Best way to master Photoshop

[msvirick]

This question is for the pros there who have mastered Photoshop. What is the best way to do the same?

[AliasMoze]

Get a good book, like THE PHOTOSHOP BIBLE. I started with version 2.0 way back when, and I didn't pick up a book until version 4 or so. But when I did, I was amazed at what I didn't know and how much time I would have saved had I just read a good book.

Photoshop is a very deep program, and its applications are varied. For photographers, there is a huge and growing list of methods for working with photos, and you can pick up allot from just searching the web or photo.net (or this board).

[PhotoAZ]

Keep working with it. There are many ways to master Photoshop. Some colleges do offer courses in Photoshop but most cases these are taken right out the Adobe Classroom in a Book. The better ones are taught by people who really care about teaching Photoshop. This is an hit and miss but check some out.

You can go the self study route but this requires more research and a little study time. The Photoshop Bible is good but is written for those with at least four years of working with Photoshop and geared toward those who enjoy sitting in a dark room with square eyes from too much time in front of a monitor. Books that I have found geared toward more normal people are Vaster Visually Photoshop 7, The Photoshop Book for Digital Photographers by Scott Kelby, Photoshop 7 Down and Dirty Tricks by Scott Kelby, Photoshop Restoration and Retouching by Katrin Eismann (2nd Edition), and for when you gain a greater understanding of Photoshop a wonderful book is Adobe Photoshop 7.0 for Photographers by Martin Evening. Still a little bit more heavy lifting than other books like Photoshop for Dummies but a great reference book.

Many of these books also come with a CD of images and sometimes Actions and settings to make your life easier.

The last route is to find a mentor. Someone who walk you though different setups, image fixes, and ideas. Some may be local and some may by way of the internet. Email me if you would like more information how to get in touch with people like this. Some do charge for this service while others are a bit more altruistic.

[Conk]

I agree with what has been said here. What I will add though is that because it is such a huge program if you are using it for personal use (like I do) then you may find yourself referring back to the books to do something you learned 6 months ago. If you use this program for a living then you will apply so many processes all the time keeping them fresh to memory.

[w10d]

The above is all good advice - there is no better way than to practice as much as you can, with a good book to guide you. Which book depends on your level of knowledge and personal preference. Martin Evening's book is particuarly good as it is written for photographers (so its not full of neat ways to produce special effects on type!).

Loads of online resources: some great tutorials and e-mail lists. A google search will probably keep you busy till you decide on a book...

1 Tip: Start learning the keyboard shortcuts for anything you do frequently, it'll be worth it in the end.

[vulcanpimp]

how about this page on my website. it shows simple techniques all using short cut keys.

http://www.geocities.com/hairybobby2000/photo1.html