Question for photographers- how do I learn Photoshop?

Thanks! My copy of The Adobe Photoshop CS3 Book for Digital Photographers by Scott Kelby came in the mail today. I have already flipped through the whole thing. I can't wait to get started with it.

It's a great book. There are step by step pictures to take you though everything. I enjoy a little silliness in a reference book (probably why I like the dummies books so much.) There is plenty of that in this book.

A few things I was excited to see while skimming the book:
How to make black & white pictures look better than just clicking "convert to greyscale." I knew the pros had a trick for that because there was just something better about their B&Ws.

How to remove love handles- I will definitly be taking my muffin top out of some pictures

How to touch up skin & do "hollywood highlights."

I was also glad to see how he whitens teeth, removes wrinkles, etc. I have been doing lots of these things the hard way.

the Scott Kelby books are really great - you'll have so much fun discovering the world of possibilities in PS (spoken like a true photo geek )

 

I also wanted to mention that Scott Kelby also has a series of DVD tutorials that are really well done - I am such a visual learner and sometimes find manuals overwhelming

I actually stumbled across a couple of the Scott Kelby DVDs at my library - I would sit with my laptop in front of the TV and was able to do the exercises alongside him (and be able to pause as I needed to)

I'll have to check my local library! thanks. I brought the book with me to work today so i can get started during my lunch break.

Glad you like it Morgan..now no more monkeying around

can we download photoshop online for free somewhere.....?

sorry, i can't promise that. Even though I'm trying to learn to photoshop like a respectable photographer, i can't stop my monkeying. Today while I eat lunch, i plan on merging my friend & her two sisters into one face to show what their baby would look like. Its a joke they have. This weekend I'll be superimposing my friends onto fancy backgrounds with fancy hats, mustaches, and pugs in tuxes.

adobe.com has on-demand seminars too that might help you. I like them b/c they show you exactly what they are doing as they are doing it.

you can download a free trial from Adobe.com
but if you're looking to purchase it you can usually find Adobe Photoshop Elements at one of the big box stores (costco, etc.) for around $79.

('elements' is a scaled down version of Adobe's Photoshop 'CS' program - and if you're just looking to get started Elements is great (it's got a LOT of capabilities in and of itself without the $600. price tag of CS)

When you're ready, "actions" are the next step. Creating your own and/or purchasing some from photoshop experts. I couldn't live without them!

my advice... if you dont own photoshop yet buy adobe lightroom... its cheaper then photoshop and it is a lot easier to pick up becasue al the tools you need are layed out before you. it doesnt sound like you wil need more more then to adjust the light levels, clarity, saturations, and white balance and such. plus you can easily apply the same corrections to many other photos at the same time. its really convenient.

 

 

if you have photoshop there are tons of tutorials online you can find. do a good search for something specific like "white balance photoshop tutorial" or "light levels photoshop tutorial" this way you can save the cost of taking a class not to mention all the time going