a couple of versions i think, some one will let you know though im sure. But i use photoshop all day, and i do a lot of extractions, but i never use that function.
I contend that most extraction work could be done in Photoshop Elements.
But this presupposes that the temp employees are well-versed in selection techniques in general.
I downloaded a trial verion of PSE and could not find the extraction tool and I also read that it is not included. Is it included?
There is no extraction tool like there is in Photoshop, but careful and practiced employment of Elements’ "Selection Brush Tool" will work just fine.
The Selection Brush Tool in Elements works kind of like Quick Mask in Photoshop, but it skips the step of showing you the mask color and instead immediately provides "marching ants" visual feedback. Holding the Option/ALT key while using this subtracts from the selection…….
Used in combination with lassos marquees and the magic wand, there is almost no isolation you couldn’t perform. Again, it presupposes that the user is familiar with how to combine techniques for making a good selection.
Try it on some typical images that these temps might be required to work on, and you’ll see what I mean. Unless you’re trying to extract wispy stuff, it’s perfectly doable. Wispy stuff isn’t generally easy even if one does have power-user tools anyway..
Good idea, but I think that might get too complicated. I think the extraction tool might be easier for most people to learn and use.
Who’s paying for the Photoshop licenses for these temps?
At a considerable financial savings, multiple copies of Elements could be purchased, and with a little training, the temp employees could be up and running fairly easily. Unless, of course, these temps are dead-clueless to begin with. If that’s the case, they’ll be no better off with Photoshop. More likely, they’d be overwhelmed by Photoshop’s complexity.
Mucho dinero could be saved by going with Elements, and you could end up looking like a hero to the bean counters.
Don’t dismiss the idea until you’ve given it a thorough assessment, and have tried it yourself. I just now opened Elements for maybe the third time EVER, and extracted a fairly complex shape in a matter of minutes., and that included perusing the user interface to familiarize myself with the differences between it and Photoshop.
I think the extraction tool might be easier for most people to learn and use
Disagree. I tthink this tool is cool, but it takes care and time to master.
Disagree. I tthink this tool is cool, but it takes care and time to master.
I’ll second the disagreement. The extract feature can work wonders very quickly at times using the default settings, but it can take a while to master. In some cases other selection methods can work better.
Ok, I will give the other methods a try. I am used to the extract tool and it seems much easier to use than the others.
While I am doing that, can anyone tell what versions do have the extract tool? Thanks.
what versions do have the extract tool?
I believe it showed up first in PS 7.
5.5
Moved to Filter menu at 7.0.
Version 6 – we’ve been through this before: it’s in different menus in different versions.
Cheers – John
PS: Isn’t there a cheaper alternative called "Knockout"? Poisonally I get along fine with what Adobe provides but we shouldn’t discount the competition!
I think the real question Travis needs to answer for himself (and maybe even for us, since he’s asked for advice) is how complex the extractions will be, on average. I’d like to see a small gallery of what the temps are going to be working with.
Could be that they will be simple enough that a temp could do them easily in Elements.
Could be that they are too complex for dem lil varmints to even try without a lot of prerequisite skills in this sort of thing.
Since Travis hasn’t explained to us what sort of exractions will need to be done, each of us can offer any ideas we want, and reasonably expect that we have offered the best solution.
Harron never sleeps. I’ve known him for a long time. Trust me.
I think that most of the images will be rather complex. We sell furniture, and the pictures will most likely be room shots. Of course we will use the room shots, but we will also need to silhouette the products individually onto a white background for the site.
PS: Thanks for everyones help so far!
