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You're welcome!

I have always been impressed by Affinity's programs, they are very good budget replacements for Adobe products. As you say, there is a learning curve if you are used to Adobe since the Layers work differently, but once you get used to that it is pretty straight forward. And to help out I will be adding more Affinity Photo videos to this channel.

You're welcome Rich! Doing a video on Gradients is a great idea, I will add that to my list. Designer is like Illustrator and Publisher is like InDesign. Both programs are well worth it.

I thought that was lunch at McDonalds

@@HTGPhoto If not, soon will be.

You're welcome! I know that a lot of my viewers are interested in Affinity Photo, so this is a perfect chance to give it a try.

Hi Fred, actually Lightroom always had those features. What happened was that Adobe purchased Photoshop Elements from a competing company, it was basically a smaller sized clone of Adobe Photoshop. In version 11 Adobe got around to changing the interface and targeting PSE for a different market, ie the consumer/hobbyist market instead of the professional market. So in version 11 PSE was dramatically simplified and it lost a lot of features. Since then Adobe has been slowly adding back some features but always keeping their new target audience in mind, so most of what has been added has been guided edits and things like that. My recommendation has always been that if you are just a hobbyist then PSE may be all you need. But if you are at all serious about digital photo edting then getting the Photoshop/Lightroom set is the way to go. I love PSE for its simplicity and have a fun time figuring out how to get the most out of the program for my RUclips videos, but I use Photoshop/Lightroom for all of my professional work.

@@HTGPhoto Been seriously thinking of upgrading to Lightroom but am not as confident at the moment. Do you do any basic-to-advanced Lightroom RUclips videos? Anyway, many thanks for your reply. Cheers, Fred Jansohn

@@fredjansohn8888 Hi Fred, I have a couple of Lightroom videos on this channel, more to follow. Plus I have several lightroom videos on my other channel www.youtube.com/@HTGGeorge, mostly older ones. I also just recently updated my Lightroom training course for 2024, you can find that at howtogurus.com

Mostly for people who are not using raw images. But there are other reasons, like I try to show how to use all of the tools in PSE, not just a few. I have covered camera raw in other videos.

@@HTGPhoto But you can use ACR on JPEG images too

@@peterevans2278 Like I said last time, I have already done several videos on ACR.

You're welcome!

Welcome!

Thanks again!

Thanks!

You are welcome!

You're welcome Rich! You make a very good point in your comment, it is always better to fix problems when you are taking the photo instead of trying to fix them afterwards. My personal favorite techniques are either using a white bounce card, or using a fill flash, both work well but getting the fill flash setting just right can be tricky and takes experience.

Thanks!

Thanks!

Make sure you don't use any feathering on your selection and make sure you select the dog layer before using the content aware fill.

@@HTGPhoto man you are AWESOME. I was following along and it worked the first time then i started over to do it again by memeory and was wondering what i missed. forgot to select the dog layer the 2nd time round. THANK YOU for the reply.

You're welcome! Also check out this video on my other channel on adding a snowing effect ruclips.net/video/NNuwlB8OE24/видео.html

Thanks Anne. And no, a smart object is different from a vector image. A smart object has some protections against some forms of editing, like painting or erasing on that layer. It is also linked to the original image, so if you resize the image it goes back to the original and refigures from there, retaining quality. There are two types of images, one is a raster image and this is your typical photo. It is made up of pixels and if you zoom into a raster image you will see the pixels. A vector image is a mathematical outline with a fill applied. Text is one form of a vector graphic. If you zoom in on text the edges stay sharp. Shapes created in PSE are vector images, but aside from resizing them you can't do anything else with them in PSE without first converting to a raster graphic. When you right click on a text layer in PSE you will see Simplify as one of the options, what that actually means is convert from vector to raster. Drawing programs like Adobe Illustrator work primarily with vector images, Photoshop Elements works with raster images. More powerful programs like Adobe Photoshop can do both. When you hear someone talking about using the Pen tool in PS or working with Paths, that is vector graphics.

