Learning Photoshop 7

Clearly, Adobe Photoshop is THE key tool to use after all of the fine output of the S2 has been placed onto the computer and run through RAW conversions, etc.

Q: What is the best way that this group has found to really learn Photoshop?

Clearly nothing substitues for experience but there are a lot of tutorials out there, books, training CD's etc. What is the experience of this group in learning this terrific tool?

Doug Ritchie

In my experience many books go in very deep without a lot of real hands-on usability and thus the info just doesn't stick. I am very keen on the online tutorials you can find all about the net. http://www.shanzan.com is a nice example of VERY nice tutorials. Not everything you'll find is so eleborate and well-illustrated but you should b able to find a lot usefull stuff.

This doesn't mean books are no good! I just think books become more meaningfull once you can find your way around the basics.

Just make sure you know (and can use) the standard actions, use blank files first before you attempt diffcult pictures. Don't read the entire manual, it's no use. The tutorials on the cd can be useful too!

Play with it, and once you get the hang of it, choose a specific task you want to learn and take some time to master that before doing the next.

Quite a long and sometimes steep learning curve but walhalla opens up to you once you get there. And in the mean time, have a ball using all the standard filters but don't show the results to everyone. People tend to get bored with 'yet another dude who found the filer palette'.

And ASK ASK ASK (so ASK) when you're stuck. There is so much others can learn you. I read articles, tips and tricks almost every single day and I learn new stuff every time I do. There is no one way to do things in PS, there can be dozens.

O yeah, something I often fail to do:

bookmark ANY page you deem useful, and organize the links. Don't dismiss them too soon. It can be a nightmare finding them again...

Well, as you see, I am quite enthusiastic, I sound like a marketeer. I am not btw... Have FUN!

Doug Ritchie said:

Clearly, Adobe Photoshop is THE key tool to use after all of the
fine output of the S2 has been placed onto the computer and run
through RAW conversions, etc.

Q: What is the best way that this group has found to really learn
Photoshop?

Clearly nothing substitues for experience but there are a lot of
tutorials out there, books, training CD's etc. What is the
experience of this group in learning this terrific tool?

Doug Ritchie

Click to expand...

That should read http://www.shanzcan.com , sorry

Suredeath's got good stuff, do it and you'll KNOW I've got just a few additions. Bookmark everything, as he says, and use the site's links sections to get more bookmarks. Don't try to do everything at once. Learn to understand color first. Don't buy too many books. Most of them are way overpriced, and when the next version comes out, they'll be of less use. If you must buy though, be careful to get a book focused on photography, as there's a million of them and most seem to be mainly for graphic professionals. Use the manual as a reference. Read something that sounds interesting, then do it until you understand it. When you can consistently and intuitively see what's wrong with a picture and fix it, then start to play with layers, masks, and all the fun things. I found with myself that Photoshop started an interest in color theory that's helped quite a lot in my photo work. In case you're interested, here's a few links to get you started:

http://www.inforamp.net/~poynton/ColorFAQ.html
http://www.city.ac.uk/colourgroup/
http://www.cs.rit.edu/~ncs/color/

Good hunting,
Paul.

Get this great Photoshop book which emphasizes photography. The best book to learn photoshop and the only one you'll ever need.

Photoshop 7 Artistry: Mastering the Digital Image by Barry Haynes, et al.

Go to Amazon.com and see that many people love it! I know Photoshop to certain extent and have been going through this book. I've got to say that it's awesome! Learn the basic first cuz this book is for intermediate to expert.

-p

Doug Ritchie said:

Clearly, Adobe Photoshop is THE key tool to use after all of the
fine output of the S2 has been placed onto the computer and run
through RAW conversions, etc.

Q: What is the best way that this group has found to really learn
Photoshop?

Clearly nothing substitues for experience but there are a lot of
tutorials out there, books, training CD's etc. What is the
experience of this group in learning this terrific tool?

Doug Ritchie

Click to expand...

Thanks for all of the input and this will get me started on the right track.

Doug Ritchie

Doug Ritchie said:

Clearly, Adobe Photoshop is THE key tool to use after all of the
fine output of the S2 has been placed onto the computer and run
through RAW conversions, etc.

Q: What is the best way that this group has found to really learn
Photoshop?

Clearly nothing substitues for experience but there are a lot of
tutorials out there, books, training CD's etc. What is the
experience of this group in learning this terrific tool?

Doug Ritchie

Click to expand...

I learned Photoshop by taking a community college course. My total cost was $60 including the book. After taking the class, I realized that if I had just had the book, I could have learned Photoshop on my own. This book was called "Classroom in a Book-Photoshop 7" This book is simple to understand and the lessons are fun. Some of the lessons are of a more orientated toward graphics, but are still good to know. If you take all these lessons, you will be proficient with Photoshop. The book written by Barry Haynes which was mentioned in another thread, is more difficult for a beginner to understand. I met Barry and he agreed that his book is more for the intermediate and advanced Photoshop user. Infact this book was used by the community college for their advanced Photoshop class. So my advice is to get classroom book and you will be amazed by what you are doing in Photoshop in just a few lessons. ( I bought the Adobe Classroom in a Book-Photoshop7 at Amazon.com for around $29 )

Mike

Doug,

For me, the "Total Training" series (website is totaltraining.com). For me, I like the self-paced style, and the instruction is great. Setup a VCR/TV by the computer, and do the exercises with the video. For me, some lessons I would do a 2nd time, to retain more.

They're not cheap, but not as costly as the good seminars, either.

Regards,
Barry Lawrensen

Doug Ritchie said:

Clearly, Adobe Photoshop is THE key tool to use after all of the
fine output of the S2 has been placed onto the computer and run
through RAW conversions, etc.

Q: What is the best way that this group has found to really learn
Photoshop?

Clearly nothing substitues for experience but there are a lot of
tutorials out there, books, training CD's etc. What is the
experience of this group in learning this terrific tool?

Doug Ritchie

Click to expand...

total training by deke mcclelland rocks
this is the book for beginners
i bought photoshop 6 and had no idea what i was doing

the manual was not really useful to me because i never did anything like this before
i searched adobe website and came across various support products
i bought photodhop 6 for $199
6 dvd's and 1 media dvd

you follow along with this geek deke---he trys to be funny---but i think his sorry jokes should be a college drinking game
anyway, aside from his lame jokes---he knows this program inside and out
he is a great teacher
it is broken down into sections
i bought the dvd so i could skip around
anyway, after one month i did everything i wanted to do
i also took notes and so i can refer to them in an instant
i highly recommend total training
and no i am not affiliated with them in any way
i use photoshop 6
not photoshop 7
good luck--
dk