| Elements
can also import stills from video clips,
as well as PDF files. And when
you’re feeling a bit lazy (or is
just plain ignorant about how to use some
of the tools), a “Quick Fix”
wizard can help you adjust the
essentials: lighting, focus, color, and
rotation of images. For those who
like their photos in widescreen editions,
Elements’ Panorama Tool helps you
seamlessly put together photos to create
a panoramic photo. It blends in the
colors, as well.
And when
it’s time to print and show off your
photography skills, you can pick one of
the “picture package” templates
to automatically print them in a specific
size.
PhotoImpact
10
A little
bit more technical than Photoshop,
PhotoImpact needs a lot of patience to
master. This program is best for eager
learners with a lot of time in their
hands to figure out the
“too-technical” features that
would scare away first time photo editing
users.
However,
PhotoImpact does have its gems. An
ExpressFix features shows you several
options to fix exposure, color,
saturation, focus, and skin. It also
comes equipped with a 360 panorama
program. Probably the shiniest gem in the
package would be the “Beautiful
Skin” effect, which removes red
patches and evens out your skin tone. Can
you say airbrush?
While
PhotoImpact doesn’t support PDF
files, it does allow you to grab images
off the internet. Type in the URL of a
webpage, click on the image you want to
get, then edit away.
It’s
a little tricky to use at first, but once
you get a hold on PhotoImpact’s
tools, you’ll be thankful you took
the time to learn.
Digital
Image Suite 9
Microsoft’s
own photo editing software is like
digital spoon feeding.
Image
Suite 9 is a very basic image editing
software that hardly requires a tutorial.
While it does work wonders for those who
only want to share pictures online, it
could be quite frustrating for those who
want to flex their creativity muscles a
little bit more.
Image
Suite 9 lacks some features that you
might want to use later on. That said,
there still are a bunch to keep you
happy. While there’s no auto color
fix option (quite essential to fix the
crappy lighting most digital cameras
capture), there are still the basic
features of cropping, adjusting
brightness and contrast, and removing
red-eye.
The most
advanced this software can get would be
removing blemishes, whiten teeth, and
eliminating wrinkles. The layering option
is hardly even handy—you can layer
on photos, but it’s virtually
impossible to unlayer them.
This
program will work perfectly if you want
hassle-free, basic photo editing.
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