Upgrading to PRE 11: Looking for suggestions on Photoshop

[JohnF]

I don't see a specific forum for this, but because I'm upgrading to PRE 11, will put it here.

I'm undecided on getting Photoshop Elements 11 along with PRE 11 versus upgrading my full Photoshop CS4. I've had full Photoshop for many years and only use it occasionally and upgrade only often enough to not lose upgrade eligibility. In the past, I've never even come close to using its full capabilities. If I did not have CS4, I would buy the Elements version.

I'm planning on spending more time in the future with photos and videos, so my past experience is probably not all that relevant to the decision. If I just went with Photoshop Elements 11, that would probably fulfill all my needs, but it's difficult to be sure that I would never want the more capabilities with the full Photoshop and as my upgrade eligibility lapses, I would lose my previous investment in the full Photoshop.

I realize it is a highly subjective question. I don't have a tight budget that drives me, but I don't like to waste money either. Interested in any opinion. Thanks.

[Steve Grisetti]

Actually, we do have a forum just for discussing Photoshop Elements, John. But that's okay. We can still answer your question.

The real question for you is what are you planning to do with the photos you edit? If you're going to use them in a print project in which CMYK is important, then you'll need to stay with Pro. But, if you're just touching up and cleaning up pictures for use on the web, in videos and for consumer printing purposes, you may likely find that Photo Elements does it all.

Why not download the free trial from the Adobe site and give it a test drive?

[JohnF]

Thanks Steve. I should have posted in Photoshop area but at the time I was thinking about usability trade-offs between using either full Photoshop or Photoshop Elements in conjunction with PRE 11. Will follow your advice.

John

[Bob]

If I just went with Photoshop Elements 11, that would probably fulfill all my needs, but it's difficult to be sure that I would never want the more capabilities with the full Photoshop and as my upgrade eligibility lapses, I would lose my previous investment in the full Photoshop...I was thinking about usability trade-offs between using either full Photoshop or Photoshop Elements in conjunction with PRE 11.

To present a balanced picture, I would strongly recommend looking at the trial version of Photoshop CS6 as well as the one for Photoshop Elements 11 before making your decision. There have been quite a few changes to Photoshop since your version and there is a lot of added capability. Some of this capability has made its way into Photoshop Elements, but generally in a more basic and less flexible form. Photoshop Elements may very well meet all your current needs. But, as you gain more experience and knowledge, you may find yourself wanting more. Try out the features in the two products and consider whether the differences are something that may matter to you.

As far as working with Premiere Elements 11, both products can be used. The integration of Photoshop Elements and Premiere Elements is rather basic. Premiere Elements can pass a snapshot directly to elements, whereas you will need to save the snapshot as a file and open in in Photoshop. The Organizer can be used with both Photoshop Elements and Photoshop if desired. And, you can edit and modify DVD templates in both Elements and CS6 although CS6 will have more capability with layer groups.

One interesting new development is that the standard version of Photoshop CS6 now has the capability to edit video. This capability was intended for still photographers who were wanting to do something with the video they captured with their still cameras and who didn't want to learn another program. It's pretty rudimentary compared to Premiere Elements, but the interesting thing is that you can add adjustment layers and apply filters similar to how you would work with still photos. This presents the opportunity to use Photoshop for some of your video work, export it to a video file and then import and finish editing in Premiere Elements.

Something to think about.

[JohnF]

Excellent information and advice. Many thanks.

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[JohnF]

You all may be aware of this, but I thought I'd share it just in case. When discussing various purchase options with Adobe, they told me that they were changing their upgrade eligibility policy for all products at the end of the year. After that, upgrade pricing will be available only for the most recent version. That means you have to upgrade more often than I had been to avoid having to pay for the full version. I gave it some thought and decided to enroll in Creative Cloud at the reduced price because I have Photoshop CS4.

[Bob]

Yes, for those that haven't heard, Adobe is now on a two year release cycle for the Creative Suite products with the ".5" release in the middle. That puts CS6.5 in 2013 and CS7.0 in 2014. The change to the upgrade pricing eligibility policy has already occured. But, Adobe is temporarily allowing upgrade pricing from CS3 and CS4 to CS6 until December 31, 2012. After that, you will only be able to get upgrade pricing to the current release from the previous release. The Creative Cloud is a subscription model which provides access to the entire Creative Suite Collection of products and some additional products including Lightroom 4.