OK so I am trying to enter into the digital world of photo enhancement...RighT!
OK so what do I do?? I have Adobe photo shop.... Hate it! Tried the Gimp...ahh so confusing! and some other one I don't even know...
but then I found Picasa....lovely Picasa. A free down load and so simple to use but...missing some key elements
so now I sit here saying to myself...if you want to run with the big dogs...you got to get off the porch...
So do any of you lovely, smart people know of any editing programs that are simple yet nice =) Like me...lol... j/k.
I want to be able to sharpen, enhance color, take out funny things that shouldn't be there. and put boarders on and my name in the corner of photos.
I don't need all the advanced crap cause I can't figure it out!! I'm not that educated

I really need some direction. This world just has to many choices and I don't know where to turn! But darn it! I'm gunna figure it out!

Take the time to learn PS... Or get hooked up with someone to show you the ropes. You WILL not regret it.

(...pouting...)
I know...
I know but....
I...
just want this to be easy

by the way your photos Rock! I checked out your website

PAINT SHOP PRO will help you.

Photoshop.

it's not "easy" that way though - nothing is as simple as walking in & being great at something. anyone who's any good puts in the time to learn it. you can self teach, take a class, anything, but if you truly want to do "photo enhancement" you eventually need to do PS or PSP (paint shop pro by jasc)

Doesn't everyone?

That's why I've spent years perfecting my skills... if anyone could do it... then none of us would have jobs.

Good luck to you.

~bobbi+

.. take a PS class at a community college.
it takes time to get PS but once you do you will love it!!!
sf

I highly recommend getting the book "Photoshop for Digital Photographers" by Scott Kelby. That book is fantastic to help you learn to do those things. And lots and lots of practice.

+1 *side note* Steven.. Your avi is scary... All you need to do is lose the goatee tilt your head down a bit and put 2 automatic .45's across your chest and... Hitman!! LOL!

Steff... Seriously, dig into PS, if you need any help OSP is open 24-7... Matt is here 23 of those 24...
If you need a hand shoot me a PM
Thanks for the kudos!!

Oooooo-K.

So ya-all think Photo Shop is the BEST! Best-est of the best.
I have a friend that I could PAY to teach me.
she went to graphic design school.

I just have to -do- it.
I thank you all for telling me what I DON'T WANT to hear!

I really am a hard worker. I just see everyone's beautiful photos and I want it yesterday. I just love it so much.

But if there are some programs to help me in the mean time (while I learn PS) I would appricate the heads up

You're correct Matt - I was pointing her to PSP for the sake of an inexpensive and easier to learn alternative to PS. You still have to force yourself to play with it and learn the features.

That's how I started and use PSP still for the majority of my work (outside of LR of course.)

Took me a weekend of playing around in PSP7 to really get the hang of it.
Plus, they used to bundle a video tutorial with the program... not sure if they still do that. I haven't upgraded past v9.


Remember Stephanie - it's just 1's & 0's it's not like you can really hurt anything by playing around with it.

well... Its the truth...
There are some nights where I cant sleep and I get up plop down in the office and whos on?

Matt.

best thing I ever did was buy scott kelby's photoshop books. photoshop for photographers or something like that.

I'm gunna give it a try! thanx!

yes yes it is I am working on horns for my avi

thanks
sf

you guys are funny =)

..........................................................

Ya I'm gunna try that book out! I don't have any yet and that seem like a good place to start!

Speaking of books, I got Digital Wedding Photography by Paul Gero (?) last year...
It's geared toward PS CS rather than CS3 though. But GREAT cheap tool to learn the basics though. VERY easy to read.

And the europeans & aussies.

yep. the diffrence is they sleep during the day when we are out and about...
you?
no.. Matt no need sleep...

Must be on osp and squish the bug in the system...


Dude.. I swear... You are ALWAYS here... And thats not a bad thing.. I guess.. *grin*
I know I'm here at least 5 hrd a day the page might be buried in other windows but I am on most of the time.

Have you seen images of Matt's model, Mandy?
Maybe Matt is a robot?

go to the PPA website and look for any school that has Al Audleman teaching his PhotoShop class. Al is the best at teaching beginners to use PS.


Here's a link to the Florida School page on Al.

LOL!!! I remember that!!
Wasn't he working his off Camera lighting out? LOL!!

Steff...I am still getting the hang of PhotoShop as well...a couple tidbits for you...

1. LightRoom - it is a souped up Picassa and an easier tool to learn than Photoshop
2. Lynda.com - $25/mo to WATCH tutorials on how to do stuff. Sure, I am still confused, but I learned a couple things just from the freebies.

Nothing worth having is easy...

I second lynda.com's photoshop tutorials...do the one month thing and watch the Photoshop for digital photographers movies and I promise you will learn a lot.

1. Photoshop is NOT easy by any means. Until you learn it.

2. Take a photoshop class at a community college. Take two or three, in fact. I took two and never learned what I needed to know... except how to learn photoshop. And guess what? Now I know how to do anything I want, or at least how to find the tools to do so, then figure it out from there.

3. Experiment, Practice, and Experiment some more.

'Nuff said.

We were all beginners once... hang in there.

+1!

Why start learning PSP when you'll probably only just end up needing to learn PS? That seems like twice the amount of work to me. If I were you, I'd jump in head first and start learning the one that the majority of "big dogs" here are using.

Not true. It was an easy lane switch for me. In fact, it was easier (for me) to learn PSP and then move over one lane to PS.

Oh, Aussies..... I see..... is that what you think of me...... I ain't no criminal *pouts*

I think if you jump into Lightroom you will get a lot of the immediate results you would like much faster. It took me about an hour to get the hang of it, but then again I've been using Photoshop for 10+ years, so I'm sure a lot of that knowledge transferred over to that learning curve. I do 80% of my editing in Lightroom and then just fine-tune in Photoshop.

