Guided mode

The Guided mode provides you with Guided Edits - a wizard-like interface to accomplish a variety of predefined effects. Each Guided Edit has an associated image that displays the applied effect when you hover the pointer on it. 

On the Guided mode screen, Guided Edits are grouped into six categories. Open the photo you would like to enhance and click the thumbnail for a category to explore further. 

Build your skills with 61 Guided Edits, just follow the step-by-step guidance for edits, visual effects, artistic creations, and more.

Guided Edit Search  

Photoshop Elements 2023 introduces Guided Edit Search

The Guided Edit Search section allows you to find the right Guided Edit in Photoshop Elements. Quickly and easily find what you want to do or discover new things to try by searching for - 

• Text - if there is a Guided Edit you are certain about, type the name of the Guided Edit or relevant text in the search box to find it quickly.
• Keywords - click on the keywords to see a list of relevant Guided Edits.
• Explore - discover some hidden gems in the Explore section.

To use this feature, click the Search icon in the Guided workspace to open the Search window.

Guided edit categories

Basics

Use this guided edit to adjust brightness and contrast in an image. For more information, see Brightness and Contrast guided edit.

Use this guided edit to remove a color cast and correct skin tones. For more information, see Correct Skin Tone guided edit.

Use this guided edit to crop an image to get the perfect composition. For more information, see Crop Photo guided edit.

Use this guided edit to adjust the brightness, contrast, and tonal range of your photo. For more information, see Levels guided edit. 

Use this guided edit to adjust the shadows, highlights, and mid-tones of your photo. For more information, see Lighten and Darken guided edit.

With step-by-step help, it’s easier than ever to select an object and change its position, size, and more. Watch the video>.

You can easily remove unwanted objects from your photos. To know more, see Remove object guided edit.

Use this guided edit to quickly create a version of your photograph to meet specific size requirements - pixels, inches, or bytes. For more information, see Resize guided edit.

Use this guided edit to rotate a picture in 90-degree increments and draw a line through an image to realign it. For more information, see Rotate and Straighten guided edit.

Use this guided edit to improve the clarity of an image. For more information, see Sharpen guided edit.

Use this guided edit to add a vignette effect and emphasize the importance of a person, group, or object at the center of the photograph. For more information, see Vignette Effect guided edit.

Color

Use this guided edit to enhance the hue, saturation, and lightness in an image. For more information, see Enhance Colors guided edit.

Give your photo a high-contrast, heavily saturated look using this guided edit. For more information, see Lomo Camera Effect guided edit.

Use this guided edit to correct color casts in your photos. For more information, see Remove a Color Cast guided edit.

Use this guided edit to add a classic saturated side-film feel to your photo. For more information, see Saturated Slide Film Effect guided edit.

Black and White

Use this guided edit on your photographs to create black and white images from colored images. You can apply from a range of black and white presets to create a crisp black and white photo, or add a diffuse glow effect to the photos to obtain a surreal, dreamy result. For more information, see Black and White guided edit.

Highlight one single color in an image and desaturate the other colors. You can choose to go with a default color (red, yellow, blue, or green), or use the options available to refine the effect. For more information, see B&W Color Pop guided edit. 

You can desaturate the colors of portions of a photograph that you select. When you desaturate portions of a photograph, the other areas of the photograph automatically appear highlighted. For more information, see B&W Selection guided edit.

Add an ethereal, dreamy effect to your photos to give them an upbeat and positive feel. For more information, see High Key guided edit.

Convert your photo into a pencil sketch using this guided edit. For more information, see Line Drawing guided edit.

Emphasize shadows, highlight edges, and add a dramatic finish to your photographs by applying the low key effect. For more information, see Low Key guided edit.

Fun Edits

Use this guided edit to create the illusion of depth in any photo by adding a static overlay on one or more corners of your photo. For more information, see Peek Through Overlay

Use this guided edit to create a surreal double exposure effect by merging two images. For more information, see Double Exposure guided edit.

Use this guided Edit to apply cool, custom duotone effects to your photos for a beautiful two-color creation. Watch the video>.

This guided edit helps you apply effects to different sections of your photograph. For more information, see Effects Collage guided edit.

Use this guided edit to turn your photos and text into entertaining memes and share them on social media. For more information, see Meme Maker guided edit.  

Use this guided edit to create visual text with different photo inside each letter. For more information, see Multi-Photo Text guided edit.

Use this guided edit to give your photo an old-fashioned look. For more information, see Old Fashioned Photo guided edit.

You can add a frame to an image and display a selected part of the image outside the frame using this guided edit. For more information, see Out of Bounds guided edit.

Use this guided edit to create an artistic output by painting your photo with a brush on different textured canvasses and applying different painting effects. For more information, see Painterly guided edit.

Use this guided edit to turn a part of your favorite photo into an artistic sketch. For more information, see Partial Sketch guided edit.  

