Ten Reasons to Consider an Upgrade
to Adobe Photoshop CS2

If you’ve ever wondered whether you should upgrade to Adobe Photoshop CS2, here are my top ten reasons why I enjoy using the full version. It mainly boils down to being able to work faster with more conveniences and fewer workarounds than Elements.

Let me emphasize, however, that the full version isn’t for everyone. Elements does a super job of creating scrapbook pages and even has some features not found in Adobe Photoshop.

Here, then, are my top ten reasons.

Type

The Type tool gives you some very nice additional options such as control over tracking (space between all the letters) and kerning (space between two individual letters). You can also create a curved path, such as a circle, and make your text follow the path.

Layer Styles

Styles such as shadows, bevels, outer glow, etc. can be accessed from the Layers palette and contain many more options than the pre-made styles in Elements. For instance, you can adjust the color of a drop shadow or outer glow, and you can also adjust the opacity of a Layer style, to name just a few.

Once you’ve created a Layer style, it appears as a separate layer in the Layers palette which can easily be applied to another layer by pressing Alt (Mac: Option) and simply clicking and dragging it to that layer.

To be honest, though, I must mention that Elements has some pretty cool Layer Styles such as WOW Chrome, Plastic, and Neon that don’t come with the full version of Photoshop, but in Photoshop you can add or copy Layer Styles easily. Since I own both software versions, I simply copied the WOW styles over to Adobe Photoshop.

When it comes to creating your own “from scratch” layer styles, there’s nothing like the shear power of the Layer Styles dialog box in Adobe Photoshop!

Better Selection Tools

Elements is quite capable of making most selections with the techniques I share in Volume 1, but when it comes to fine selections such as hair or fur, there’s nothing like the additional tools available in Photoshop which include the “Extract” command (better than the new Magic Extractor in Elements 4), Color Range, and Channels.

Layer Mask

In Volume 2 I explain how to use a layer mask and provide a workaround for Elements that produces the same mask as Photoshop. However, it involves several extra steps.

In Photoshop you can click on the Layer Mask icon at the bottom of the Layers palette any time you need a mask, and presto! It’s there.

Camera Raw

If you have a Single Lens Reflex (SLR) camera you'll really enjoy the improved Camera Raw dialog box. Photoshop Elements can also process camera raw images, but the new CS2 camera raw really rocks! It will open multiple photos at a time, and if you have several photos that were shot in the same lighting, make an adjustment to one and then apply that adjustment to all the others qickly and easily. What a time saver!

Screen Mode

I love being able to press the letter F to jump immediately into another screen mode that turns the whole background into gray and hides any other photos I have open. Press F again and you get black as a background. Pressing F a third time takes you back to regular mode, or you can also use the Mode buttons at the bottom end of the tool box to accomplish the same thing.

Quick Mask

Elements has a Quick Mask function, but you have to get to it through the Selection Brush and it’s not as easy to switch back and forth between Mask Mode and regular mode. In Photoshop there’s a button just below the color chips that allows you to immediately enter the Quick Mask mode or you can press the letter Q to enter or exit Quick Mask.

Brushes

You can create your own brushes in Photoshop Elements, but you have nowhere the amount of control and possibilities that you have with the Photoshop Brushes palette. This is an area you could explore forever!

Actions

Whenever I have a series of steps that I have to repeat frequently, it pays to create an action for the steps. The Actions palette lets me record each move I make so that in the future, I can simply click on a button and those steps are repeated instantly.

The Bridge

It might sound odd to list the Bridge (Adobe Photoshop’s new version of the File Browser) as one of my favorite items in Photoshop, but the new Adobe Bridge in CS2 is great! I like being able to click and drag the thumbnails to a new location, and have the option to change the layout. It now has a slider to change the viewing size of your thumbnails, similar to the Organizer in Photoshop Elements 3, and you can access many commands right there in the Bridge menus.

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Of course there are more than ten reasons to upgrade to Adobe Photoshop CS2. I haven’t even mentioned some of the new features such as being able to match color between photographs, the new Warp tool, Smart Objects, Vanishing Point, etc., but this gives you some idea of what you can expect.

And by the way, Elements and Photoshop are so similar in how they operate that you should have no trouble adjusting.

In the final analysis, however, only you can know whether it’s worth the extra bucks to upgrade. Elements does an incredible job for a fraction of the cost of Adobe Photoshop, so if you’re not sure, go with Photoshop Elements. You can always upgrade to Adobe Photoshop when you’re ready!