Using autocorrection tools

If you don't like the Instant Fix effects, Elements has a stack of other automated editing tools found inside the Quick and Expert modes. Both sets of effects are designed to make your picture-editing day go a bit faster and with less stress. Some, I think, are nothing short of beautiful, while others might not work at all. There are hundreds of visual possibilities achievable with these features and if some don't work, there will be many others that do. Remember, these are created using specific photos as test examples. If you are living in a different hemisphere from the one in which the filters were created, it's possible that they might not be as effective simply because the light in your country has a totally different look to it. Effects designed in Europe, for example, might not be so effective in Australia. Or they might be better!

Here's a screenshot of the correction tools in the Quick edit mode, set to a warmer color temperature on the right:

Elements' tone correction tools fall between the On and Off characteristics of the Organizer's Instant Fix function and the myriad variants to be found in the Expert edit mode. Here's how to use the autocorrection tools using the Quick edit mode:

1. From Organizer, select an image and press Ctrl/Cmd + I to open that file in the Editor window. It opens in whatever edit space you were last using. If this is Expert, click Quick at the top of the window, and it will switch into the easier-to-use Quick edit space.
2. At the bottom-right, you'll see the Adjustment, Effects, Textures, and Frames tabs. Click the Adjustments tab to open that panel and note the Smart Fix, Exposure, Lighting, Color, Balance, and Sharpen tools that slide out of the right-hand panel. To use these effectively, start at the top (Smart Fix) and click Auto. If this doesn't fix the shot the way you'd like it to, simply slide the cursor over the tiny thumbnails to select another strength of the Smart Fix effect.
3. Then, move on to the Exposure setting and repeat the same process if needed, or simply jump ahead to fix one of the other features on offer.

I usually find that these Auto effects work 25% of the time. When it clearly makes little or no impact, move on and try something else.

I always joke that some of these effects in Elements were designed on a Friday night, just before everyone went home for the weekend. This is my way of saying I'm not happy with the design or the look of the end result. Auto Smart Tone is one such design—but I also get why it's presented like this. If you are the sort of photographer that eats, sleeps, and breathes cameras and computers, nothing will be too hard to grasp in terms of techniques. But there are a lot of beginner photographers and plenty of folk who are still intimidated by computers, so this is a good way to see, immediately, how your mouse actions change the image. The trick to learning this kind of software is to try a bit of everything. Never be scared to experiment!

Autocorrection in the Expert edit space is quite different. Some of the features offer no adjustment, while others, such as Auto Smart Tone, are not really automatic at all because it's fully adjustable.

Here's how to use the autocorrection tools using the Expert edit mode:

1. Open an image from Organizer in the Expert window.
2. Starting at the top, click the Enhance menu and try the Auto Smart Fix or Auto Smart Tone features. (Note that Auto Smart Fix might not do much, but if its effect is too strong, use the Adjust Smart Fix feature, which, weirdly, is located 11 items further down the menu. In my mind, this should be part of the top-level Smart Fix.) Smart Tone has its own integral adjustment window.
3. Auto Levels will adjust both contrast and color.
4. Auto Contrast will adjust only the black and white tones in the frame (not the color):
   
5. Auto Haze Removal, as the name suggests, is ideal for hazy days, dust, fog, mist, and sea spray. It adds clarity while sometimes making the image darker with more contrast. Often, this action is too harsh—be careful not to overdo it!
6. Auto Shake Reduction sounds too good to be true, but it can reduce the appearance of blurriness quite effectively. Note that the Shake Reduction feature, second from the bottom in this menu, gives you greater control over how this tool works and might prove to be the most effective way to go with not very sharp pictures.
7. Auto Sharpen, amazingly often, hits the spot nicely, adding just a bit more snappiness to the edges of your subject and making it appear crisper than it was before. Like all the Auto tools, though, Auto Sharpen can often leave you wishing for a stronger version—which, of course, you will find with the Adjust Sharpness and Unsharp Mask tools seen further down the menu.

See how the Haze Removal, Shake Reduction, and other sharpening tools work in greater detail in Chapter 8, Advanced Drawing and Painting Techniques.