Nice job of extracting the Queen from your original image. I like the idea of placing her in a window, but for me, the image you've chosen doesn't work as the best background for your composite.

There's the shadow angle as it's already been mentioned, but for me that's overshadowed (pun intended, I guess) by the overall lighting differences between the Queen's original image and the lighting in the background image. The background appears to be lit directly from the front. The Queen's original is lit from behind (her face and paws are in deep shadow). The lighting of the background needs to come from within the building for the composite to work (or, of course, alternatively, the lighting on the Queen needs to come from the front). For me, the high contrast in the composite makes the mismatch especially jarring.

Would it be possible to get a shot of the assisted living facility when the front of the building is in shadow as the front of the Queen is?

If I used, Organizer, I think I'd want to do that too. I don't use the Organizer because when I started using Elements I already had my own organizing system that works pretty well for me. I've often thought about switching to Organizer, but the thought of getting all of my photos into the system always discourages me. Wouldn't I have to go through some sort of process to enter each image? That sounds like it would be an extremely time and labor intensive project.

The way to select bypass the welcome screen is no longer included in the choices in preferences (I checked), but once the editor is open, pinning it to the taskbar allows you to bypass the welcome screen and launch the editor directly from the task bar thereafter.

Thanks for inspiring me to investigate and experiment. Opening the editor is going to be considerably less frustrating from now on. :)

Thanks. I'll have to try that

I don't get the log in pop-up you apparently do, but I too find their suggestions for what to do annoying and hate having to go through that introductory screen and choose the editor to proceed to rather than just being taken directly to the editor.

Use the crop tool (looks like two intersecting right angles; select it by hitting C on the keyboard). Then enter the desired width and height (for example: 8 x 10 in--or it can also be set in pixels) in the bar along the bottom of the screen, set your resolution (example: 300). If you want, select a grid overlay to help you decide on composition. When you're satisfied, hit enter, and you're done.

So sad. Sending positive energies to you and Patch (along with cyber-pets for Patch and Maria).

Cute shots! He looks like a sweetie.

As frustrating as your experiences all sound, I think you're lucky just to have access to fios. I can't get it (or any other fiber optic service either) where I am, so I still limp along on DSL. It's reliable, thank heavens, but speed certainly isn't its forte. Of course, then I remember the pre-DSL days of plain ol' dial-up... :)

I've noticed the same bias toward (as far as my taste is concerned) over-done saturation and contrast in the photos that I can't seem to get Microsoft stop planting on my desktop as part of start-up. Used to actually like some of the photos they used, but not the current over-processed crop.

With the three editing modes (Quick, Guided, and Expert), I don't think you can get much friendlier unless maybe you have a live teacher standing next to you to talk you through what you're trying to do. Also, most, if not all, things you can click have a small pop-up that explains what the click will accomplish.

All editing programs I've tried seem to have on-line and/or printed help, but with Elements that help is also built right into the program. I'd rate it at 10 for user-friendliness compared to other standalone editors that I've tried. Elements 2022 is what I use for most of the editing I do.

I have a strong preference for #1. My eye just wants to move from left to right (the direction in which I read). I even imagine the image with a "title" of some kind on it, and I want those words on the right ("after" the image) as opposed to on the left (i.e., leading "into" the image).

Guessing which is the original is really difficult for me, but a subliminal feeling says that #2 is just a little bit "off" and #1 is the original.

As registrar for a local adult education organization, checks sent through the mail are the bane of my existence.

We try to encourage registrants to pay online through credit card or PayPal by confirming enrollment in those classes immediately so long as the online registration page indicates there are still seats available in the class. If you send in a check, your enrollment isn't assured until the physical check arrives, and in the interim a class can fill with paid registrations and you are put on the waiting list when your check arrives.

Processing the credit card/PayPal instant registrations is a quick job for me and makes being sure the number of seats remaining in a class remains accurate on the registration form a breeze. Processing the ones that come in by check involves several steps to update information on the registration spreadsheet and, depending on what has to be done to accomplish that, then check the online registration form to make sure the spreadsheet changes haven't affected the accuracy of the counter and reconciling the accurate number of openings with the number shown on the online registration form if the changes have thrown it off. Big time PIA.

Since you can submit a PayPal payment by credit card even if you don't have a personal PayPal account, I can't figure out why people wouldn't take advantage of the instant confirmation of enrollment rather than taking a chance that there will still be a seat open when we receive their check. I know that most of the people we receive checks from do have credit cards. Ar-r-r-g-g-g-gh!

Loved the reference!