Help the newbie...PLEASE?

[Shetography]

Okay so here is my dilema. I can take a nice photo but cant edit it myself. i have PSCS2...but don't know how to use it(I know,looking for a class):confused:

Okay so I know someone who know his way around PS and said he would work on pics for me but how much should I pay him? He asked me how much do I charge and he would base it on that. I know I need to learn for myself, especially before I buy Light Room. Just learning how to shoot raw and find that i like it a lot but feel saddened that i am PS illeterate.

1. how much should i pay him to work on Pics? Hourly rate or percentage of what I charge for pics?

2. can I use Light Room alone to enhance pics or do i need PS?

I appreciate all the help.

[Mike McCusker]

Get lightroom the learning curve is no where near as steep as PS. I use Lightroom for most of my processing and only switch to PS3 for very specific changes.

[tim]

Get the Scott Kelby book linked from the book thread in my sig, it will help a lot.

[Phil Light]

Get the Scott Kelby book linked from the book thread in my sig, it will help a lot.

I have yet to buy a book by Scott Kelby that I didn't think was excellent!

[PixelMagic]

In all honesty if you want to learn how to retouch you have to go where retouchers hang out. Although this site will probably claim differently, its is primarily a photography-centric site. No doubt you notice that very little retouching actually occurs in this forum and the limits placed on attachments mean that hi-res photos can't be embedded in posts. (links are possible).

One of the best sites to learn retouching is here: DPReview Retouching Forum (http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/forum.asp?forum=1006). You'd be hard pressed to find a nicer, more helpful bunch of people. Read what they post; practice on the images posted and soon you will be reasonably competent. You will learn much more from other retouchers than from any book or video.


Okay so here is my dilema. I can take a nice photo but cant edit it myself. i have PSCS2...but don't know how to use it(I know,looking for a class):confused:

Okay so I know someone who know his way around PS and said he would work on pics for me but how much should I pay him? He asked me how much do I charge and he would base it on that. I know I need to learn for myself, especially before I buy Light Room. Just learning how to shoot raw and find that i like it a lot but feel saddened that i am PS illeterate.

1. how much should i pay him to work on Pics? Hourly rate or percentage of what I charge for pics?

2. can I use Light Room alone to enhance pics or do i need PS?

I appreciate all the help.

[tim]

Retouching is generally not required, at least not for me. I agree if that's what you want to know then there are better places to learn it - though books and practice are essential. Most photographers probably want to know how to do the basics, like fixing brightness, color, contrast, etc. The Scott Kelby book in my book thread, in conjunction with the RAW book will tell you most of what you need to know.

[S.E.V.]

Get lightroom the learning curve is no where near as steep as PS. I use Lightroom for most of my processing and only switch to PS3 for very specific changes.

Same here, go buy a book and learn, LR is so damn simple to edit with. What type of editing are you looking for in the photos? color enhancement? special effects? or a simple sharpening and make it pop a tad?

[Shetography]

Same here, go buy a book and learn, LR is so damn simple to edit with. What type of editing are you looking for in the photos? color enhancement? special effects? or a simple sharpening and make it pop a tad?


I am looking to learn how to do all of the above... mot so much special effects...thanks for all the advice and help it is very much appreciated! I really love and would like to learn how to make th color pop as I have seen some of you do on this forum,,,

[S.E.V.]

I am looking to learn how to do all of the above... mot so much special effects...thanks for all the advice and help it is very much appreciated! I really love and would like to learn how to make th color pop as I have seen some of you do on this forum,,,


The easiest way would probably be the Lightroom route. You can create simple presets and then up the color levels and make the images pop. Export in jpeg, tif, dng. etc..... Resize on export and all sorts of goodies. It is fast simple and very very easy.;)

[Shetography]

Thanks S.E.V,

I am going to download the free trial first and get some practice in.... I :pappreciate your input.

[Nouks]

Well, you've got PSCS2. Why not read some basic tutorials on basic color and brightness corrections and try it yourself? The only way to learn how to do it is by actually doing it (and eventually being taught), not by letting someone else editing your photos.

It might not be necessary to do really difficult editing and getting familiar with for example curving and levels is essential and not too difficult I guess.

[S.E.V.]

Well, you've got PSCS2. Why not read some basic tutorials on basic color and brightness corrections and try it yourself? The only way to learn how to do it is by actually doing it (and eventually being taught), not by letting someone else editing your photos.

It might not be necessary to do really difficult editing and getting familiar with for example curving and levels is essential and not too difficult I guess.


I think he might be better off with lightroom. Having the color levels set the way they are in light room along with all the other levels on the right column in the design tab makes editing photos very very simple. But i would still say try to learn PSCS2 cause that program can do a lot more then lightroom can do. But for basic editing LR would be easier.