Photoshop Elements 4: The Missing Manual

Rotating Your Images

Owners of print photographs aren't the only ones who sometimes need a little help straightening out their pictures. Digital photos sometimes need to be rotated. For example, not all cameras output photos so that Elements (or any other image-editing program, for that matter) knows the correct orientation for your picture. Some cameras send portrait-orientated photos out on their side, and it's up to you to straighten things out.

Fortunately, Elements has rotation commands just about everywhere you go in the program. If all you need to do is get Dad off his back and stand him upright again, here's a list of where you can perform a quick 90-degree rotation on any open photo:

• Quick Fix (Section 4.1). Click either of the Rotation buttons at the bottom of the preview area.

• Standard Edit. Select Image → Rotate → 90° Left (or Right).

• RAW Converter (Section 8.1.4.1). Click the left or right arrow at the bottom of the Preview window.

• Organizer (Section 2.6). You can rotate a photo almost any time in the Organizer by pressing Ctrl+ the left or right arrow key. Another way to rotate is to go to Edit → Rotate 90° Left (or Right). Finally, there's a pair of Rotate buttons to click at the bottom of the Photo Browser window.

Those commands all get you one-click, 90-degree changes. But Elements has all sorts of other rotational tricks up its sleeve, as explained in the next section.

Rotating and Flipping Options

Elements gives you several ways to change the orientation of ...