Best Way to Learn Photoshop

[atseeyob]

I would like to learn photoshop to enhance the pictures I take. Which one is more effective? A class with $350.00 or Book by Scott Kelby (sorry if I misspelled his last name)? Any advice is appreciated as usual.

 

[nicfargo]

I'd try the book first (since it better be cheaper then $350) and then if you find you're not where you want to be, look into other areas for education. Only you know how you learn best. Also, I think Scott now has an online learning classroom thing kind of like lynda.com where you pay $20 a month and they have all sorts of lessons on there for you. I am seriously going to give the online classes a look at this weekend. Here is the website http://www.kelbytraining.com/

 

[Antithesis]

I learned from tutorials on the web. Just search "Photoshop tutorials" in google and look for the free ones. That combined with a lot of practice will get you pretty good.

 

[ianm]

go to the graphic design links in my sig - you'll find a load of links for Photoshop Tutorials

 

[dipstick]

I think you can answer that question yourself as the "best way" would be very individual. I learned everything I know by trying and failing since version 2.5. (version 2 that is, not CS 2

So if you learn better by taking classes than reading a book, then go ahead. Personally I dont like to follow books back to back, but they are great for reference. An intensive class is what I would prefer to get a jumpstart in anything.

As soon as you got the basics covered you will learn a lot by doing... If you havent been working with digital pictures before, you probably also want a class or a book that deals with the basics of digital imaging. Those basics would be the same no matter what program you choose to use later.

 

[Parkerman]

Yep, online photoshop tutorials help a lot. I don't think the class is worth the money.. They are nice, I've taken 2 in college as electives. but i would rather learn offline for free.

 

[BAB]

A lot depends on how you as an individual learn but in general I would recommend starting with one of the many excellent books available, Scott Kelby's book comes to mind, but there are others as well. Since it is easy to become overwhelmed with all that Photoshop offers, concentrate on learning only the skills that you need and/or interested in, by following the tips and discussion in the book that you choose. Once you have an idea of what you are doing, determine if you need and or want additional help in which case, classes if you can afford them, and if conducted by a good instructor are great as are the various on-line tutorials.

 

[Pinus strobus]

Check with your local public library for books on Photoshop. You can try them out for free, and if you decide you dont like learning from the books then you can take the class.

 

[H0LLYW00D]

i used tutorials online and just playing with it and eventualy you will learn more and can do more with it.

 

[Drake]

Well, I started off with online tutorials on small graphic thingies, such as forums sigs etc. Although they don't teach you how to retouch photos, you become much more familiar with the interface of photoshop. Later on I got a photo retouch tutorial from www.lynda.com, they are simply amazing. You will really be surpsised to see how your skills develop with each excercise. The exact one I'd recommend mostly is this one. It is really worth the price, I prefer that than any book. It is very hard to learn photoshop just reading and looking at some pictures.

 

[vyerous]

Online tutorials with a video are definitely the best way to go about it. It is nice to have a background in photoshop and know the ins and outs to it, but if you can replicate other peoples methods to photo editing (provided you wanted photoshop for that purpose) you can combine different techniques to create your own unique look. Go to google or youtube and just type in photoshop cs2 tutorials or whatever version you have.