However, there is just no substitute for Photoshop in my book. You don't have to know everything it does, just what it can do for your needs. Look past what you need right now in your business to a few years down the road. Invest in your future success. Knowing Photoshop will allow you to make amazing prints, clean up stock photos (should you want to branch out that way) and give you a great, great knowledge of your images and what makes them great or terrible. You will never have more time to learn it than you do now.

The previous posters are right - there is no quick fix. But once you learn the software, the limits are only your own exploration. Don't be afraid of it- you can always "undo" or "revert to saved".

I would get the books they have mentioned, all are great, and sit down with your computer and some images for a week and figure it out. For me, learning software in a class never worked because I was always impatient and frustrated. But I taught myself all of the CS applications by just jumping in with some books to guide me.

Good Luck!

Hey Brent.. bout time you chimed in!! LOL

Maybe this is cheating, but I got a LOT better at photoshop after I purchased some actions and could SEE what was being done in order to achieve different effects... I too was really really impatient...and I learned a lot really fast by using and studying actions...

ok... so I checked out light room and Corel Paint Shop Pro. Thank you! I knew you were lovely people =) It was exactly what I was hopeing for.

So this will help me out with my current photos and tide me over while I delve deep into the crazy world of PS or PSP....

And I will order the book from amazon very soon! I have been looking at many books on line and just have not been able to make up my mind.

But I am totally inspired to move forward.

I'm excited!X! ...and done pouting now. You rock!

this book makes PS sooo easy

Johnny and I will both tell you Paint Shop Pro. We both use that program extensively. A few months back, because if lack of tutorials with current versions of PSP, I built this:

http://www.paintshopispro.com

PSP is by far much easier to navigate, and more intuitive. ( I just love that, right click to set source for clone..instead of pressing ALT, then clicking in PS...ugghh).

My ONLY complaint about PSP is its a little slow, and PS has them beat on that. It opens and saves on an average of 1.4 seconds slower than PS does.

On a side note, I bought PS a year ago, and have opened it just a few times.

This goes along with the whole...."you use a 400D?"..yes....and I also use PSP...does that make me less professional?

No.

Its just what works for you, and that's the most important part!

*Edit*
Another little nuisance...PSP doesnt have Lab Mode like PS does! So, if I ever want to selectively sharpen the red channel...its got to be in PS.

Hope this helps!

Oh...and I though this would be appropriate right about now!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWtGXTxlyw0

I have been using Photoshop for over eight years now and I still don't know everything. At first layers, levels and all that jazz was very confusing and I'd end up bursting into tears after all of the frustration.

I'm now pretty confident with it and can even understand calculations...to a degree...

I would suggest that you take the time to learn photoshop, it's an industry standard and most of the photographic community is geared towards photoshop so in reality it's the best option.

There are so many sites, courses and various podcasts out there to help you learn.

www.retouchpro.com is great also www.photowalkthrough.com as well. If you have itunes do a search for photoshop photography tutorials and a million and one will come up. My podcast covers photoshop but it is for advanced users rather than beginners, you can have a look if you like: http://digitaltouchup.blogspot.com

Taking the time to learn something thoroughly as possible is never time wasted

The decision to use PS shouldnt me made on the fact that people say its the "industry standard."

I could go on about this, because there are 3 things I am very passionate about;

1. I DO shoot professional with a 400D
2. I DO post processing if needed with PSP
3. I looooooove corndogs!

Corn dogs ROCK man

Well your photos are WoNdeRfuL! so I would definitely agree with you!

.....and I'm glad somebody like corndogs! lol

Nick... I have to disagree with you...
It can't be just ANY corndog.. take Frozen microwave corndogs for example.
I'd rather step in the ring with Mike Tyson than eat those... YUK!!
Corndogs have to be DEEP fried... Like turkeys.. and chicken... and corn... and.. well.. everything... everything tastes better deep fried.

Mike....totally agree with you...but if it ain't got honey batter, than I ain't eatin it!

Ever had a Fletcher's corndog at the state fair? The Best!!

I'm not sure about other state fairs but the Texas state fair invented the corndog. That's where its at!! Even though that honey batter sounds pretty good.

http://lynda.com/
http://kubotaworkshops.com/store/cart.php?...CFQw3YQodG2uY1A
http://www.russellbrown.com/tips_tech.html
http://private.amorphiaphotography.com/sarah/index.html
http://www.craigsactions.com/Tips/SurferGirlRT1.html
http://www.creativetechs.com/tips/tip_reso...hop-Techniques/
http://www.boutwellstudio.com/site/index.php
http://mattantonino.com//index.php?option=...9&Itemid=32
Most basic
http://www.littlephotoshopforum.com/


i have a link fetish

Plus tons of free podcasts. Just search photoshop in iTunes under podcasts.

Holy crappity!!

Dude...I have the habit of bookmarking EVERYthing..then am forced to go clean it out every month!

@chetbell....your right on! I was born in raised in TX! Yeee haw!

If you can find some kind soul to help you with the basics, photoshop will BLOW your mind. the possiblities are endless and I practically hyperventilate when I discover something new it a can do.

this is coming from a NON computer, NON techie, NON anything electronic person. I freaking LOVE photoshop!! But I had someone who was willing to walk me through each "issue" as it popped up. thats crucial.

All great advice above Steph.

Also, don't forget about the good ole YOUTUBE, type in photoshop, there's alot of basic stuff that peeps are kind enough to share. Gotta love YOUTUBE ! and corndogs.