PS Where To Start?

Aruzuriel · Nov 2, 2009

I'm sure you have had this question asked a lot so sorry for a re-post.

I'm overall new to photography itself and even newer and no experience in photo editing. Just recently got my first DSLR, a Canon Rebel XSi. I got a copy of Photoshop from a friend of mine. Now I have looked around at it and got some basics I guess and where something are located but I still feel, overwhelmed is not the right word but I'll go with that. I know there are tons of videos and tutorials online for Photoshop. I have found a lot of them are on certain things and not a cumulative. I was wondering if anyone knows any resources that really gives a decent overview on many of the tools and ways to use Photoshop. I looked into classes at the college I am at and didn't find any, also I know there are books out there as well but don't know if I should or even what one to get.

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks

Big Mike · Nov 2, 2009

Instant Photoshop

Check out the many other articles on that site as well.

Buckster · Nov 2, 2009

My very favorite, top of the heap, hands down, without question, bestest, most complete and thoroughly thorough step by step PS learning resource is the set of video tutorials by Deke McClelland at Lynda.com

Worth every penny. You can start buying books and spending hours and hours searching for info and trying to make heads and tails of it all, or you can pay the man and get it done, and done right.

You can go to the site and choose any of the courses and watch the first couple of introductory vids for free to get a taste of who this guy is and what you'll learn in that course. Your journey would start here, at the beginning course.

When you finish his courses, which he is SO GOOD at making learning PS fun and entertaining, not some dry information that makes you want to run away screaming or pass out from boredom, you will be have the tools to be a true master of the 'shop.

Good luck.

Aruzuriel · Nov 7, 2009

I'll check both of these out and see if either works and I'm sure one of them will. Also sorry did get back been along week, spending 17 hours and overnight in the schools library to finish a paper is never fun...

Thanks for the input!

agc970 · Nov 10, 2009

I also just started using Photoshop like 3 months ago... I have just been googling photoshop tutorials and doing the ones that i can. some are really helpful and list out every single step for beginners but others are kind of hard to follow if you don't know the tools they are talking about and stuff like that. after a while, you start getting familiar with how to use the different tools and with all the jargon that's used in some of the tutorials. eventually you can start doing ones that are a little more difficult that you couldn't necessarily understand in the beginning.

and anytime i find a tutorial that i can follow, i practice it on several of my photos until i pretty much have it memorized without looking at the tutorial anymore.

i am also kind of cheating though, because anytime i get stuck on how to do something, i just go to my fiance who is very familiar with photoshop and he'll show me how to do it... something which you can't find on the internet!

i definitely still have a lot to learn about photoshop but i think i've really caught on fast and learned a lot, so it can definitely be done without buying anything!! good luck!