Is there more to learn than ...

Hi everybody,
For top contributers and very active members (from whom we all the time get the greatest poats and help), is there more to learn (as tips) than what we can randomly discover on PS CS ?
one can be just amazed while browsing in the tips the "help"or "read me"options give. but you guys who are so used to PC CS, any reference book to make this more completer ? especially when reading the advantage of shooting raw and post processing unmodified data....
any "a must Know" tips?
thanks in advance
Khalid

Real World Photoshop is a must for any Photoshop library, IMO.

Some good sites with lots of tips:

http://www.russellbrow​n.com/body.html

http://www.adobeevange​lists.com/photoshop/in​dex.html

http://www.arraich.com​/intro.htm

http://www.rogercavana​gh.com/pstips.htm

You can virtually live the rest of your life attempting to learn Photoshop. It is truly amazing software that seems to have no end to what it can do.

Yah. I've been using it non-professionally for about 12 years. I figure that I might know 40% of it. If I'm lucky.

Yup. About the time you think you're getting to know it pretty good, you turn a corner and there lies an entirely new universe.

I have finally attained the level of conscious incompetence. That is, I now realize just how much about Photoshop I really don't know.

Mastery of Photoshop is not a substitute for skill as a photographer, but it is an incredibly powerful tool for achieving affects that are impossible with a camera. It really is the cornerstone of an artform entirely unto itself.

I can also recommend the Photoshop magazine. I never fail to learning useful things from there.

Thos.

Trying to "randomly learn" Photoshop CS won't even scratch the surface. Some of the tools and actions are not exactly intuitive in the way they work, especially as opposed to the names. What I mean is you can't necessarily tell what a tool does by it's name, and if you can figure out what it does, figuring out how to effectively use it is entirely another matter. For instance, the "unsharp mask". Not knowing what they do and trying to use them the way it "seems" they should be used will net you unpredictable and unexpected results at best.

It is possibly one of the most complex and flexible pieces of software on the planet. There are college courses to teach how to use it. The basic tutorials have more than 20 hours of instuction just to teach the very basics. Trying to learn from scratch on your own with no previous Photoshop experience is an exercise in futility and will very likely result in frustration and just giving up on it.

At the very least buy some books, such as those by Deke McClelland, Scott Kelby or Dave Cross. Buy some of the tutorials that include a book and CD, or one of the CD based tutorials by Deke McClelland. If at all possible, take some courses at your local University. There are some good ones under the Continuing Education programs.

You might consider joining NAPP. They offer some pretty good instructional opportunities also.

thanks for the links and advices
I should then be very happy with the 2% I know about (or I think I know)

Thanks guys, I've been browzing for some of your tips and I think I'll go
for Deke McClelland's Photoshop CS Bible, looks like I'll need to switch to part time labwork to afford time to go through

Or they come out with a new version!


Oh, as to tips, I would highly recommend NOT learning PS randomly. I remember getting stuck in a long quagmire because I was looking for tips and getting amazed at most of them. But I wasn't really *using* PS. So in many ways it was a waste of time.

As others have said, get a book, and take a picture. Process that picture according to the book. For certain things - sharpening as an example - look for tips just about that one thing - don't get distracted. Perform the tips comparing the different ways something can be done.

And always always always save your original, non-Photoshopped image. Then come back to it 6 months from now, and run it through Photoshop again. You'll be amazed - as the extent of YOUR knowledge.