Adobe Photoshop Elements 6

Seven years have passed since Photoshop Elements 1, and while the latest version seems to be about evolution rather than revolution, the software shows no sign of running out of steam. The most obvious improvements to Elements concern the front end, and the photo-sorting and sharing tools. Certainly, the all-new grey interface looks fantastic, and organises the key components of the program under logical Create, Edit and Share tabs. A sub-tab of Edit called Guided walks you through potential fixes for a particular image, and it’s all very idiot-proof.

More confident users should check out the new Photomerge technology which enables you to combine the best facial expressions from a series of shots into a composite. While this suggests a certain desperation on the part of Adobe to come up with ground-breaking additions to what is already perfectly good software, it’s worth a go if you get asked to shoot a family get-together.

The solid photo-enhancement and layer-editing tools are even more intuitive; check out the new Image Selection tool, which enables you to brush a selection and then use sliders to make the selection blend with the background. The Panorama and Clone tools have also been overhauled, along with monochrome conversion – it’s hardly Photoshop CS3, but still great fun to use. Sharing shots, whether via email, PDF or disc, is also made easier by a new look Sharing Center.