Three Levels of Editing

As we started to see in the last chapter, Elements 3.0 provides a variety of edit and enhancement options for users to change and alter their digital photographs. The options for Windows users can be grouped around three different approaches to the task:

1. The simplest tools are almost always fully automatic with the user having little control over the final results. These are the types of color, contrast and brightness controls that are available in the Photo Browser (via the Edit > Auto Fix Window). This is the place to start if you are new to digital photography and want good results quickly and easily.

2. The second level of features sits in the middle ground between total user control and total program control over the editing results. The tools in this group are primarily available in the Quick Fix editor but also encompass some of the more automatic or easy-to-use controls available in the Standard Editor work space. Move to these tools once you feel more confident with the digital photography process as a whole (downloading, making some changes, saving and then printing) and find yourself wanting to do more with your pictures.

3. The final group of tools are those designed to give the user professional control over their editing and enhancement tasks. Many of the features detailed here are very similar to, and in some cases exactly the same as, those found in the Photoshop program itself. These tools provide the best quality changes...