Guide

Photoshop and Photoshop Elements: What Are The Differences?

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When editing photos, there is one tool that a lot of people tend to consider using, photoshop. This tool is one of the popular instruments for photo editing. It is widely used in graphic arts, advertisements and so many more. However, because of the advancement of modern technology, new features are being introduced and photoshops are being developed over time. Today, we also have photoshop elements. The introduction of this tool somehow makes confusion by users. What is the difference between photoshop and photoshop elements? Well, to help you out, this article will give you the differences between the two.

Basically, photoshop and photoshop elements are two different versions. Photoshop elements are way cheaper than photoshop. The reason for this is that photoshop elements comes with some limitations. Usually, this tool is designed for users who only need fewer features and not as complex as the ones in photoshop. In addition, photoshop element has also a simpler design compared to photoshop and it only contains guided workflow and a feature that guides in file management. Hence, if you think you only need simple features for the project you are working on, photoshop element is the best option for you.

When it comes to the file organization, the digital asset management application in photoshop elements uis known as elements organizer. On the other hand, photoshop comes with Adobe bridge which is known as a file navigation system that operates like macintosh finder or windows explorer. The color modes pof these two tools are also different from one another. Basically, photoshop elements does not support all of the modes of colors that come with the tool. Specifically, it does not include CMYK, Duotone, Multi-channel, Lab and others. It also doesn’t include color modes such as Butmap, Grayscale, Index and more.

There is also a difference between photoshop and photoshop elements when it comes to licensing. Photoshop elements is multi-platform as of version 9. This just means that you are allowed to install this both on  Macintosh (photoshop macbook) or Windows without the need to buy a separate version. As such, as mentioned earlier, the cost of these two tools are also different from one another. Photoshop is quite more expensive than photoshop elements. 

Finally, the features of photoshop elements are also different from the features of Photoshop. Photoshop elements doesn’t have 16-bit support. This results in functionality loss of the magic wand, family type of tools, selection brush, cookie cutter, recompose, straighten, and so many more. Apart form that, smart objectives are also not present in photoshop elements. Hence, you can’t open or create embedded files as smart objects. Channel mixer adjustment or channel panel is also not supported in photoshop elements and so are the vector based tools. This includes pen family of tools and lastly, there is also no paths panel.

Overall, your decision to choose between photoshop and photoshop elements would depend exactly on your needs and requirements on the project you are working on.

James Deakin lives in California USA. He is an author of two famous novels, Rage of Angels and When Tomorrow comes. He is also the founder of classof2k9.com