billpan45

Any recommendations for a good book on Photoshop for BEGINNERS? I need a clear, basic intro to get started, although I am quite competent with Lightroom 5. Thanks.

Harry_in_England

I don't know if the 'For Dummies' range of books is available where you are but I have a copy of the one for my version of Photoshop (Elements 14) and there are editions for other versions of Photoshop.
Alternately I watch youtube videos that are often very helpful.

DaveyDitzer Loc: Western PA

I use photoshop for dummies and am satisfied.

brucewells Loc: Central Kentucky

My best recommendation is to subscribe to the likes of Kelby One or Lynda for the instructional videos they provide.

minniev Loc: MIssissippi

I think I understand what you're looking for, because that was my path as well - I was quite capable in LR before I ever got Photoshop, and the PS books I got seemed more for people who wanted to do all editing in PS.

Though I do not particularly like Scott Kelby's writing style, he does have a book "Photoshop for Lightroom Users" that might be a good starting place for you. For a more comprehensive look at all the tools of Photoshop from a beginner's standpoint, Adobe's "Photoshop: Classroom In A Book" is a good way to plod through the whole program sequentially.

There's lots of good free video training from Adobe, Phlearn, and others available online. (I'm one of those rare birds that prefers a book).

Chief Rob

Suggest you look at "Adobe Photoshop CC Bible" as a desk reference. Combined with the desk reference "Adobe Photoshop LIGHTROOM CC/6 The Missing FAQ" by Victoria Bampton you should be able to use both to maximum effectiveness!

moffie100

Cut to the chase book with pictures of the computer screen: "How Do I Do That in Photoshop" by Scott Kelby.
Easy, bottom line info. One page explaination for most things you will actually use. The next one would be "Classroom in a Book" (Photoshop, whatever version). It's more "follow these steps" oriented.

Photoshop is so powerful, it's overwhelming initially. Plenty of stuff you will never use. There are a few basics you will use regularly. Don't let it intimidate you. If you work on a copy and you're wrong it won't kill you. Don't be afraid of making mistakes.

G Brown Loc: Sunny Bognor Regis West Sussex UK

It is sometimes as easy to google what you want to do - when you want to do it.
That way you will 'discover' a whole host of sites with a variety of PS and PSE tutorials. (Some quick, some slow, some printed etc)
If you 'learn by doing' you will quickly become confident with the tool bars etc.
Bookmark your search results - as similar tasks! there are many ways to do the same things in PS.
always Start with a copy of your image.....till you become confident.
Have fun

billpan45

Thanks, everybody. You've been helpful.

DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA

When I started editing digital photos I was too cheap to buy Photoshop, so I went with GIMP instead. I learned the basics of working with layers and was able to find online tutorials when I needed to do something I didn't know how to do.

Eventually I recognized that GIMP was limited, and Photoshop did everything, so I bought PS. There was a learning curve because not only was the interface different between the two programs, a lot of the tools worked a bit differently. In retrospect, I think it would have been better to start off with PS. The online tutorials are there for PS also, and there are many more of them.

And I'll echo the note that PS does way more than you will ever want to do. Learn the basics, then use the tutorials (or the books) to add to your proficiency. I've been using PS for about 8 years now and I'm not close to being an expert, but I can do pretty well with it and I find it really useful. And they're adding more tools with each upgrade.

Since you're using LR, I would advise getting into the organizational facets of LR as much as possible. LR is a nice basic editor, but my primary use of it is for organization.

DavidPine Loc: Fredericksburg, TX

KelbyOne.com or Lynda.com are subscription services that offer full detailed courses and are much better than any book you can buy.

repleo Loc: Boston

I have just started getting into Tony Northrup's book/video course 'Photoshop Essentials for Photographers'. $15 for ebook version or $40 for paperback on his web site. Videos included in both. Book is simple, well written and illustrated.

The Watcher

Have a look at Phlearn, Aaron has lots of free videos and courses that you pay for.

I've learned a lot there.

Usually what I do is apply the actions in the video to a similar photo in Photoshop.

This can be done on the same computer by switch back and forth.

I'll pause the video, back-up, re-watch and applying until I understand what going on.

This might take hours.

Then I create a laminated reference card that walks me through the actions in the video.

I number each card and assign it to a file in my computer. This allow me to return to the video if I need to.

If you're want to stay on top of Photoshop, you have to do it often.

https://phlearn.com/

ejrmaine Loc: South Carolina

PHlearn or Lynda.com

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Lynda.com has excellent courses. You get two weeks for free, and then you can decide if you want to pay $25 for a month of total access. I sign up for a month at a time and watch all I can - lots of different topics presented.