For those who don’t need the power or want the complexity of the full version of Photoshop or Premiere Pro, Adobe’s Elements offerings have long been a strong alternative. Their optional annual upgrades also appeal to those who don’t like the idea of having to subscribe to software licenses. I’ve been testing an early version of the 2021 editions of Adobe Premiere Elements ($99.99) and Adobe Photoshop Elements ($99.99). There are some nice new bells and whistles in both, which I’ll cover below, but it’s probably not a “must-have” upgrade for users on a tight budget.
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Home Page Gets More Interesting
I’m kind of old school when it comes to using applications. I generally prefer that they get right down to business when you open them. So flashy start screens with lots of distracting promotions for things you may not be interested in at all, and probably not right at that moment, mostly just get in my way. That’s been true of the Elements’ start screen — called the Home Page — at least until now. Adobe has enhanced it with more useful items and more actions you can take directly from it. I still wish it was easier to simply get to the editors, but the new Home page is growing on me.
Elements Auto Creations continue to get more interesting, like this one that automatically applied a portrait effect to a random — 20-year-old — image in my library.
Face Tilt Added to Portrait Enhancement Features
One of the headline features of the new Photoshop Elements is the ability to change the direction a portrait subject is looking. Common use cases include having them face the same direction as other people in the photo or facing towards the camera. It allows you a limited ability to tilt one or more faces in an image in different directions.
I tried it on some group portraits and found it to be powerful but not unlimited. In the example below, you can see that while I could fairly successfully tilt one face towards the direction of the camera, with another face the direction of the eyes doesn’t change, so the effect doesn’t work very well:
This otherwise reasonable family snapshot suffers from not everyone looking at the camera, a perfect situation to try out the new Face Tilt features.
Face tilt allows you to re-orient faces towards the camera, although as you can see from the center face it doesn’t fix the direction of the subject’s eyes.
Personally I would prefer to see less silly pictures with quotes filling up my Facebook feeds, but for when you have one that’s really worth it, Elements now makes it simple to create your own in just about any format — and quickly either share or print them.
New, Fun Features and Quick Edits Added
Speaking of things you may or may not want to see more of, there is a new Moving Photos… feature under the Enhance menu. It can automatically create zooming or panning effects.
Three new Quick Edits are also included. Perfect Landscape is a combination of sky replacement, haze removal, and erasing unwanted objects, along with more traditional image corrections. I’m not a fan of sticking clip art skies into my images (although I’ve certainly taken the sky from one image taken of a specific scene and blended it with another image taken when the sky wasn’t as dramatic), but the tool does a pretty good job technically and provides lots of options for helping make it look appropriate. Duotone lets you create a two-color version of your images, while Move and Scale allows you to do just that to an object in your image.
Premiere Elements Goes Real-Time
Premiere Elements 2021 uses the GPU for more types of rendering than previous versions, so some operations that used to require waiting and buffering now operate smoothly.
In addition, there are two new Video Quick Edits: Double Exposure and Animated Mattes. Double Exposure allows you to place a video in a photo so that for example you can have a video of someone running through a fixed background. Animated Mattes lets you do video reveals using various matte overlays.
Elements Organizer Gets Automatic Backup
Elements Organizer doesn’t seem to have changed much since last year’s version. It still has excellent face tagging and object recognition for quick image search and retrieval. One new feature is that it will prompt you to do an automated backup of your catalog to minimize the possibility of data loss due to catalog corruption. Personally I haven’t had any issue with my large Elements catalog getting corrupted, although I have the same images cataloged with Lightroom and have had multiple instances where my Lightroom catalog broke and I had to revert to a backup.
Pricing and Availability
Adobe Elements 2021 is available now, and Adobe has maintained its traditional pricing. Photoshop Elements and Premiere Elements are $99.99 each, or $79.99 to upgrade from an earlier version. A bundle of both of them is $149.99, or $119.99 for an upgrade.
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With these free transition packs for Premiere Pro, you’ll be ready to edit any type of flashy video. Download all eighty of these free transitions today.
