Adobe is introducing the 2024 version of its lightweight Photoshop Elements app, with several AI-powered features leading the way.
The leader of this groupis, in our opinion, the new Artistic Effects tool that can place a filter over photos making them look like paintings. These effects are based on notable art styles and famous artists such as Vincent van Gogh. A slider does give you control over how strong the filters can be, or you can keep the colors of the original image if you don’t like what Photoshop adds. Users can even isolate changes to certain parts of the photo.
Then, Quick Actions are compartmentalized into a single panel and simplified for easier use. So if you want to remove artifacts in a JPEG image or highlight an entire background, you can now do so with just one click of the on-screen button.
In addition to all the AI features, Adobe is expanding the arsenal of tools on Photoshop Elements.
For example, Photo Reels allows you to combine a collection of images into a slideshow. It includes its own set of editing tools, allowing users to make adjustments on the fly, insert images, or adjust the time each image remains on screen. There’s Color Match, which allows you to seamlessly transfer the color and tone from one image to another, or you can use one of the many built-in presets – the choice is entirely yours.
Guided Edits now have the ability to replace entire backgrounds in an image, while leaving the main subject completely intact. To top it all off, Adobe also redesigned Photoshop Elements and added new “fonts, icons, buttons, and colors.” Additionally, you can choose to display the app in light or dark mode.
Premiere update
In addition to Photoshop Elements, Adobe will release the 2024 version of Premiere Elements. Most of the changes in Premiere aren’t powered by artificial intelligence, but there is one: Automatic Highlight Reels. This scans an uploaded video, picking out clips to place in, well, a highlights reel. It mainly focuses on high-quality images, close-ups and moving people.
Like its sister app, Premiere Elements 2024 lets you transfer the color from one video to another, where you can then ‘fine-tune’ the saturation or hue. For audio, new effects such as Vocal Enhancer have been introduced to improve sound quality.
Everything you see here is available on the desktop versions of Photoshop and Premiere Elements, while the ‘web and mobile companion apps’ have been given several beta features. The Quick Actions mentioned earlier are currently being tested for smartphones and you can try out placing overlays in images. No word on when the mobile update will arrive.
Until then, we recommend checking out TechRadar’s list of the best online Photoshop courses for 2023 if you’re interested in picking them up