Use this guided edit to apply artistic patterns over desired areas on your photo and easily control the appearances of these patterns. For more information, see Pattern Brush guided edit. 

Use any photo as a background to get fun text that is stenciled on to your photo. For more information, see Photo Text guided edit.

You can add frames to your photo, giving it an outlook of a creative collage using this guided edit. For more information, see Picture Stack guided edit.

This guided edit helps you to transform an image into pop art in three simple steps. For more information, see Pop Art Guided Edit.

Use this guided edit to create the visual effect of a photograph being created by putting together pieces of a puzzle. You can extract a few pieces of the puzzle from their slots, and move them around to simulate the feel of an unfinished puzzle. For more information, see Puzzle Effect guided edit.

Choose a predefined reflection effect and apply it to an image in a few steps. For more information, see Reflection guided edit.

Add predefined shapes and effects to your photos and create wonderful results. For more information, see Shape Overlay Effect guided edit.

Infuse an object with the illusion of motion and speed using this guided edit. For more information, see Speed Effect guided edit.

Add a sense of motion to your photo’s subject by blurring the background. For more information, see Speed Pan guided edit.

This guided edit helps you to create the illusion of motion, with attention drawn to the central object in your photograph. For more information, see Zoom Burst Effect guided edit.

Special Edits

This guided edit allows you to focus on selected areas of the image by blurring out the rest of the image. For more information, see Depth of Field guided edit.

You can use Extend Background guided edit to extend the background of an image by cloning the image surroundings using Autofill or by expanding them using Extend tool. For more information, see Extend Background guided edit.

You can create a photo frame using any photo that you have in your library. Use this guided edit to quickly create a custom frame to outline your photos. For more information, see Frame Creator guided edit.

You can provide a dreamy effect to your photographs using this guided edit. For more information, see Orton Effect guided edit.

Use this Guided Edit to easily replace skies, remove haze, and erase unwanted objects to create epic outdoor scenes. Watch the video>.

Perfect Pet Guided Edit allows you to enhance your pet photos with tools that let you do basic crop, remove eye glare, remove small distractions, and add some effects. For more information, see Perfect Pet guided edit.

Create a perfect portrait by removing blemishes and enhancing various parts of the image with easy-to-use tools. For more information, see Perfect Portrait guided edit.

Easily resize your photo without losing the most important parts using this guided edit. For more information, see Recompose guided edit.

This guided edit lets you replace the background of your photo with available presets, colors, or your own backgrounds. For more information, see Replace Background guided edit.

Photographs, over time, may get damaged due to the effects of the weather, quality of paper, or neglect. After digitization of a damaged photograph, various tools can be used to restore the image to remove cracks, discoloration, smudges, or other imperfections. The Restore Old Photo guided edit takes you through a step-by-step process, and presents you with all the tools you need to restore an image in one workflow. For more information, see Restore Old Photo guided edit.

Use this guided edit to fix (large or small) flaws in an image (using the Healing Brush or the Spot Healing Brush). For more information, see Scratches and Blemishes guided edit.

Use this guided edit to add stylish borders with text that speak your story. For more information, see Text and Border Overlay guided edit.

Apply the tilt-shift effect to focus attention on certain aspect or object in your photo, while selectively taking focus away from other things in your photo. The tilt-shift effect also causes a pseudo-miniature effect on the photo. For more information, see Tilt-Shift guided edit.

Apply a watercolor effect to your photo using this guided edit. For more information, see Watercolor Effect guided edit.

Combine*

Use Combine Photos to seamlessly blend multiple images, merging subjects from one photo, backgrounds from another, and elements from many more to create a unique composition. For more information, see Combine Photos.

This guided edit is available in Photoshop Elements 2024 and earlier versions only. This guided edit enables you to replace portions of an image. For example, can select a person from one photo and add the selection to another photograph. You need two images - a source and a destination. You can select an area, crop it from the source image, and then paste it into the destination image, and then adjust it for proportionality and color for the most natural outcome. For more information, see Photomerge Compose.

Use Photomerge Exposure to efficiently handle scenes in photos with exposure challenges. You can blend two photos together to get a perfectly exposed photo. For more information, see Photomerge Exposure.

This guided edit is available in Photoshop Elements 2024 and earlier versions only. Combine multiple facial features to create one composite face using this guided edit. For more information, see Photomerge Faces.

Create the perfect group photo from multiple photos. For more information, see Use Photomerge Group Shot.

This guided edit is available in Photoshop Elements 2024 and earlier versions only. Create the perfect scenic photo from multiple photos. For example, you can eliminate unwanted elements like tourists that inadvertently wandered into the scenery. For more information, see Use Photomerge Scene Cleaner.

Use this guided edit to stitch multiple pictures together. The pictures must have common, overlapping regions from the scene photographed for the stitching process to work best. For more information, see Photomerge Panorama.

Use a guided edit