Ok, so first off, sorry if this has been covered in the past.
I most advanced my editing has got thus far, is a bit of a crop. I'm ready to step it up but I have no idea where to begin. I have photoshop on my computer but it makes no sense to me. I'm still very much a beginner when it comes to photography and the terminology involved. Any tips on where a good place to start is?
(Oh, and please dont suggest a course... Single mums with toddlers barely get time to shower let alone do a course! But, hey, im trying!)
You need to get yourself a teenager they can do this sort of stuff in their sleep :) MY eldest daughter is awesome at photoshop. Do you know any teenage girls ?
i bought myself the book "The Photoshop Elements 9 book for digital Photograpers" http://www.amazon.co.uk/Photoshop-Elements-Digital-Photographers-Voices/dp/0321741331/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1326797218&sr=8-3 - it's really easy to work through the tutorials - (there is a version for other photoshop applications as well I think)- after a while you just start picking up how it works and what more you can do - I'm still no meansan expert, but I can have a good old play and normally get something close to what I'm thinking!
I don't use photoshop, but had it a while ago and used a book in the series mentioned by Juliette.. it was brilliant, very clear, and straightforward and i could teach myself the bits I wanted at the time.
Ok before I say go on a course I will say. Dont waste your money. I find in general that these courses are at such a pace that after 5 days you might actually learn how to open up a photoshop file. :)
I can highly recommend KelbyTraining.com have been watching their video for about 6 months and the amount of stuff I have learned on that 6 months is just amazing...
Yes it does cost $199US for a year but at $16.50 per month it is the best $16.50 you will ever spend to enhance your photography, lightroom, and Photoshop skills.
No I understand if that is too much money to spend so you can get the next best things.... Go watch the PhotoShop guys!!!! http://kelbytv.com/photoshopusertv/
These guys are associated with Kelby Training and the people on the show are instructors on some of the Kelby courses.
The put out a show each week and its free to watch. You can podcast it or watch it online... So when you put the little buggers to bed you can have some you time and watch an episode. they generally last for about 50 minutes and have about 4 really great how-to's in each show... Currently they are up to episode 290 so you have a lot of material to go back and watch.
Good luck and as always if you have any photoshop or photography questions just drop me a line and I will see if I can help out. :)
I'm quite new to the concept of editing my photos as well. I've dabbled with Picasa (free download) and have recently started playing around with picnik, both of which I find quite easy to use and free! Similarly to Jane @mortisa I just check what each effect does and if I don't like it, or its not what I'm after, its very easy to undo :)
upload a pic you like but you think is missing something and have a play, you'll soon pick up which effects you like and which you can live without, and you may even find a hidden treasure in a shot you initially thought was a bit ordinary. Good luck! :)
I got back into photography by doing an Open University short course (T189) which did some basic training on Photoshop Elements 8. This was enough of a starter to get me interested & made me aware of basic stuff like layers, levels etc.
I would recommend looking at Gavin Hoey's site if you haven't already (www.gavtrain.com) or he has a YouTube channel. Some of his stuff is more involved than others, and I don't always like the end result, but it does show you lots of aspects of the software that you might not find by just clicking around, and there is very little he does that can't be done in Elements rather than full Photoshop. I found his tutorials on smoke photography particularly helpful.
Well anything is hard if you don't know what you want. So you need to pick what you want to learn, for instance, you want to blur out the background as though you used a shallow depth of field, then you go to Youtube and search for it. Youtube taught me how to use photoshop, it's free and you don't sit through hours of it, you just put the video on when you want to do something specific and follow the instructions. Eventually you don't need youtube anymore.
@melissajane - Our local colleges have online courses in Photoshop. You might want to check with yours. Or there are day workshops at local camera stores.
@melissajane I haven't read through the other posts so son't know if it's already been mentioned but I only edit using picnik.com I find it to be very simple to follow and although I have gimp I still haven't had the guts to look into it x
@sparkle 'normally get close to something.......' Understatement of the year!! How you process your photos is an inspiration Juliette.....if you learnt by that book then I suggest everyone follows your suggestion!! :-)
I'm using lynda.com to help me with learning all the software. There is a monthly/yearly subscription price but it is very convenient to be able to go at my own pace and not worry about homework and grades. Before I subscribed, I used Adobe TV and You Tube as well.
I started with Picnik, it's great and I still go back to it for quickies!
I have Photoshop, opened it for the first time yesterday, got completely lost, pulled my hair out, then quit. I edit in Lightroom, which I love...but it doesn't allow crazy manipulation.
