I have cs5 and I know a few things, but I know it can do so much more. I see some great prossessing and some of the stuff you guys come up with boggles my little mind.
How did you go about learning? Classes? YouTube?
I've learned a few things on YouTube, but find a lot of them are set to music and the actions are super fast.
If you have a fav channel, who is it? If you did online classes, where?
Just looking for insight because I would love to get creative in pp.
thanks!!
not a wizard, and i only have PSE, but i find it easier to be goal oriented about it and accept that it's a long term learning process... so i decide i want to do something (replicate a specific image or effect, meld two images, whatever) and then i go looking for tutorials to achieve that specific effect...
if i want to do something done by someone on 365, i would ask them how they did it, if they can point to any tutorials, or at least provide the technical term to assist when searching...
when i post, i might put in the write up if i couldn't figure out how to tweak something, and inevitably someone will come along and tell me what i needed to do :)
I have bought set of actions from a few different websites but my favourite ones are from Totally Rad. Also I just look up tutorials and follow those to help me get results I'm after. I'm still learning bits and prices in photo shop...it's so full on!
I'm a big fan of books and a big fan of Scott Kelby. His new book, The Photoshop CS6 Book for Digital Photographers helped me a lot. I have used Photoshop for 10+ years, but as a web developer and graphic designer. There are some very specific things you can do in Photoshop improve your photos and this book helped me tremendously.
Hi @sxyrhoose. I started to use Photoshop some three years ago and I must say that I am still learning. You might not see a lot of my (eherm, self-professed) Photoshop skills on my photos but that's because I tend to not over-process for 365. I use what I learned for my graphic design projects from which I earn quite a living.
Let me lay a platform for you as a guide in learning Photoshop based on what I used and using:
1. Photoshop is such a powerful software and it takes time and a great deal of effort to master even the littlest of skills. These skills include masking, coloring, layers, adjustments, levels, blending modes, filters, image cleanup, retouching essentials, among so so so many others. If you are willing to learn and if you have the time and the patience, then Photoshop is perfect for you.
2. Most of the skills can be learned by trial and error but most other skills are best learned if you get expert tutelage from the experts themselves. I must say that I started with Photoshop 7 and an officemate taught me the basics. After a year of tinkering, I moved up to use Photoshop CS5, and then, finally, to CS6. I learned a great deal from Chris Orwig of lynda.com and other tutors from that site. They provide extensive and step by step tutorials and they are really amazing at what they do. Thing is, they require a fee. If I can only send you a DVD copy of my lynda.com tutorials then I would do it. But I'm from the Philippines and that would definitely cost us some money. Sad.
3. What's nice though is that Youtube offers an array of tutorials and you just have to be patient because most of the people who post assume that the world knows where they're clicking on. Mind the speed of their clicking too.
4. The best plan of attack at this point is to know what you would like to do in Photoshop. You don't actually need a video tutorial at all. Questions like "How do I merge two photos together using CS5?" is a starter. You Google that and you'd get answers right away from websites for free. Then you can go upscale by asking "How do I create a mask in CS5 in order to effectively and expertly change the background of my image?" The possibilities are endless. Just know what you want to do and ask people online on how to do it.
5. And lastly, practice. Like what I said earlier, Photoshop will require a lot of your time and effort. Sooner than later, you will be on your way to being a Photoshop wizard. :D
If you have questions regarding a specific action in Photoshop, you can send me an email right away and I will send you the specific video or the online link where you can see the answers.
Thank you for taking the time to explain this to us. Your advice is great and right on. I find that with any software program, just using it and trying different things really will amaze you. You will learn by trying different effects. 20 years ago, all I could do was send an email. I can now reformat my computer and trouble shoot problems with it. Be patient with yourself!!
Digital Camera World magazine often has tutorials and the images you need to do the tutorials. Classroom in a book is amazing. Mastering Layers In Photoshop is another good book. A google search of photoshop tutorials will help and then I only did the ones where I could print out the instructions rather than watch a video. I learned so much about Photoshop when I was doing digital scrapbooking too. Use the help menu in Photoshop but make sure the first thing you do is master the basic tools then move on. I love Photoshop and could not do without it. I have been using it since about 1997 I think and I still have not mastered it fully. Good luck!!
I get a lot by reading books and having them beside me as I work. There are more than a few good ones, unfortunately not inexpensive, at your favority bookseller. I generally don't find on-line tutorials for my style of learning.
I agree with @thomastoth that Scott Kelby writes great training materials.
