Getting the certification is a good idea.
I'm gonna have to do that sooner or later.
I'm checking out your flickr galleries right now.
You got some nice images here.
I especially like the photos of the ocean.
And the flower vase. That one is interesting, because you'd expect to see a bunch of books in the case behind it. But instead they're all DVD's, many of the same ones I own.
And instead of a window, it's a flat screen TV.
I like images that use that timeless look like with the flower vase where in many occasions you see objects in the frame like old books, or hardwood architecture. But instead the components are replaced by contemporary items.
I'll check back into your galleries frequently for updates.
Did you ckeck out lynda.com?
It's a good resource.
I took a Photoshop class in the late 90's at my local community college.
They taught lessons right out of the Adobe Photoshop 5.0 classroom in a Book.
I felt like I really wasted my money because the instructor didn't know anything more than anyone else, and I could've bought the book myself and finished the lessons in a week or 2.
Have you done the tutorials from the Adobe website?
Some of them are good, but many of them are pretty noob oriented.
Many of the things that are done with Photoshop from a photography standpoint especially are things that require you to get a feel for them.
Like color corrections, you can learn the process technically, but if you haven't developed an eye for color correcting it doesn't do a whole lot for your images.
IMO, the most important parts are learning to work with channels, blending modes, layer styles, and masking is a big part of it all.
It's based on preference, but many people (myself included) prefer to edit non-destructively. Adobe keeps expanding photoshops arsenal of non-destructive tools.
If you were to want to take an element out of the frame, you have many choices. Many people will go for the extraction tool or the erase background tool. These are destructive methods because you essentially delete all the pixels you don't want.
IMO, the better method is to paint a mask to hide the elements you don't want. Many times after taking a subject out, you realize there are elements that you should've left in. If you used a mask you can just erase the mask or paint the detail back in using the standard brush tool.
There's a whole other side of Photoshop that those who use it for photography never really delve into.
Photoshop is more of a standard image editing app, not just a photo editing app.
I use it often to simply paint with, use brushwork to achieve a certain result.
You'd be amazed at photoshops abilities as a 2D paint app.
Check this site out->
CG_Society
I've learned ALOT from this site. It's geared mainly for 3D content creation. But they have forums dedicated to specific applications, and alot of knowledgeable people.
People who work on Films and TV. There's guys from Pixar, Dreamworks, Square Enix, ILM, they interview artists alot, like the technical director for Spiderman 3.
Rick Baker the famous makeup artist for horror movies is there all the time.
The studio that did the FX for the Matrix franchise frequent these forums.
As a graphic designer, you NEED to check it out!
One thing I would suggest is to get a tablet!
There are cheapo tablets, but if you're serious about it Wacom is the only choice.
A tablet makes masking way more useful and intuitive.
Brushwork in Photoshop is almost useless without a tablet IMO.
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