Easy Photoshop Elements Fixes

Sometimes photos just lack the oomph they need to really shine. Melissa Shanhun is here to teach us how to use Photoshop Elements to achieve perfection when editing photos! If you've checked out her Fast Photo Fixes, you won't need any more proof that she can help you find that oomph!


How many of your beloved photos need a little bit of help to look their best? Photoshop Elements makes fast photo fixes super easy, so you’ll have your photos looking great in no time.

To prove how quick and easy these adjustments are, I hosted a live chat and did some Fast Photo Fixes on the spot!

Students brought along some of their not-quite-right photos, and I used the techniques demonstrated in Fast Photo Fixes to improve them.

Today, I'll share step-by-step instructions for two of the quick photo fixes we made.

Night Shot

The first fix was made to an overly blue night shot.

First things first – always save your photo as a PSD before beginning your edits.

Add a new photo layer and change the blend mode to Screen. Look in the layers panel for the box that says Normal. Select that dropdown menu and change it to Screen.

Expert mode -> new Adjustment Layer -> Hue/Saturation

Then you can dial back the reds. Moving the saturation slider towards the left won't affect the other colors.

The screen mode will lighten it up.

Not-so-quick tip:You could get fancy and mask out the background.

Eyes that Sparkle

Our next task was correcting the focal point and emphasizing the eyes of the subject.

In Photoshop Elements, we have the Smart Brush tool to make this job super easy. You can see my smart brush tutorial here.

For those using Photoshop CS or CC, here are the steps:

  1. Select the eyes using a selection tool
  2. Create a new layer from that selection
  3. Go to Filter -> Other -> High Pass (the eyes will look grey, but don't worry!)
  4. Change the radius to around 20 pixels and click OK. *You may need to go higher for a high-res DSLR photo. Just keep increasing until you’re happy with the results.
  5. Change the blending mode on the eye layer to Overlay
  6. Adjust the opacity of the eye layer until it looks just right

Not-so-quick tip:To give the impression of a different focal point, mask and blur the rest of the image slightly.

Not sure where to start?

Starting with the very basics, my Fast Photo Fixes provides you with a walk through of Photoshop Elements. In the class, simple instructions along with video demonstrations will help you learn how to edit your photos.

Need help with your photos?

Come join us for September's Fast Photo Fixes chat. The chat will be held this Friday, September 25th at 9PM Eastern Time. Just click on the chat icon in the Fast Photo Fixes classroom.

Bring along a photo that you’d like to improve, and I'll help you take the steps you'll need in Photoshop Elements.

Can't wait to see you there!


Check out Melissa's class here for more tips and tricks! Make sure to give yourself enough time to hop into the class to learn a thing or two before her live chat Friday night!

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2 comments

  1. avatar paperpilekitten says…
    09/24/2015

    It's so awesome what you can do to make your photos better! Thank you for sharing this! :)

    1 Reply 1 Reply
    1. avatar mshanhun says…
      09/25/2015

      :) Happy to share Margareta!

      0