@@HTGPhoto thank you for clarifying that for me and giving such a detailed reply, your effort is much appreciated. It’s all going in, bit by bit and one day the light bulb will just switch on, certainly keeps my brain active 😁

@@anne2309 You're welcome Anne. I don't talk about vector much on this channel but I occasionally mention it in Affinity videos (more of those coming later this summer)

That's why I am here.

Hi Lori, this video is just about how to get a photo into a new layer in PSE. It isn't a project video. I have loads of those here on this channel and my other channel. Here is one example ruclips.net/video/3ZEzgo-DMaY/видео.html

I think the problem is with how you are using the Photo Bin. When dragging one photo into another you need to grab the photo with the mouse and drag it into the other image. If you click on the photo and then try dragging it that won't work. That just switches you to the other photo. Try this instead. Open the dog picture, then go to the file menu, click on Place and find the other photo. That also brings the 2nd photo into the main photo project. Check out this video on different ways to add a photo to a layer ruclips.net/video/V-5in-mLtYg/видео.html

Thanks so much for your reply! I will try this in the morning and report back😊

thanks. the drag method still doesn't work but the File/Place method has enabled me to get both photos into the layers bar. I am used to Procreate which seems much easier to use!

Glad you enjoyed it

You're welcome!

Thanks Bent! I try to stay busy.

You're very welcome!

Glad you enjoyed it!

You're very welcome!

Thanks! And, just a case of practice makes perfect. I have been using PSE since version 4.

I will be making more here and you can still find hundreds of PSE videos on my other channel here www.youtube.com/@HTGGeorge. Its mostly a gaming channel now but all of my older PSE videos are also there.

If you open Camera RAW in Photoshop Elements and open the Profiles, then right click anywhere in that panel you get a popup menu which has an import option. This allows you to import profiles and presets zip files. I don't know where you can get those.

@@HTGPhoto Thanks, I'll try

Lots of steps either way. Actually I simplified the technique to make it work in PSE. It is more complex but with a better result when done in Photoshop. Basically anything is better in Photoshop. These kinds of projects just require a lot of steps and time.

@@HTGPhoto But your results in PSE are amazing. Thank you

You're very welcome!

You're welcome. The way I imagine things is that my course teaches Photoshop Elements and then my RUclips channel gives practice lessons. Sometimes I do reviews, or tool overviews, but mostly it is practice projects on RUclips.

Sorry, but there is NO skin smoothing or beauty retouching with Kolorize. I have very carefully compared before and after photos I used in this video and only the color is changing. No retouching, that I do know. If you use the before and after preview button on the Kolorize site it can look like they sharpened up the image a bit, but that is simply because the before image has been lowered in sharpness on their site, probably to make the preview look better. When you compare the actual uploaded image to the downloaded colorized version they are both at the same level of sharpness with no retouching, just the added color. Like I always do, I show actual results in all of my videos, and if something doesn't work well it gives me a chance to call them out, like I do with the PSE colorize tool in this video.

You're welcome!

You are very welcome Anne!

You're welcome, glad you liked it.

You're welcome!

You're welcome Debra! I thought this would be a useful follow up video to my last one about the Refine Edge tool.

Hi Gail, you will find the course materials by logging into the Photo Coach and clicking on Project Guides in the right side menu, or scroll to the bottom of the page and you will see the Project Guides section. In older videos the links are in the video description, same thing for older PSE videos on my other channel, the links are in the description. I have taken down the PSE support for the other channel, so if you happen to see a video over there with a missing link just let me know and I will add it to the description. The project files for this video will be going up shortly.

Was this a callenging photo to edit? No, it was easy. Was it still a sloppy job? Yes, I do fast and dirty in my RUclips videos because I am showing a technique, not the best way to get a finished result. If this were a paying job I would have spent 2 hours on it and it would have been perfect. That isn't what I was trying to do in the video. The refine selection is an excellent technique to get a better selection around areas like hair and the hat, things you can't do by hand, no matter what tool you use. If I had done this with the pen tool I would still have refined the edge around the hair and hat because it would still have needed it. I left the background as is because this is not a video about replacing the background, it is a video about removing a person. There is no such thing as hard bokeh edges, bokeh is a specific blur technique invented in Japan which refers to blurring light sources in night time photos so that they appear as round spots. No bokeh in this image. Here is a video of mine that shows bokeh ruclips.net/video/OarMeHA9xvs/видео.html.

