Jonathan

I have Canon's DPP, GIMP 2 and a few other programs but want to learn and use Photoshop. (So I am told, anyway!). There are numerous online courses and a few at the community collage. Which version of Photoshop should I purchase and what do you recommend for learning in addition to trial and error? Thank you all in advance.

rjaywallace Loc: Wisconsin

Adobe Photography Plan (Photoshop and Lightroom) $9.99/month

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

See if your local library has free access to lynda.com via their e-resources. If not, you can still try it for 30 days free. Some folks prefer learning via video and some via books or other written articles. With the lynda.com video courses I went through, there was text accompaniment (that can be copy/pasted to a doc) + each course was broken into small chapters for easy return and review.

Bobspez Loc: Southern NJ, USA

Look at some introductory videos on youtube. If there is something advanced you want to learn, it will probably be on youtube. I've been using Photoshop for years. Although I learned about layers, I quickly forgot what I learned as I don't use layers. Most of what I do in photoshop is on the image and filter tabs. Trial and error is how I learned.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

Learning Photoshop is like learning a new foreign language.

I suggest total immersion. Join a local photo club. There will be advanced shooters willing to work with the less advanced.

I suggest Anthony Morganti, Phlearn and others are free and helpful.

Most of challenge in learning Photoshop is learning what can be done in Photoshop. And then finding out that there are at least 15 ways to achieve a result, each with their nuances. You are embarking on a process - it will take a while. I have been using Photoshop since the mid-90's when they made it available for Windows. I still only know about 30% of what it can do. I use it for general image enhancement, fashion-type retouching and image repair and restoration. Otherwise, I could probably get away with knowing only 10% of what it can do.

lesdmd Loc: Middleton Wi via N.Y.C. & Cleveland

Using Photoshop without layers is like driving a Porsche at never more than 20mph. It will work, but there are easier and less expensive alternatives.
The beauty and power of Photoshop is the ability to make non-destructive, easily reversible changes in the original photo. And that is only a beginning if one wants to get into more creative, artistic, endeavors.

Bobspez Loc: Southern NJ, USA

Maybe, but I have never had a need to use them. Auto tone, Auto color, Auto contrast, cropping, creating panos, merging photos for focus stacking, tweaking contrast, brightness, hue, saturation, shadows, highlights, midtone contrast, gamma, unsharp mask, gaussian blur, correcting wide angle lens distortion, removing dust marks with the healing brush toool, dodging and burning, resizing and straightening pictures, all can be done without layers. It's all the things I use. Can I remove a fire hydrant from a photo without layers, probably not, but I don't need to do that. I just want to get the best picture I can in the least amount of time. I rarely spend more than a few minutes post processing a picture in Photoshop. All of the above is done with just a few mouse clicks or sliders. Once you learn it it's really quick to optimize any picture in Photoshop. It's all nondestructive if you change the name when you save, like adding ps1 to the picture name. An added bonus is if you use Premiere Pro to edit videos, all the same operations (and more) are available for video, used in much the same way. I've been using the CS6 suite for many years, so it doesn't cost me anything. After trying some of the newer CC trial versions, I have not seen any reason to upgrade.

lesdmd Loc: Middleton Wi via N.Y.C. & Cleveland

I think that Photoshop is available now only through subscription. That would mean an investment of $120 (per year) for the person who posted to be able to use the software. Assuming he wants Photoshop, and not one of the less expensive alternatives, and that he can no longer get CS6 on disk, your method of post processing will not work for him.

I think the key to what you want is quick efficiency (" I rarely spend more than a few minutes post processing a picture") and I would never criticize that. Personally, I rarely get the end result I see in my head without fine tuning many of the tools that you use. If I did not use layers I would have to save numerous versions of the original file, and come back to them many before I was finished. There are many other techniques, other than removing objects, which incidentally you can do on a single layer), that come with mastery of the complex software. You have to enjoy sitting by the computer to learn and enjoy them. Not for everybody On the other hand, you will never know what you are missing.

Satman Loc: Indy

Our local Camera Store Roberts has some excellent classes,
Scott Kelby has some on line classes,
Udemy has on line classes,
Learning is a never ending process

traderjohn Loc: New York City

I have had PS and LR for years. I think the $9.99 a month plan is a no brainer. I was laid up for about a month and thought this would be a good time to get to know and us PS. I bought a book and used youtube videos. I liked Phlearn the best. He had a good presence, spoke clearly and knew what he was talking about.
After about a week 3-4 hours a day not all at the same time I found another program. It is called; The McCallen. It's only 12 years old in comparison to PS. However, it is so much more rewarding and a lot more fulfilling. Cheers.

johnst1001a Loc: West Chester, Ohio

Youtube has tons of videos, but my learning curve was increased by simply using it a lot. Now i am proficient, at least for what I need.

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

I have the photographer's package that included Photoshop and Lightroom for about $10.00 a month. They offer EXCELLENT tutorials for each product. they are available after you load their products. As I said, they are excellent, one small step video at a time. Nicely done.
I took a class for Photoshop at a community college, it helped. It seems the more you study, the more you learn. They also have excellent tutorials on Utube.

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

Photoshop is quite powerful and the results one can achieve can be noteworthy. However, one needs to approach learning photoshop by learning a little at a time. I think most try to get too much too soon and that leads to confusion. Set a schedule to learn some aspect of processing and work on that until you own it. Then move on.
--Bob

Notorious T.O.D. Loc: Harrisburg, North Carolina

I like Laura Shoe training videos for both Lightroom and Photoshop. Most of what I need to do is in Lightroom though...

droszel

My recommendation is to find a tutorial on the Lightroom catalogue before getting too far into what Lightroom can do for editing