Photoshop & Premiere Elements 12 Review

Photography has come a long way. Do you remember when we had to buy film for our cameras and our only choices were 12, 24, or 36 photos? Can you even imagine being so limited today? Nowadays everyone has digital cameras and the number of photos and videos we take number in the hundreds or even thousands.

Adobe Photoshop Elements 12 & Premiere Elements 12 received.

Even though we may have taken so many photos they may not be as picture perfect as we’d like and editing videos might feel daunting. That’s why I’m excited about Adobe Photoshop Elements 12 & Premiere Elements 12.

Last year I had the chance to review Photoshop Elements 11 and have loved using it ever since. When I heard the the new version had come out I couldn’t wait to learn about the new features. There are so many and they make editing, organizing, and sharing photos and videos even easier.

To start off with I have to share two of my favorite new features that is available for both programs.

Mobile Albums

When you combine mobile albums and Adobe Revel you are able to access your photos and videos wherever you go. You can view them on your smartphone or tablet. It also makes it easy to bring all of your photos and videos from your mobile devices into your computer. Any edits you make are updated across all devices. There are free and premium accounts for Adobe Revel. Here’s an in-depth video showing how it works.

I couldn’t wait to test out the mobile albums. I went to Adobe Revel online and signed in with my Adobe ID. Then I dragged and dropped a few photos into my album.

It was fun to see them appear pretty quickly in the Elements 12 Organizer.

I downloaded the Adobe Revel app and after logging in was excited to see the photos pop up right in the app on my phone.

I love that I can edit the photos in the app and the changes are applied to the photo in both my Revel online account and in the Elements 12 Organizer.

 Auto Smart Tone Feature

This feature makes smart corrections on your photos or videos with the click of a button. These corrections get better over time because it learns your personal preferences. How neat is that? Here’s before and after photos I edited in one click using Auto Smart Tone.

Now for some of my favorite new features of Adobe Photoshop Elements 12.

Content-Aware Move Tool

You can now move objects by simply dragging them. Here’s a look at one of my first attempts using this. It’s a nice picture of Kora & Yoshi, but I wanted Yoshi closer to Kora.

To do so you select the Content-Aware Move tool and outline the person or object you want to move, then you simply drag it where you want it.

There you have it. Now Yoshi is next to Kora! I touched up the photo just a bit and while it could use more work I’m pretty pleased with the results.

I decided to try pairing the Content-Aware Move Tool it with the Spot Healing Brush. Here’s a photo of Kora from a few years ago that always makes me smile.

While I like that my mom and I are in the background I’ve always wondered what it would look like if the focus was solely on Kora. So I gave it a try. I outlined myself first with the Content Aware Move tool, then I clicked the Spot Healing Brush Tool and filled in my outline. I let go of the mouse button and I disappeared! It was cool and felt very Back to the Future-y!

I then did the same to my mom and suddenly Kora became the star of the photo.

One Touch Frames, Effects, and Textures

This is a wonderful feature that easily enhances your photos. Here’s a picture of Kora & Logan at their double-birthday party last year. I’ve always like this photo but the lightning was a bit off. Using the One Touch Effects I was able to select from ten different looks and apply the one I thought best fit.

I also tried out the One Touch Frames to spiffy up the photo:

New Guided Edits

Some of the new guided edits include Zoom Burst, Photo Puzzle, and Restore Old Photos. Here’s a look at some fun I had with the Zoom Burst. In just a couple clicks I gave motion and action to this picture of Kora.

Pet Eye Corrector

Do you have a photo where the flash turned your dog’s eyes yellow? Now you can use the Pet Eye Corrector to quickly fix them with a single click. Yoshi was kind enough to pose for this photo for me. I simply click Red-Eye, selected Pet Eye, clicked on her eyes and wah-lah!

Instantly Upload Photos To Twitter & Facebook

This makes it simple to share your pictures with your online friends. Previously you were only able to share from the Organizer but now you can share from the Editor as well.

Prior to using Photoshop Elements last year I honestly have to say I was a bit intimidated. I thought it might be over my head and would take hours to get past the learning curve. I was pleasantly surprised to see that Elements offers Quick, Guided, and Expert options for editing. This way you can use the software whether you are a newbie or a professional. Here’s a great video showing you how the Guided Edits work and how easy and fun they are to use:

Adobe Premiere Elements 12 is fantastic and fun video editing software. Here are some of my favorite features in the new version.

Built In Video Tutorials

These are very helpful tutorials especially for a newbie like me to video editing. I know I’ll be using these often and I’m excited to learn how to make my videos even better.

Spotlight Your Subject

Add special graphics, text, and effects to your videos. I used the built in tutorials to learn how to combine three videos of the kids ziplining into one. I also added a dissolve transition between each and then had fun adding the cute moving speech bubble that travels with Kora as she zips by.

Four New Film Looks

It’s easy to drag and drop these new looks onto your video for Hollywood like effects. I love this video of Kora sledding when she was 4. She’s laughing like crazy and it’s so cute! I added the Old Film look to it to give it an old-fashioned home movie feel. There are also four new film looks including Yesteryear, Cross Process, Trinity, and Comic.

Over 250 Sound Effects & 50 Musical Scores

These sound effects help add punch to your videos and the musical scores that automatically fit the music to the length of your video. Here’s a cute video of toddler Kora & grandpa walking in the woods together. I looked thought the musical scores and found a fun one that enhances it nicely.

I have truly enjoyed working with Adobe Photoshop Elements 12 & Premiere Elements 12 and recommend both to anyone looking for top of the line photo and video editing software. I also recommend them to those looking to organize their photos and videos and easily share them with others as well as access them on the go. With their many options and features they offer something for everyone and would make wonderful gifts for the shutterbugs in your life this holiday season.