Upgrade to Elements 4?
> I have been using Elements 2 for Mac. Should I upgrade?
Elements 4 (and even Elements 3) leave a little more room for growth in image editing than Elements 2. For example, the RAW plugin is included with Elements 4, and there are capabilities for 16-bit editing. Those are more advanced digital capabilities that will allow you flexibility in your workflow and mine your images for better results.
On the other hand, I would say, really that there are very few differences between any of the versions for a real beginner. I am of the opinion that you can use any version of the program with appropriate techniques and make equally good results using basic techniques. The results that I teach in courses (see betterphoto.com, and the last entry in this blog) don't really depend so much on having this-or-that enhancement. As long as you can locate the features I am talking about for the core techniques, you will be able to apply corrections successfully -- using any version of Elements or Photoshop.
My suggestion to most people is to only consider upgrading programs when they have explored their current version fully, or when it is obvious from the feature listing that new enhancements will improve their work--or at least offer the opportunity. If you feel you have outgrown Elements 2, take a look at the features in Elements 4. Things like RAW and 16-bit editing stand out as major enhancements to what you can do with images, where as more minor single feature enhancements (adding Healing) are really not so important to upgrade for unless you know you'll be using them all the time. of course if you just want more to play with, see my Hidden Power additions for whatever version you happen to be running (1 through 5) on my website:
http://hiddenelements.com
Elements 4 (and even Elements 3) leave a little more room for growth in image editing than Elements 2. For example, the RAW plugin is included with Elements 4, and there are capabilities for 16-bit editing. Those are more advanced digital capabilities that will allow you flexibility in your workflow and mine your images for better results.
On the other hand, I would say, really that there are very few differences between any of the versions for a real beginner. I am of the opinion that you can use any version of the program with appropriate techniques and make equally good results using basic techniques. The results that I teach in courses (see betterphoto.com, and the last entry in this blog) don't really depend so much on having this-or-that enhancement. As long as you can locate the features I am talking about for the core techniques, you will be able to apply corrections successfully -- using any version of Elements or Photoshop.
My suggestion to most people is to only consider upgrading programs when they have explored their current version fully, or when it is obvious from the feature listing that new enhancements will improve their work--or at least offer the opportunity. If you feel you have outgrown Elements 2, take a look at the features in Elements 4. Things like RAW and 16-bit editing stand out as major enhancements to what you can do with images, where as more minor single feature enhancements (adding Healing) are really not so important to upgrade for unless you know you'll be using them all the time. of course if you just want more to play with, see my Hidden Power additions for whatever version you happen to be running (1 through 5) on my website:
http://hiddenelements.com
