The full-featured versions of Photoshop and Premiere can be overwhelming, and the methods to reach a desired outcome are rarely obvious. In other words, you really have to know what you're doing. The Elements versions of the software offer straightforward workflows that avoid obscure menus and hotkeys, as well as a one-time purchase rather than Adobe Creative Cloud's monthly subscription fee.

Photoshop Elements 2020 offers a new one-click subject selection, which automatically outlines a person or object. You can isolate the selection to duplicate it, give it a new background or transfer it to a different photo. When doing this manually, it can be a painstaking task, especially if you're trying to isolate frizzy hair or objects with transparent edges.

If a subject in your photo has skin blemishes, a new Sensei feature will smooth out his or her complexion. A slider bar lets you control how drastic the effect looks so you can avoid that plastic-y sheen you sometimes see in poorly Photoshopped images. This saves time over using tools like the spot-healing brush, which can be hit-or-miss.

Photoshop Elements 2020 can automatically colorize photos either by fully applying hues to black and white snapshots or by adjusting color images with more pleasing tones. Again, painting colors in manually and playing around with transfer modes can take hours. Sensei reduces the workflow to minutes.

The update also adds two new guided edits, which are essentially tutorials for different using effects. New Auto Creations, which can be accessed from the home screen include Black & White Selection, Pattern Brush, Painterly and Depth of Field presets. US users can order prints, phone cases and other accessories featuring their completed work from the Fujifilm Prints & Gifts service, straight from Photoshop Elements.

As for Premiere Elements 2020, a new tool can fix one of the biggest problems with smartphone footage shot in low light; a simple drag-and-drop effect smooths out grainy and "noisy" picture quality. Adobe's AI will also identify what's happening in your video and tag it accordingly. For example, if you ingest footage of your dog running across the horizon as the sun sets, Premiere Elements will automatically add "dog" and "sunset" tags to the video's metadata. This makes it much easier to find the footage you're looking for, rather than searching through randomly named files. Premiere Elements 2020 also has five new Guided Edits to help speed things up even more.

Adobe Photoshop Elements 2020 and Premiere Elements 2020 are now available for $99.99 each, or $149.99 when purchased together.