Does anyone have a good photoshop learning tool or dvd advice?

I think CS3 came with Lynda.com training videos. If on a different version, visit her site.

Classroom in a book.

Depends a lot on what you want to do with it. "How to Cheat in PhotoShop CS3" by Steve Caplin is great if you want to learn techniques to modify and add special effects to a picture.

I think the learning resources that will work best for you are dependent on your knowing yourself, and what works best for you.

Some people really like printed books. Some like videos on DVD or online. Some like standard style tutorials as can be found on hundreds or thousands of independently created websites dedicated to Photoshop all over the W3. Most folks find a happy combination of all the resources they can access.

The point is, what works best for you? That’s a question only you can answer.

No matter which resources you use, if you really want to dig in deep and learn Photoshop well, you’ll need to get yourself up to speed on a couple very important things:
* Terminology: You’ll need to know the proper names for Tools, Functions, Menu Items, User Interface elements. If you don’t use the standard terminology that everyone else uses you’ll have a tough time asking clear questions when you get stuck on something.
* How to search: Never forget that Google will be your best friend. Often, if you can’t find something in the Help Files or the Photoshop PDF manual, engaging in a Google search will be the fastest way to find the info you need. One of the standard search strings to enter would be formatted like the following examples:
* photoshop tutorial make transparent background
* photoshop technique use airbrush
* photoshop tip "how to create custom shapes"Don’t discount the information to be found in the Help Files/PDF manual…although they don’t contain everything you need to know, they will go a long way toward answering basic questions. Pay particular attention to the "Workspace" section for the names of the Tools along with other terminology. Spend some time going through the Help Files/PDF Manual’s Index pages, one-by-one, so that at the very least, terms will fall under your eyeballs. Just seeing them a few times will help you become familiar with them, even if you haven’t yet come to understand what they mean.

Explore, play, explore, have fun, explore, play, make mistakes, figure stuff out yourself—oh, and have fun!. Open up example files and explore EVERY tool—along with their settings in the Options Bar; try out ALL of the menu items; click, and "[Modifier key combo] + Click" on anything in the User Interface that looks like it might do something. Generally speaking, U.I. designers don’t put things in the interface just for the heck of it. Look for little triangles, buttons and icons…usually they do something. Try them out and see what they do.

And remember: If you have an image that you want to work on, and it’s important—say, a scan of your grandmother hanging out with a celebrity—but are feeling a little unsure of your skill level, remember Golden Rule #1:Always work on a copy! Keep the original file intact so you can go back and start over, if necessary!And by copy…that can mean either making a copy of the whole file, like you would any other file, OR making a copy of the original Background to its own new Layer in the Layers Palette, and never touching the original Background "layer".

And remember Golden Rule #2:Save early, and save often!Get used to mashing the "CTRL + S" shortcut. You can also save versions of your image as you work on it, like when you reach certain milestones in your progress with the image. You can "Save as…" separate copy versions, or you can use the History Palette’s "Snapshot" feature to save milestone points within the image file itself.

Don’t be afraid to make mistakes—that’s why you keep that original, untouched image, in case it’s a complete disaster. Everyone of us here has made a bazillion mistakes, and they are ALWAYS opportunities for learning what not to do the next time. I think many will agree that figuring stuff out on your own, doing your own homework…just generally being resourceful, thoughful and focused on your studies goes a long way toward really getting the ins and outs of Photoshop deeply ingrained.

And when you DO get stuck, do your best to ask clearly detailed, focused questions. I (and many others) will STRONGLY recommend you visit the following link and read about the best way to ask those questions. That might sound stupidly elementary, but many people fail to understand how to engage in productive online dialogues with people who are here, just waiting to help. The following forum entry will help remind you how to get the most out of the time you spend here (its concepts are good for info gathering in "real life" too!):
LenHewitt, "How To Get Help Quickly" #, 4 Mar 2004 8:27 am </webx?50>

Geez, All of us here could go on and on about "Best Practices" philosophies for newcomers. But to reiterate my answer to your main question: It’s up to YOU to figure out which learning resources work best for you. Once you have that figured out, you can focus on finding the best examples of those resources, be they books, videos, or static tutorials.

Happy Learning!

🙂

Phos±four dots

I reckon this is one of the best answers I have ever seen and in my humble opinion should be put in the FAQ section under ‘beginner or newcomer needs help’

regards

John

Here, Here, I second that!

Great post, Phos. An instant classic. And there’s good advice here for everyone, not just beginners.

yup, pretty good drivel there phos.

instant FAQ on "How To Get Started Learning and Using Photoshop" in my opinion.

Thanks for the props, you guys, but "Instant Classic?"

Naaahhhh. Needs more bacon. And maybe some editing.

But, it’ll do for starters.

🙂

I don’t know. It is pretty good, but you may be right… needs a little more cow bell (but only a little).

Instant Classic

Ok, maybe that was a bit over the top – let’s just say it was a good answer to the original question. I particularly liked the bit about how we all make mistakes, even after years of experience. That’s important. Photoshop is such a monster, and there are so many experts/"experts" that it’s easy to get intimidated by it –

the best way to learn photoshop is to start using it

try these out… kk

http://www.photoscape.org/ps/main/index.php

http://www.fredmiranda.com/

http://www.radiantvista.com/

http://www.photo-freeware.net/category-downloads.php

http://craigtannercreative.com/lightdiary/

http://www.getpaint.net/

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/index.php

http://www.fredmiranda.com/

http://photofiltre.free.fr/

http://russellbrown.com/

http://www.myjanee.com/index.html

wrote in message

the best way to learn photoshop is to start using it

Too bad the O.P. never came back to acknowledge the replies he got.

Sometimes, I wonder why I bother.

🙁

Because the rest of us benefit. Anyway to forward your great missive to Adobe to a FAQ?

Because the rest of us benefit

That’s why. We all read it. I’ve had so many questions I never needed to ask, because I’ve found the answers already here.

it’s not as hard to learn it as it seems, however i must admit i had a good dvd tutorial that helped me a lot, but unfortunately i tried to find it now but i think cannot be found anymore, however it was quite similar to this kind of tutorials: < http://www.softspecialist.com/As-Simple-As-Photoshop-1651/As -Simple-As-Photoshop.htm>
< http://www.softspecialist.com/Animated-Introduction-to-Adobe -Photoshop-Elements-1650/Animated-Introduction-to-Adobe-Phot oshop-Elements.htm>

(i’m only referring to the concept, i mean less texts more visual)