I have been able to learn, practice & push myself by entering the WWYD editing competitions here on 365 ( http://365project.org/discuss/themes-competitions/17511/wwyd80).
Like @k1w1 , I generally find text-based tutorials easier to follow than YouTube, although those by Gavin Hoey or Evan Sharboneau are very easy to follow.
I have bookmarked dozens of great sources of editing direction - some early faves are Pinoy7, Psdtuts, dafont.com, ArasImages (a little over-the-top in style, but great step-by-step technique and good resources with each tutorial), up to some advanced work at http://www.onextrapixel.com/2010/08/23/34-photoshop-tutorials-that-will-leave-you-looking-like-a-pro/.
Years ago I did a semester of Adult Education PS classes which helped a lot, but in reality, for me it was only since starting 365 & using the program every day that it 'started to click'. Now I can (mostly) get the program to produce what I want, and I no longer feel that the program is in charge of me! :)
Practice is the key when learning - and as @rafaseno says - don't try & tackle all the techniques at once, get comfortable with the basics (workflow, layers, masks, colour, plugins) first and always keep in mind 'less can be more'! However, a little ETSSOI along the way is often part of the learnning curve too!! :))
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if i want to do something done by someone on 365, i would ask them how they did it, if they can point to any tutorials, or at least provide the technical term to assist when searching...
when i post, i might put in the write up if i couldn't figure out how to tweak something, and inevitably someone will come along and tell me what i needed to do :)
Let me lay a platform for you as a guide in learning Photoshop based on what I used and using:
1. Photoshop is such a powerful software and it takes time and a great deal of effort to master even the littlest of skills. These skills include masking, coloring, layers, adjustments, levels, blending modes, filters, image cleanup, retouching essentials, among so so so many others. If you are willing to learn and if you have the time and the patience, then Photoshop is perfect for you.
2. Most of the skills can be learned by trial and error but most other skills are best learned if you get expert tutelage from the experts themselves. I must say that I started with Photoshop 7 and an officemate taught me the basics. After a year of tinkering, I moved up to use Photoshop CS5, and then, finally, to CS6. I learned a great deal from Chris Orwig of lynda.com and other tutors from that site. They provide extensive and step by step tutorials and they are really amazing at what they do. Thing is, they require a fee. If I can only send you a DVD copy of my lynda.com tutorials then I would do it. But I'm from the Philippines and that would definitely cost us some money. Sad.
3. What's nice though is that Youtube offers an array of tutorials and you just have to be patient because most of the people who post assume that the world knows where they're clicking on. Mind the speed of their clicking too.
4. The best plan of attack at this point is to know what you would like to do in Photoshop. You don't actually need a video tutorial at all. Questions like "How do I merge two photos together using CS5?" is a starter. You Google that and you'd get answers right away from websites for free. Then you can go upscale by asking "How do I create a mask in CS5 in order to effectively and expertly change the background of my image?" The possibilities are endless. Just know what you want to do and ask people online on how to do it.
5. And lastly, practice. Like what I said earlier, Photoshop will require a lot of your time and effort. Sooner than later, you will be on your way to being a Photoshop wizard. :D
If you have questions regarding a specific action in Photoshop, you can send me an email right away and I will send you the specific video or the online link where you can see the answers.
I really do hope this helps. :D
I have been able to learn, practice & push myself by entering the WWYD editing competitions here on 365 ( http://365project.org/discuss/themes-competitions/17511/wwyd80).
Like @k1w1 , I generally find text-based tutorials easier to follow than YouTube, although those by Gavin Hoey or Evan Sharboneau are very easy to follow.
I have bookmarked dozens of great sources of editing direction - some early faves are Pinoy7, Psdtuts, dafont.com, ArasImages (a little over-the-top in style, but great step-by-step technique and good resources with each tutorial), up to some advanced work at http://www.onextrapixel.com/2010/08/23/34-photoshop-tutorials-that-will-leave-you-looking-like-a-pro/.
Years ago I did a semester of Adult Education PS classes which helped a lot, but in reality, for me it was only since starting 365 & using the program every day that it 'started to click'. Now I can (mostly) get the program to produce what I want, and I no longer feel that the program is in charge of me! :)
Practice is the key when learning - and as @rafaseno says - don't try & tackle all the techniques at once, get comfortable with the basics (workflow, layers, masks, colour, plugins) first and always keep in mind 'less can be more'! However, a little ETSSOI along the way is often part of the learnning curve too!! :))