Photoshop Elements

Photoshop Elements (PE) is not suppose to be that hard. I started with PE so long ago that I don't remember which version I bought first. I now have PE 5, and will buy PE 6 shortly. I am leading a computer club group that uses PE to work on digital pictures. So I get to buy a new version each year to keep up with what is going on. At this rate, Adobe should support me.

I also buy Photoshop regularly since I help teach some online Photoshop courses at myjanee.com. And I thought that, teaching Photoshop, I would understand Photoshop Elements without much effort. Well the joke is on me. I learned the photo editing part of Photoshop (and PE) fairly well, but my education was lacking with Adobe's Bridge and with the Organizer. So I have spent the last three weeks getting more familiar with PE's Organizer.

I use to think it was fairly worthless, but now that I have hundreds of photos on my hard drives (right - that's plural), I need better organization. So I am getting started with Bridge (for Photoshop) and Organizer (for PE): tagging and keywording the pictures.

I gave a presentation on October 10th to our computer group on how to use PE to build photo albums and get them online so friends can view them. The meeting felt to me like a bust. I had been so revved up, but I lost my energy 2/3 of the way through the meeting. Ever stand in front of a group of people, look into their faces, and see mostly blank stares? I started to pause the meeting and ask them to stand up. But they did not seem to hear my invitation, so I went ahead with my presentation. I should have just sat down. They would have noticed that. Oh well, better luck next time.