Overview

Photoshop Elements has always been a software program that could produce professional results that go way beyond what you would expect given its modest price. I guess one of the main reasons for this is the fact that so many of the tools and features in the package are built on the same professional-level editing technology that gives Photoshop its strength. So it should come as no surprise when we come across tools and features that are very similar, and in some cases exactly the same as those found in Photoshop. It is these very features when coupled with a professional approach to their use that will get you producing high quality digital photographs just like the pros (but at a fraction of the price!).

Elements 3.0 carries on this tradition by including some great new 'highend' tools for us to play with. The most dramatic of these are the built in RAW import editor (yes just like Photoshop) and the new ability to support 16-bit color pictures. These features might not mean much to you now but this chapter will introduce these and other quality editing tools, techniques and ideas that will ensure that you produce the absolute best quality pictures possible.