First look: Photoshop Elements 10

Adobe today released the latest iteration of its consumer photo and video software, version 10 of Photoshop Elements (pictures) and Premiere Elements (movies).

Perhaps the most interesting addition to Elements photo editing is a "guided edit" for changing an image's depth of field by blurring the background. This isn't completely new capability -- you could do this in earlier versions of Elements by selecting the background manually and applying a blur filter. However, the guided edit cuts down the steps and makes it easier for those who are less comfortable diving deep into Elements' many tools.

I'm not sure this feature is quite as compelling as some other recent updates to the Elements editor, such as the addition of layer masks (for a long time only available in full Photoshop) and "content-aware" smart retouching. However, it took me less than half a minute to do a simple background blur on a flower photo with the new guided edit -- a feature that could appeal to users who want to punch up a portrait or still life without spending a lot of time.

New depth of field guided edit in Elements 10

Image after background blur is applied

There are also some intriguing new features in Elements' organizer and the Premiere video editing package this time around. Read more...