1. Blur reduction made easy

One of the new features that Adobe is keenest to shout about is its Auto Shake Reduction feature. Basically, this helps with photos which are just slightly out of focus thanks to camera shake – often a problem when shooting handheld (especially selfies). Not only is there an automatic option, but furthermore it’s also possible to correct specific areas of a photo if necessary.

2. Get rid of haze

If you find that your holiday shots are blighted by unsightly haze and fog, the new Haze Removal feature is designed to make light work of sorting that problem out. Again, there’s an automatic option, but also the possibility to vary the level of sensitivity to haze depending on how bad the problem in your shot is.

3. Better organisation

You can order your files by People, Place and Events – that’s nothing new – but each of these sorting modes have all seen improvements. You can use the software’s improved face recognition to sort your photos, with it getting better at recognising faces the more photos you add.

4. Quick filter application

Dubbed “smart looks” by Adobe, Elements 14 has a range of five different effects that can be applied to any photo with the touch of button. Colour and lighting in a shot is judged, and five recommendations which the software thinks are best are made from a database of more than 2,000 different effects.

5. Selections made easier

While you can already make fine selections in Photoshop Elements 13, the new Refine Selection Brush tool in Elements 14 gives you additional controls to make even finer selections. So, for example, if you’re trying to select something like very fine strands of hair in a portrait shot, the Brush can be useful. You’ve got options which allow you to vary brush sensitivity to pick up on the minute details you need.

6. Redesigned Guided Mode

Photoshop Elements’ guided mode has been redesigned with a new easier-to-use interface. It’s now arranged by the type of editing you might want to do, such as Basics, Black & White, Special Edits and Photomerge. Selecting one of these tabs will present you with a list of the different guided edits which are available to you, for example “Pop Art” is listed under Fun Edits.

7. New Speed Effect Guided mode

Adobe has also added a new Fun Edit, called Speed effect, which basically recreates the effect of Motion Blur to an otherwise static shot to give a sense of movement.

8. Quicker resizing

Resizing has been made easier for beginners with another new Guided mode which walks you through the process in quick and easy steps. You’ve got options for outputting an image for web or print, along with dimensions (inches, centimetres or pixels), and storage requirements.

9. Easy stitching

Creating panoramic images is made easier with a Guided Edit called Photomerge Panorama Guided Edit. Creating the panorama is designed to be incredibly simple, leaving you with an image to share or print at the end of the Edit.

10. Take the next step

Once you’ve finished a Guided Edit, Elements 14 asks you what you want to do next. You’ve got the option to simply save your file, continue to edit (either in Quick Mode or Expert Mode) or share it online.

Available to buy now, Photoshop Elements 14’s price is £74.99, or, if you have an older version of Photoshop Elements, you can pick it up for £64.81.