Comparing Photos by Zooming and Panning

This isn't exactly an Organizer technique, but there's also a new way to compare photos in the Elements Editor. This is a cool feature that Elements borrows from Photoshopthe ability to view multiple images at once (for comparison purposes)but more importantly, to be able to view each one at the same magnification (even when changing zoom magnifications). You can scroll around (pan) to inspect images and have all the images pan at the same location and rate. This is one you need to try to really appreciate.

Step One

©SCOTT KELBY

Open the multiple photos you want to compare in the Editor. (In this instance, we'll compare four photos, so open four photos, which will appear in the Photo Bin at the bottom of the Editor window. The power of this feature will be more apparent if you open four similar images, like four portraits of the same person at one sitting, etc.)

Step Two

Go under the Window menu, under Images, and choose Tile. This will put all your photos in their own separate windows, and then it will tile these four open windows across your screen so you can see all four photos at once.

Step Three

Now that your photos are tiled, return to the Window menu, under Images, and choose Match Zoom. Now, press-and-hold the Shift key, press Z to switch to the Magnifying Glass tool (okay, it's called the Zoom tool, but its icon looks like a magnifying glass), and click-and-drag a selection around the person in one of the active image windows. You'll notice that all four photos jump to the same zoom. Note: If the Resize Windows To Fit feature is selected in the Zoom tool's Options Bar, this won't work properly.

Step Four

Now go under the Window menu, under Images, and choose Match Location. Press H to switch to the Hand tool (it's right under the Zoom tool in the Toolbox), press-and-hold the Shift key, then click within your image and drag to pan around your photo. If you don't hold the Shift key first, it will just pan around the front-most active window. By holding Shift, all the windows pan at the same time and speed, enabling you to compare particular areas of your photos at the same time.