Looking to add some colorful extra movement to your edit? With these free transition packs, you can pull off dozens of popular looks. From fast-paced action wipes, paper and grunge textures, as well as fun-loving zooms to light leaks and sci-fi glitches, you’ll find every type of transition you need.
Need help figuring out how to use these FREE transitions in Premiere Pro? Be sure to check out the tutorials below.
15 Free Premiere Pro Textured Transitions
This pack of .mogrt files are simple drag-and-drop solutions to any unwanted time spent creating your own transitions in the middle of your edit. They’re easily customizable, allowing you to change the amount of texture and color. These transitions feature several styles and looks, such as:
- Scribbled pencil
- Torn paper
- Wiggly zebra stripes
- Standard wipes
- Paper textured wipes
18 Free Animated Gritty Textures
If you’re looking for more of a “gritty” look, check out PremiumBeat’s recent eighteen free animated gritty textures. These can also be used as a transitionary clip, taking your audience from one scene to another.
16 Circle Transitions
This pack of transitions from PremiumBeat includes sixteen different circle wipes and spins. I tend to use shape transitions primarily in upbeat product videos. They make for a quick way to cut between shots of the product itself and shots of it in use. So, what style of transitions are these?
- Different speeds and directions of circle radial wipes
- Layered circle drop
- Circles swiping across the screen
Just place one of these transitions above your two clips in the Premiere Pro timeline, add a Track Matte Key, and you’re ready to go.
10 Super Smooth Transitions
This pack of free Premiere Pro transitions from Orange83 includes extremely straightforward, clean transitions. They come at a pay-what-you-want price, so send the creator a few dollars if you can. These transitions include:
- Smooth slides
- Spins
- Wipes
- Whips
- Zooms
13 Light Leak Transitions
Light leaks are the ultimate in hip and ethereal looks. These bursts come from all angles and you can control the size and intensity. Make sure to place them in a position on your shot that makes sense, like in the direction of the sun or a bright light source. They’re really great for any type of colorful transitions —perfect for music videos, weddings, and concerts.
Need more video clips and music? Check out this discount today:
Apply the coupon code BLOG10 at checkout. Online, Standard licenses only.
25 Free Glitch Transitions
Here are two packs of glitches from Cinecom. In the first pack, you’ll get five glitch and distortion presets for Premiere Pro. Check out the tutorial below to see how to use them.
In this pack, you’ll find three distinct looks for the glitch effect:
- Analog
- Digital
- Sci-fi
In the second transition pack from Cinecom, you’ll get another twenty free glitches. This second pack includes even more looks that you can also combine by stacking transitions together.
12 Grid Transitions
This is another great pay-what-you-want transition pack from Orange83. Easily zoom in and out of a grid, a look popularized in home renovation-type shows.
Action Wipes Transitions
Adobe Premiere Elements Add Ons
Need some classic, quick-action wipes? This pack from Chung Dha includes simple in-and-outs, so you can adjust the length of the wipe however you want. This free pack of transitions is reminiscent of fast-paced cop shows and lighter buddy-cop comedies.
How to Use Transition Packs in Premiere Pro
Adobe Premiere Elements Add Ons
Need to learn how to use these transitions? Check out this tutorial. You can also get over 200 free assets from Shutterstock with the Free Video Editor Toolkit.
Looking for More Transitions?
Still not enough of what you need? My go-to paid pack of transitions is RocketStock’s Stanza. This pack has over 200 transitions in twelve different categories.
It’s not free, but it’s certainly not expensive. With the number of projects I’ve used this transition pack on, it’s paid for itself over a dozen times. I highly recommend checking it out.
In the need of some transitions for Final Cut Pro X? You’re in luck! In the tutorial below, our very own Tanner Shinnick walks us through how to create some of the most popular transitions around—all inside Final Cut Pro X.
Premiere Elements Add Ons
Cover image via The7Dew.
Adobe Premiere Elements Add-ons
Looking for more video asset roundups? Check these out.