Adobe Photoshop Elements 2023 Review: Expert Editing Made Easy for Amateur Photographers

Are you an avid amateur photographer looking to take your photo editing skills to the next level? While Adobe Photoshop reigns as the industry standard for imaging professionals, it also comes with a steep learning curve and recurring subscription fees. That‘s where Adobe Photoshop Elements 2023 comes in.

This powerful yet user-friendly software provides many of the same core editing tools as Photoshop, but with a simplified interface, helpful guided edits, and fun creative features that make it ideal for home users. As an Adobe-certified expert with over 20 years of experience in graphic design and photo editing, I put the latest version of Photoshop Elements to the test. Here‘s what you need to know.

Intuitive User Interface Guides You Every Step of the Way

One of the standout features of Photoshop Elements is how easy it makes complex editing tasks, even if you have no prior experience. The welcome screen greets you with inspiration, tips, and tutorials to get you started. From there, three editing modes adapt to your skill level:

Quick Mode – Get started with simple yet impactful edits like adjusting color and lighting, cropping, red-eye removal, and applying stylized effects. The program analyzes your photo and provides smart fix suggestions you can apply with one click.

Guided Mode – Step-by-step walkthroughs coach you through more advanced techniques like replacing photo backgrounds, colorizing black-and-white photos, merging group shots, and creating double exposures. It‘s an engaging way to learn new editing skills.

Expert Mode – Graduate to the full set of professional-grade editing tools for precise control over exposure, color, sharpening, layers, filters, and more. While not as robust as full Photoshop, all the essentials are here and thoughtfully organized.

No matter which mode you use, tools are clearly laid out, with large buttons, sliders, and helpful tooltips. Onscreen text and visual icons guide you at each step. The interface is fully customizable in Expert mode, so you can arrange and access tools to suit your workflow.

Powerful Yet Simple Photo Editing Tools Produce Stunning Results

Don‘t be fooled by Photoshop Elements‘ ease of use – under the hood are the same powerful editing algorithms as Photoshop. Whether you‘re restoring old family photos, retouching portraits, or creating photo manipulations, you‘ll find everything you need:

• Comprehensive RAW file support and editing for DSLR and mirrorless cameras
• Industry-leading selection tools to isolate subjects and edit specific areas
• Content-Aware Fit seamlessly blends objects onto new backgrounds
• Automatically colorize black-and-white photos with one click
• Remove haze, enhance skies, and create other striking outdoor photography effects
• Whiten teeth, smooth skin, and airbrush portrait blemishes
• Powerful perspective correction tools, including the new Tilt-Shift effect
• Create panoramas, combine the best group photo poses, and merge multi-shot scenes
• Customize with drawing and text tools, galleries of filters and effects, and creative content packs

Best of all, the new Adobe Sensei AI technology automates repetitive editing tasks and intelligently generates starting point edits tailored to each image. It‘s like having an expert editor looking over your shoulder, suggesting how to improve exposure, color balance, clarity, and more.

Get Creative with Prints, Photo Collages, Slideshows and More

Photoshop Elements isn‘t just for optimizing single photos. A range of project creation wizards guide you through designing photo collages, cards, social media posts, slideshows, and calendars with your own images. While basic templates are included, premium designs are also available for purchase.

When you‘re ready to print your creations, built-in photo printing options optimize your images for stunning prints up to poster-size on your own inkjet printer. You can order keepsakes like photo books, mugs, and magnets printed by Adobe‘s service partners directly from the software.

Sharing to Social Media Could Be Smoother

These days, most photos end up on social media, so I was excited to test out Photoshop Elements‘ direct sharing integrations. You can post straight to Twitter, Facebook or Flickr after editing your photos. However, the options are a bit clunky and limited. You can‘t customize the post description, people tags, or album details before posting.

Some popular platforms like Instagram are conspicuously absent. And you can‘t use Elements to edit photos already posted to social media; you have to download and re-upload them manually. While it‘s nice to have some social media integration built-in, most users will be better off exporting their edited photos normally and posting them the regular way for more control.

Companion Mobile App and 2GB Cloud Storage

As a desktop program, Photoshop Elements can‘t match the mobile convenience of competitors like Google Photos or Pixlr. But the new Photoshop Elements Companion mobile app (iOS and Android) aims to bridge the gap. You get 2GB of free cloud storage to automatically back up mobile photos and sync editing work across devices.

Using the Companion app, you can view your synced photo library, make quick adjustments, and create collages on the go. Anything you do syncs back to the desktop program. It‘s handy for starting edits on your phone and fine-tuning them later in Photoshop Elements. The Companion app also generates creative photo collage and slideshow ideas personalized to your photos.

However, in my tests, I found uploading full-resolution photos from Photoshop Elements to the cloud a bit slow. And there‘s no way to post edited photos to social media directly from the Companion app; you have to go through Elements on the desktop. The Companion app is a nice bonus, but not yet a fully-developed mobile editing solution.

Pricing – Pay Once and Own Forever

Unlike many of Adobe‘s professional apps, Photoshop Elements does not require a subscription. It‘s a one-time purchase of $99.99 for either the Windows or Mac version, which includes the Companion app and free updates. Upgrading from a previous version costs $79.99. A 30-day free trial is available to test the full software.

Considering the expansive feature set, consumer-friendly interface, and ongoing support, Photoshop Elements is an excellent value for amateur photographers looking for a long-term photo editing solution. However, budget-minded users may find free alternatives like Google Photos sufficient.

Should You Buy Photoshop Elements Over Photoshop?

Photoshop Elements is ideal for amateur photographers and scrapbookers who want to make their photos look great without learning complicated professional tools. While it uses many of the same fundamental editing algorithms as Photoshop, Elements has a much gentler learning curve and costs significantly less in the long run.

However, Elements can‘t match the advanced tools in Photoshop for graphic design, illustration, 3D modeling, and deep photo retouching. Professional photographers and designers will still want the full creative power and flexibility of Photoshop, along with workflow features like batch processing, CMYK/Pantone colors, and advanced typography controls.

If you‘re not ready to commit to a Creative Cloud subscription, Photoshop Elements is an excellent stepping stone to learn photo editing basics before graduating to full Photoshop. You can download a free 30-day trial of each to compare.

The Verdict

Adobe Photoshop Elements 2023 successfully makes professional-grade photo editing tools accessible to amateur photographers. While not as mobile-friendly or budget-conscious as some alternatives, its guided editing modes, creative project templates, and fun auto-generated effects make it easy to get stunning results.

From a quick touchup to a total photo makeover, Photoshop Elements provides the tools you need to perfect your photos in a fun, engaging way. Once you‘ve experienced how easily it can transform your photos, you won‘t want to post another pic straight out of the camera. Whether you‘re a beginner or a seasoned photo enthusiast, Photoshop Elements is a fantastic value and gets my recommendation.