jimorus

I was lucky or unlucky enough to start using Photoshop when there was on level of "undo". Talk about frustrating and intimidating. You would need to save every few minutes and past that one level of undo was your last backup. I took the class at a local community college and followed it up a week with a Photoshop Professional where the classes went from 9 in the morning until the last one of us was ready to quit for the day. My wife took a portrait class the same week and we came home and Photoshop paid for itself and the training classes for both of us in a few weeks. We also got a beta copy of 5.5 to try out.

For our work layers and layer masks turned into the most important piece. Opening eyes and swapping heads was like a miracle and cost a lot less than 200$ a head that our provider was charging. And multiple levels of undo was really amazing.

You need to understand what you want or need to do most and learn that and once you are done there look at the next item on you list.

Also remember your logic on a repair or adjustment may not be the same as another person's. Look at your results to determine what works for you as it may be totally different than any recommendation you might receive.

it is well worth the cost of the program and the time spent learning it.

Good luck

I don't know that Adobe still makes Classroom in a Book but even an older one can lay out the basics and give you examples and exercises.

Good luck

al13

I purchased several books on learning PS as well as a two day class that was too advanced for me. I have not given up but can say I might not be as bright as I 5hought I was. To say it’s complicated is an understatement. Almost forgot about a video which has helped.

d3200prime

Great suggestion and the course is only $13.99 today. It's 27 hours of teaching and you can revisit all or any part of the course anytime forever.
Udemy, imo, is about the best course study for many photography related subjects and is very affordable.

dkguill Loc: Elkhart, IN

I have often wondered about how difficult it might be to start learning PS now. I started with version 2.5 back in the early '90s and I updated at every opportunity. I also took seminars like those that Scott Kelby had running around the country. I found that learning specific tasks and becoming familiar with new features one at a time worked well for me. I also learned that, even with those helpful notebooks Scott provided at the live seminars, you couldn't remember everything. The things I learned were those things that I was able to practice and repeat multiple times. The other stuff that I didn't have an immediate application for most often went forgotten. What I did do was keep those notebooks and I went back to find the notes when a new problem arose in my daily work with PS.

I guess I would say that PS is a real elephant and I don't think I've ever met anyone who could say they had learned all it can do. The old saying...you eat an elephant one bite at a time...is very true when learning PS. One of the good things about the Internet is that you can always search for a PS solution and almost always find a demo or a tutorial that addresses your issue. Indeed, you can't learn it all so don't even try. You will remember what you have need to remember.

bpulv Loc: Buena Park, CA

Photoshop Classic CC looks intimidating, but it is no more intimidating for a beginner than PS Elements is. The only difference is that Classic has more functions within functions that you don't have to use. For example, it has automatic functions for color correction just like Elements, however it has additional controls so you can customize the color settings.

The trick is to click on the Adobe Creative Cloud symbol at the top of your screen (it may be somewhere else on a PC) and then click on "Learn". The first item you will see is "Get to Know Photoshop." That will take you to an instruction manual with videos that takes you step by step through the program starting with where things are located on your desktop and what the do and continues from there. After you have completed that, Adobe has dozens of free tutorial videos available on line that cover every topic and control in detail.

If you prefer, you can take on line classes or enroll in classes at a local college or other courses in your local area.

anotherview Loc: California

The voice of practical experience. Thank you.

I use this approach, too: " I found that learning specific tasks and becoming familiar with new features one at a time worked well for me."

JCam Loc: MD Eastern Shore

Feiertag, Learning PS, unless you have some experience with complex PP programs, is a bit like eating an elephant--you have to go bite by bite. As "Linda from Maine" suggested, why not cancel the subscribution when Adobe puts the new PSE at introductory sales price (usually at the larger big box stores) for about $39.00 for the Disk. You will break even in three months and have about 85%+ of the tools of cc. PSE is much easier to learn and the print published manuals are only about 1/2" thick vs. 1+" for the cc program and plenty of help is available here for free..

PS: I gave up with Lightroom for the same reason you are having problems with cc, and use PSE14 with a bit of Topaz Adjust, and for special printing needs, PSE10. The 14, 18 & Topaz all reside in the computer memory so it is easy to switch from one to the other.

minniev Loc: MIssissippi

Since you already have a CC subscription, it makes sense to learn PS rather than adding another program.

I use PS for about 10% of the photos I shoot; for the rest, LR is enough. However, for those I print, sell, publish, or show in an exhibit, that 15% goes up to 95%. PS lets me attend to detail.

The biggest advantage to PS is layers. I had PS on my computer for several years before I used it for anything more than combining frames for HDR or panoramas, and removing telephone poles, because I simply didn't grasp the concept of layers. Once I got my mind wrapped around layers, PS sort of opened up its magic doors for me. Using layers makes the adjustments we attempt in the Targeted Adjustment section of LR so much more precise and detailed.

I use quite a few plugins but use them all via PS rather than going directly into them from LR. Having a plugin effect on one single layer lets me decide very precisely where in the image I want that plugin effect to show up, and how much. Any effect, from sharpening to blurring to Topaz or Nik effects can be isolated to as big or small an area as you want. My advice would be to attack the Layers concept first, then learn the rest of the photography tools one tool at a time. And remember that many of the tools you see on the interface are for graphic artists rather than photographers and you'll likely never need them.

Jeffers

All Adobe products are Keyboard centric, meaning that you have to learn some basic keystrokes just to get going. Anyone who is used to Menu centric apps from Microsoft, Google and others will struggle. Here's a link to Adobe's website containing the keyboard commands: https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/using/default-keyboard-shortcuts.html

Fotoartist Loc: Detroit, Michigan

I know Photoshop but am intimidated about learning eBay.

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

Feiertag, my belief is that people find PS so intimidating because they try to do too much too early on. I've been using PS for about 15 years and I'm still learning new processes and techniques. It takes time and that's what a lot of folks don't want to spend. Too many want to "do" without reading. It is too tempting to just open a photo, more than likely a jpg, and start moving sliders and adjustments around without understanding what each does and the consequences.

My guess is my background tends to point me in an investigative direction. Few of us remember. But, just learning to walk and navigate from where we are to where we want to be was a pretty long period of time. That time included a fair amount of missteps and falls. But we eventually learned to walk without the intense amount of concentration it took. PS is the same way. Slow down, learn each step of the process and practice. Also, understand each step and what it does. You'll do just fine.
--Bob

Wuligal Loc: Slippery Rock, Pa.

For me PS is an adventure....a new surprise around every click of the mouse. I still get excited when I discover a new way to use a tool or an easier way to accomplish a task. Best of all, PS is indestructible. Just enjoy, enjoy, enjoy.

mborn Loc: Massachusetts

Right on. I started with basic and then kept learning and added too my skill set

weh38

Photoshop is not only powerful but it can do just about anything. As with anything, we have to first learn to use it. There are hundreds, if not thousands of FREE, well illustrated photoshop tutorials available including ones for beginners. Pick one and practice and you will see how much fun it can be. Earl

bpulv Loc: Buena Park, CA

Not true. I seldom use keyboard shortcuts and do most operations with the trackpad on my iMac.