Actions save me so much time (and sanity) through automation of mundane and repeatable tasks.

Off topic but if you are looking at plug-ins for an article, I have a couple available at http://www.rusticolus.co.uk/technology.html :)
Gene McCullagh

Thanks Mark! You've also got some interesting plugins. My list is growing. I'd better get around to that article soon! LOL
DawMatt

As an amaIeur photographer I use the Lightroom/Elements combination rather than Lightroom/Photoshop. So far they have met all of my needs so I haven't seen a compelling reason to upgrade to Photoshop or Photoshop Extended.

I've also published a plugin for Lightroom ( http://thephotogeek.com/lightroom/elemental/ ) that helps the two integrate better. e.g. select photos in Lightroom, and launch them into the Photomerge dialog in Elements. This is roughly equivalent to the integration Lightroom provides to Photoshop "out of the box".

Some clarification on points above:
- Smart Objects capability is embedded within PSE 6 onwards but it is a little hard to get at and can't really be used for anything other than resizing/locating smart objects within an image.
- Scripting (which I assume is implied by record custom actions) is present and usable, but not visible in the main UI or documented as being included in the product.

Outside of the US the price difference between Elements and Photoshop is even greater. At current exchange rates Photoshop costs $1415 AUD ($1105 USD) and Photoshop Extended $2019 AUD ($1580 USD). Photoshop Elements costs $165 AUD ($130 USD), so we are heading towards PSE being 1/10th of the price of the base Photoshop version. These deviations are due to Adobe marketing policies not exchange rates, and appear to impact Europe and other regions as well. Needless to say this is increasing the size of the Photoshops Elements community in countries outside of the US.
Gene McCullagh

Thanks Matt! That's a great contribution to the LR/pse community! I also see you have a few more plugins available as well. I plan to write about the various plugins available and will definitely add your site to the tour!

It is a shame that there is such a great disparity between US pricing and overseas pricing. I don't know why Adobe does it this way but can only hope they bring about some equality in pricing structure. I can understand exchange rates but these prices go way beyond that as you pointed out.
shaneambry

I'm with you on this viewpoint, especially as an amateur photographer.

To add some additional points to your summary based on my experience with Elements 6:
- Elements does not come with curves or layer masks but these can be added with free plugins, which extends the capability further. There are also a plethora of other plugins that extend its capability for little or no money
- Limitations of Elements - lens blur (gaussian blur is OK, but I would love lens blur), 8 bit colour, which can limit the quality of images with subtle graduations in colour or tone.
Gene McCullagh

Thanks! Those are great observations. I wasn't aware that curves capability was available via a plugin.

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