Sometimes noise-reduction. I use Curves rather than levels, sometimes on the invidual color channels. I often use the high-radius USM technique. Cropping/rotating if needed. I hardly ever do anything else, even in Advanced challenges. However, my average score may discourage you from following such a plan yourself ... ;-)
This is where everyone is thinking about making a contribution here but then wondering if what they are about to suggest is actually illegal in basic so decide to keep quiet lol
I've downloaded the option for Elements to use curves (though I don't know what I'm doing with it!)
Is there a high-radius USM equivalent for elements?
Go to filters---> sharpen---> UnSharp Mask
Select a percentage around 25%, a radius around 50 pixels, and set the threshold at 0. That's high radius USM.
My question is this -- other than hue/saturation, levels and unsharp mask -- what editing do you do in basic challenges? (photoshop elements)
I agree that Curves is a great addition as a Plug-In.
I had an older version of Elements for a while and found a plug-in for selective colors. I found this to be an extremely helpful tool in basic editing. It has a series of sliders for each of the colors (including white, gray, and black) and it allows you to adjust the percent cyan, magenta, yellow, and black. This really amps up your choices for getting the right colors.
For sure the selective colors.. It's one of my go-to's on the majority of images and I usually only touch the white, neutral and black adjustments on it.. It can make a big difference on your photo..