@@HTGPhoto Ye, sorry it wasn't hard, gota admit that. Also just watched yours background replacement vid, and it's much better imo, when it comes to making selection. For just removal of person from photo also you just need to mask out what you don't want to remove, so maybe that got me wrong impression. Anyway it's cool you keep looking at older vids, appreciate you taking your time to reply

@@Deruzejaku Thanks! I keep tabs on all my videos, on both channels, and I try as much as possible to respond to all comments. Someday I may get too big on RUclips to allow me to do that but right now even my big channel is still under 100,000 subs so I am able to stay close with my viewers. So, I am always here for questions, comments, whatever. Right now my Affinity videos are a little out of date since I am putting most of my time into getting another channel going, but once that is over 1000 subs I will start doing videos for the new version of Affinity Photo and may be some for Affinity Designer as well.

No, PSE does not have Blend If sliders, that is an Adobe Photoshop option not available in the less powerful Photoshop Elements. No, you can't upgrade the ACR. If you are a photographer you may want to consider a different program. Of course Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom is the best way to go, but if you don't want to be on a subscription plan then Affinity Photo is a good option.

@@HTGPhoto Thanks, I am/was looking at 'Affinity photo'. How much different/ better is it than Elements? I'm retired and getting back into photography as a serious hobby. But you are correct, I don't like "subscription plans". How much better/different is Affinity's RAW program than Elements ACR?

@@phanlan-k9j The quality is better in Photoshop Elements because it is an Adobe program, but Affinity Photo is more feature rich. On features Affinity Photo falls somewhere half way between Elements and Adobe Photoshop. For most photographers Affinity Photo is a better option compared to Elements. For your standard hobbyist or consumer Elements is plenty but if you are at all serious then I would go with Affinity Photo. It runs a bit different from Adobe programs but it isn't hard to learn. I will be coming out with a new training course for Affinity later this summer. If you are really serious then the only programs I recommend are Photoshop/Lightroom.

@@HTGPhoto Thanks. I'm an 80 year young retired pipeline construction worker with a life long interest in photography. Because of health reasons and then the Covid period, I've been out of photography for a few years. I never used LR but I was into PScs6 until CC came along. I'm not a fan of monthly, or annual, subscriptions. I will try out Affinity free demo this week and pobably go with it. What are your thoughts on Canva buying it out? I understand that Canva is into renting not selling their products.

You can get these both from Amazon or straight from Adobe. If you want to get Elements from Adobe look at the bottom of their home page for the link to Elements Family. Their home page is all about Photoshop and Creative Suite, so the Elements ends up at the bottom. You can also get these from Walmart, Best Buy, BHP Photo, Staples, Office Depot, pretty much anywhere where you would expect to purchase software. Grocery stores don't carry these.

@@HTGPhoto I'm in Malaysia and the links just send me to commercial companies that are not interested in retail. There are 3 listed in my home city but none have anything about Adobe on their websites. I do see it on Amazon but it's so silly to have to hunt around for a simple download. In the meantime I see literally dozens of pirate copies for sale at $5 or less. Adobe really are their own worst enemy for this.

You're welcome!

Glad it was helpful!

You're welcome!

Depends on if you need any of the new features. The dark mode could be useful for people with vision issues. The Photo Reels is good for anyone doing a lot of socia media stuff. And Adobe has improved Quick Mode, so if you use that a lot it could be worth it. Check out these two videos, what's new in 2024 ruclips.net/video/Ex2BlRiQ6wY/видео.html and what's new in 2023 ruclips.net/video/WoOp6RQBdTs/видео.html

@@HTGPhoto Thanks!

Hi TJ, sorry, I haven't made any videos with train tracks, so what you saw wasn't from me.

@@HTGPhoto Ok thank you! I had put this word out to others and I found it.

Thanks! And glad you like the 2024 course, I put a lot of effort into that new title. Thanks for the Greetings! It is always fun to talk with people from other countries.