photoshop elements program

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What exactly is photoshop elements 8 (for Mac) - is it a stand alone type program - i.e. you don't have to have the Photoshop CS4 program or another "base" program installed first to use it, just install?

I am confused, more so since I talked to a salesperson, who didn't really seem interested in selling me anything anyway, as he didn't seem to interested in asking me any questions of what I wanted it for. All I really need it for is photo manipulation - I don't need all the features of the suite.

Secondly, is the program worth my time and effort to buy and use?

Thanks,

Elements is a stripped down version of Photoshop that allows you to do simple photo editing without the expense in money and computer memory of buying and running the full Photoshop package. I myself use a program called Irfanview for photo editing at home because it is light on computer memory and free.

Sholf is right, it's a standalone more simple Photoshop.

iPhoto (and Preview) already do a lot of basic things
What kind of editing/manipulating do you need?

I design scale models as a hobby (from 1:12 scale down to 1/144 scale) and I would like to make backgrounds (eg building a repeating background for a wraparound effect, etc. - nice to have when you want to do e.g. a forest background, cityscape, or something that needs a degree more realism than other techniques can provide, or more than I can do with my own skills). I would also like the ability to manipulate images so I know exactly how big something will print - Right now I have been using my pages program to manipulate images, but that can be a bit tricky too because sometimes its a case of "hoping for the best", but that can lead straight to "wasting supplies". the ability to "create" Art work, manipulating colors of wallpapers/other decorating items, etc., or even design with cutting and pasting so I can see if my imagined plan holds up on an aesthetic level would be good. I have played around with IPhoto (but not Preview) and haven't found IPhoto was living up to what I would like it to do, but admittedly I haven't played around with it seriously.

Hopefully that makes sense?

Thank you both

Hi again. If you are unsure, try it first, download the demo version and see if it's what you really need for your cutting and pasting needs.

About the software:
If you tried Photoshop and still unsure about buying it, there are free alternatives: Acorn, Pixen, Seashore, those are from the top of my head.

About print size:
When creating a document FOR PRINT, make sure you select 300dpi as resolution and CMYK as the working mode, and always start with the desired print size or even a little bigger one, that way you won't get pixellated images when printing.
And you can always output smaller web pics (96dpi resolution, RGB mode) from the originals.
Hope that made sense.

About the backgrounds:
Pics you get from the web are commonly 72dpi or 96dpi, so you'll need big images, otherwise they'll print pixellated.
(http://sxc.hu is a great site to get huge images, free)

changing subject, there are some easy ways to get stuff done using Preview:
Extract objects: check this vid)
Adjust colors: Tools > Adjust Color
Transparent backgrounds: Click and hold on the Select button in Preview's toolbar, and Instant Alpha from the drop-down menu, and click what you'd like to remove, then save a copy as PNG.