I'll try again, because it drives me nuts when I can't do something. But first I'm going to check out the Kelbytv link and twist my brother's arm to give me his password for his Lynda.com account @agima@vskolnik
@shutterbugger You will not be disappointed. Look at the Photoshop TV first as it has a heap of free stuff and then move onto the paid one, as it is more for photography and how you link it with photoshop.
@sheg My Girls have taught me everything I know when it comes to the computer , My eldest tends to roll her eyes at me if I ask her the basics like how to attach something to an email, luckily she always help even if I do frustrate her :)
It's nice of you to go after those things. It's always good to learn a little more.
That's a good suggestion everybody did. Lynda.com videos are very famous and since they are narrated, you can go at your on learning pace. And if you happen to get stuck, you can always ASK US, hahaha.
Well, Photoshop is a difficult program to master. It has TONs, and TONs of stuff. Different ways to do the same thing. And it takes a while to figure out how to do the simplest things sometimes. I can be a pain. But it is well worth it, if you make that leap.
Frankly, i work with photoshop for nearly 8 years now. And i am not the only here. Try the sites. With them you can learn whenever you want at home. But be disciplined. A course with a teacher is only worth if you already have tried a little, therefore you remember more, afterwards. If you have any doubts, i or a lot of people here, can answer. Be not afraid to ask.
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@mortisa - I tried this but i dont think I know enough about how and what to edit to use it
@carolbloomfield - Thankyou - I cant wait to make my 'not bad' shots into something better
I can highly recommend KelbyTraining.com have been watching their video for about 6 months and the amount of stuff I have learned on that 6 months is just amazing...
Yes it does cost $199US for a year but at $16.50 per month it is the best $16.50 you will ever spend to enhance your photography, lightroom, and Photoshop skills.
No I understand if that is too much money to spend so you can get the next best things.... Go watch the PhotoShop guys!!!!
http://kelbytv.com/photoshopusertv/
These guys are associated with Kelby Training and the people on the show are instructors on some of the Kelby courses.
The put out a show each week and its free to watch. You can podcast it or watch it online... So when you put the little buggers to bed you can have some you time and watch an episode. they generally last for about 50 minutes and have about 4 really great how-to's in each show... Currently they are up to episode 290 so you have a lot of material to go back and watch.
Good luck and as always if you have any photoshop or photography questions just drop me a line and I will see if I can help out. :)
. @sparkle @tammeray
@voodoochild -It's hard to search youtube when you dont know what it is you are trying to do. Hope you understand what I mean
upload a pic you like but you think is missing something and have a play, you'll soon pick up which effects you like and which you can live without, and you may even find a hidden treasure in a shot you initially thought was a bit ordinary. Good luck! :)
I would recommend looking at Gavin Hoey's site if you haven't already (www.gavtrain.com) or he has a YouTube channel. Some of his stuff is more involved than others, and I don't always like the end result, but it does show you lots of aspects of the software that you might not find by just clicking around, and there is very little he does that can't be done in Elements rather than full Photoshop. I found his tutorials on smoke photography particularly helpful.
Well anything is hard if you don't know what you want. So you need to pick what you want to learn, for instance, you want to blur out the background as though you used a shallow depth of field, then you go to Youtube and search for it. Youtube taught me how to use photoshop, it's free and you don't sit through hours of it, you just put the video on when you want to do something specific and follow the instructions. Eventually you don't need youtube anymore.
Photoshop Elements - http://tv.adobe.com/product/photoshop-elements/
Photoshop CS5 - http://tv.adobe.com/product/photoshop/
http://www.tutvid.com/tutorials/photoshop/index.php
http://www.fortysomething.ca/mt/etc/archives/006129.php
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxgRneI6yfY
the above one although the guy is very dry.. he is very informative..
I have Photoshop, opened it for the first time yesterday, got completely lost, pulled my hair out, then quit. I edit in Lightroom, which I love...but it doesn't allow crazy manipulation.
I'll try again, because it drives me nuts when I can't do something. But first I'm going to check out the Kelbytv link and twist my brother's arm to give me his password for his Lynda.com account @agima @vskolnik
That's a good suggestion everybody did. Lynda.com videos are very famous and since they are narrated, you can go at your on learning pace. And if you happen to get stuck, you can always ASK US, hahaha.
Well, Photoshop is a difficult program to master. It has TONs, and TONs of stuff. Different ways to do the same thing. And it takes a while to figure out how to do the simplest things sometimes. I can be a pain. But it is well worth it, if you make that leap.
Frankly, i work with photoshop for nearly 8 years now. And i am not the only here. Try the sites. With them you can learn whenever you want at home. But be disciplined. A course with a teacher is only worth if you already have tried a little, therefore you remember more, afterwards. If you have any doubts, i or a lot of people here, can answer. Be not afraid to ask.