NAAP membership worthwhile?

[dtrayers]

I was browsing in a mall bookstore the other day and they had a copy of Photoshop User in the magazine rack. I bought one and was very impressed.

It seems the only way to subscribe is to join the National Association of Photoshop Professionals (NAPP).

I just use Photoshop for personal use, but I use it a lot.

Membership has other benefits, like free shipping from B&H and special deals from Dell.

I'm inclined to buy a membership, but I was curious how many other folks here have joined.

[maderito]

I joined about 6 months ago. The magazine is good with first rate contibutors (Scott Kelby, the editor, Deke McClelland, etc). The free B&H shipping benefit is great and more than justifies the cost of membership.

My only very mild objection is that the magazine sometimes reads llike a long-winded advertisement for Adobe Photoshop CS.

And you get a membership card. 8)

[G3]

I've been a member for a couple of years now. I have taken advantage of some of the seminars they offer. To me it is well worth the money and I can write off the membership cost anyway.

[mson]

How much is the membership?

[Conk]

How much is the membership?

$99.00
http://www.photoshopuser.com

[spaceman]

Would any of the info included with the membership be beneficial to PS Elements users? I'm not into web/graphic designing, so I just want to be proficient with the basics that Elements provides, or would the complete version of PS benefit me down the road (photography is just a hobby for me, not a profession).

Thanks,

Alan

[elbirth]

spaceman:
I've bought a few of the Photoshop User magazines myself, and from what I've noticed, they tend to be more geared towards the full blown version of Photoshop.
In your situation, I'd suggest looking for books specifically for Photoshop Elements, as they can help you more than something geared towards Photoshop itself. Also, being new, and wanting to know how to use PE for photography-based editing rather than web development, the stuff I've seen in the magazine may be slightly advanced for you anyway.

If you plan on getting deep into photography and editing in Photoshop, then I'd highly suggest you eventually upgrade to a complete version of Photoshop, as it has many features not found in Elements. For now I'd probably stay with Elements rather than spending even more money.... get your worth out of Elements and learn the ropes of it, then upgrade to Photoshop so the learning curve won't be quite as steep.

[spaceman]

Thanks so much for your input. I guess I will play around with Elements for a while and read a few books to get the hang of it.

alan


spaceman:
I've bought a few of the Photoshop User magazines myself, and from what I've noticed, they tend to be more geared towards the full blown version of Photoshop.
In your situation, I'd suggest looking for books specifically for Photoshop Elements, as they can help you more than something geared towards Photoshop itself. Also, being new, and wanting to know how to use PE for photography-based editing rather than web development, the stuff I've seen in the magazine may be slightly advanced for you anyway.

If you plan on getting deep into photography and editing in Photoshop, then I'd highly suggest you eventually upgrade to a complete version of Photoshop, as it has many features not found in Elements. For now I'd probably stay with Elements rather than spending even more money.... get your worth out of Elements and learn the ropes of it, then upgrade to Photoshop so the learning curve won't be quite as steep.

[PhotosGuy]

I have some students that would like to buy PSCS, but have a problem coming up with the $s even at the student rate.
Somewhere I saw info that suggested that it's possible to get Elements for $50 & upgrade to CS from there. I lost the link. :cry:
Can anyone point me in the right direction to save them some $s?
Thanks.

edit:
Nuts! There it was at
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=19876&highlight=ps+cs+upgrade

If anyone has any new info on the subject, please post it there.
Thanks again.

[Qurlyjoe]

I joined NAPP a week or two ago, primarily because I can't find the magazine consistently in stores here, and have found several helpful ideas in each issue I've seen. The member discounts weren't terribly attractive, but I ordered something from BH yesterday and not only did I get free shipping but the stuff arrived today! Less than 24 hours after I ordered it. I've bought stuff from them before, mind you, over the web, but I never got next-day service.

I don't know if that had anything to do with being a NAPP member, but the free shipping was a good deal by itself in this case.