Boost Your Skills with the Right Third-Party Plugins for Photoshop Elements

Boost Your Skills with the Right Third-Party Plugins for Photoshop Elements

Are you a user of Photoshop Elements and aspiring to obtain the full features of Photoshop CC? Great news! There are many third-party plugins available that can significantly enhance the capabilities of Photoshop Elements. However, it's important to understand that these plugins cannot fully transform it into Photoshop CC. While the integration of several powerful tools can bring you closer to the advanced functionalities of the professional version, it is essential to evaluate whether you truly need the full version.

Understanding the Limitations of Photoshop Elements

Photoshop CC offers a wide range of features that Photoshop Elements cannot match. This includes advanced color management, deeper integration with Adobe applications, and an extensive array of brushes and patterns. While Photoshop Elements is still a robust tool for basic photo editing and design work, providing a solid foundation for many users, it lacks the depth required for professional-level graphic design and complex image manipulation.

Enhancing Photoshop Elements with Third-Party Plugins

Despite these limitations, there are third-party plugins that can significantly enhance your experience with Photoshop Elements. For instance, tools like Adobe Camera Raw (compatible with Elements), Topaz Labs Gigapixel AI, and Nik Collection can provide a wide array of features that make working with Elements more akin to using Photoshop CC. These plugins can help you achieve professional-grade results without the need to invest in a full license of Photoshop CC.

Adobe Camera Raw: Integrating Adobe Camera Raw into Photoshop Elements allows you to use advanced tone and color corrections that are often only available in Photoshop CC. This tool is crucial for photographers looking to refine their images with non-destructive editing techniques.

Topaz Labs Gigapixel AI: This plugin not only enhances the resolution of your images but also allows for a wide range of creative photo manipulations. It's a free-form, artificial intelligence tool that can upsize images to 2,000% without visible artifacts, making it a powerful asset for designers and photographers who need to work with high-resolution imagery.

Nik Collection: This is a suite of plugins that includes a variety of effects that can dramatically alter your images. Features like Silver Efex Pro, Photofiltre, and Color Efex Pro can add a cinematic quality to your work, perfect for creating striking visual effects and enhancing existing photos.

Switching to Expert Mode for Maximum Effectiveness

Another way to significantly boost the capabilities of Photoshop Elements is by switching to the Expert mode. In this mode, you gain access to a broader set of tools and options that are more in line with the advanced functionalities of Photoshop CC. By leveraging both plugins and Expert mode, you can create complex photo editing and design projects that would be difficult or impossible to accomplish with the basic version alone.

To access Expert mode, follow these steps:

Open Photoshop Elements. Navigate to Window Expert Mode (Windows) or Edit Expert Mode (Mac). Alternatively, click on the top menu bar and select Expert.

Expert mode provides you with a more comprehensive set of tools, including layers, advanced cloning and healing tools, color correction options, and many other features that are typically found in the full version of Photoshop. This mode is particularly useful for users who want to achieve more precise and detailed editing without the complexity of Photoshop CC.

Conclusion

While Photoshop Elements cannot be fully transformed into Photoshop CC with third-party plugins, these tools can undoubtedly enhance your experience and capabilities significantly. By combining the right plugins with the Expert mode, you can achieve a professional-level of photo editing and design without the need to invest in the full version of Photoshop CC.

Consider using these tools if you are looking to expand your skills and take your photo editing and design projects to the next level. However, if you require the full range of features and integrations that only Photoshop CC offers, consider subscribing to the professional version to fully leverage all of its capabilities.

Additional Resources

For more information and tutorials on using third-party plugins with Photoshop Elements and Expert mode, visit the following resources:

Adobe Photoshop Elements Adobe Photoshop Elements Support Topaz Labs Nik Software