dborengasser

Thanks Linda - Haven't been there but I've come to expect helpful information From Maine

Wags Loc: Mequon, WI

There is a Youtube Channel that I have just found that has been very helpful in getting me started in understanding Photoshop: Photos in Color.

Start with "(Part 1) What is Photoshop" and then "(Part 2) Photoshop Quickstart Guide.) It has over 300,000 subscribers. You might want to give that a try>

Bobspez Loc: Southern NJ, USA

I believe the OP has Photoshop and is asking for advice on how and what to learn. Actually pirated CS6 is available on torrents for free if people know how to get them and safely install them. Pirated CS6 is what made Adobe a world leader in software.

I do know what I'm missing with layers because I took the time to learn them and decided I didn't need to use them.

My method of post processing will work for anyone who uses Photoshop. I think the idea that you have to use layers is what keeps many people away from Photoshop.

Years ago I learned to do a lot of the mechanical work on my cars. I bought the shop manuals, I scoured the junk yard for parts and did my own repairs. I really learned a lot about cars and saved a lot of money, but I never told anyone they didn't know what they were missing by not doing that.

steveg48

Phlearn is good but not free. It is a subscription service. They do have free videos on YouTube

PhotosBySteve

👍👍👍👍

Jonathan

ALL: Thanks so much for the guidance. Library doesn't have access to Lynda.com so I will take it slowly as suggested. Not to belabor the issue but I notice that courses in GIMP are offered. I have GIMP but could not teach myself very well. Canon DPP - I was able to learn. Does starting over with GIMP make sense?

The Goal: Getting as proficient digitally (including using my Canon Pro 100 "darkroom developer") as I was with 40+ years in the darkroom--actually I'd be happy to be as proficient as I was in my home darkroom and working in a pro lab for a couple of years Circa 1972- 74. So the question is where to devote the time, not a money question: Should I learn Photoshop?

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

Only if you want to do more advanced work and use layers in my opinion. Otherwise image management and most adjustments can be done in Lightroom in my experience.

jcryan Loc: Las Terrenas, Dominican Republic

If you haven't entirely given up on GIMP there are some excellent YouTube videos out there. One that stands out is the Davies Media Design channel, but there are many others. Find one that best matches your own learning style. My reason for this suggestion is that you are already part way up the learning curve. You would be essentially starting back at zero including unlearning the things you already do well.

I would recommend looking for tutorials that focus on basic workflows for different situations, then move on to the particular details of the specific modules you use most. Set small goals and celebrate you successes!

Best of luck!
JC

artBob Loc: Near Chicago

Take the community college course, for two reasons. First they will cover the basics, so you don't have to sort out the basics from all the other tutorials. Having the basics, you can to move on to tutorials AS YOU NEED them. Express or record what you want. If you do not know how to emphasize or "fix" or create something you need for your photo, goggle that. You will thus build up a set of useful tools.

The second reason is that, especially starting, having 20 other people learning, having problems, and helping each other is a great way for us humans to learn, likely the quickest and most productive.

Good luck!

47greyfox Loc: on the edge of the Colorado front range

Besides previously mentioned Lynda.Com and Morganti's YouTube video, another is CreativeLive.Com. Not inexpensive but once you register at the website, sales are frequent.

BillGroves

My experience is similar to yours. My wife and I are our churches photographers. We sit in the front row and photograph the service. We give the most attention to the pastor and all of the members who take an active part in the service. We also photograph special events like the church's annual Trunk Or Treat program, and the different things our volunteers do to help people in need in our community.

We take a lot of photographs and I want them to be pleasing. I don't have time to do a lot of photo shopping so I usually crop as needed, auto contrast, auto color correcting, sharpening, auto haze reduction, and then tweak the lighting, and color settings. This usually less than five minutes per photo. I also have never used layers.

The lighting in our church is not very bright and there is a huge stained glass window behind the alter so many of pour photos are back lighted. Using the auto haze reduction feature is a big help in producing better images in that situation.

artBob Loc: Near Chicago

Yes, subscribe to Photoshop. How did you (and I) learn wet photography? Buy Photoshop and do that. After 25 years of darkroom, I started with Photoshop. Can do everything there I did in a darkroom, only faster. Can do much more. (No one can tell you what you will want to do. Get Photoshop, because it is the tool with the most potential.)

I have seen literally hundreds of young photographers take off in Photoshop. (At the college where I taught, they were required to take a darkroom course as a prerequisite for digital.)

With your background, the learning curve will not be as steep. But, boy, will you have a grand time!

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Ignoring the idea to obtain pirated CS6 software, seeking to use / learn PS involves a new $10 / month subscription. Honestly, if you've already started with GIMP and you've found free training available and useful, why not continue there? The power and complexity of GIMP will be similar to beginning to learn and use PhotoShop and / or Lightroom.

Do you want to learn and use the market-leading, subscription based digital editing software? Learning / mastering GIMP or the Adobe software is a worthwhile effort for your photography. As the market leader, Adobe has numerous free-video instruction from their site. Beyond the training section of the Adobe site, utube is widely supplied with both free and fee-based video training, where many people have created businesses based on developing video-based training for the Adobe products. A 5- to 3-second advertisement hopefully isn't too high of a 'cost' to access the free videos. The GIMP videos are nearly as extensive on utube. When the presentation goes to fast, just pause and back-up 30-seconds or whatever and repeat to 'slow' the topic down.

sodapop Loc: Bel Air, MD

Lynda is free via many community libraries

10MPlayer Loc: California

Photoshop CC and Lightroom come in a single package for 9.99 a month. You always have the latest and greatest and you can store all your pictures on your own hard drive. No need to keep it in the cloud unless you want to. Nothing to be afraid of. Read the fine print though. I believe there is a minimum term of one year unless they changed it. I have used it for a couple of years and it's fine.