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There are so many different kinds of
Photoshop CS/CS2 training
options that are out there..so how do you even start to
make sense of things and become an educated consumer?
If you want to understand what all of your options are as well as
see how each different option may or may not help you, you can
save a LOT of time and money...and it’s all here in this email.
I haven’t found any other place that is doing this, so I compiled it
together. Find the best training option that is right for you now
and in the future!
So let’s get started...
If you’re serious about achieving your creative or professional
career
goals or just want to learn Photoshop to realize your creative
graphics
potential, you know you’re going to have to make an investment in
your education...it’s just a given.
In fact, this is why so many people (your competitors) will spend
hundreds or thousands of US dollars educating themselves to get
a full foundational understanding JUST OF Photoshop and how to
apply it for professional usage.
And they do this WITHOUT question because they are SERIOUS
about their aspirations to earn an income or to use Photoshop to
realize their creative vision!
If you don’t find the right training solution based on your needs,
you’re not only going to potentially waste a lot of money but you
could be wasting a lot of time as well.
Throughout this you may find yourself realizing which options would
be worth looking into and which options are not worth pursuing now
based on your goals. So let’s get started..
You know about all of the free and fragmented tutorials that you
can easily find for free online (cool effects based)?
If you just keep searching for those (they can be addicting) you
could spend forever in an endless cycle that will NOT get you
where you REALLY want to be and will just keep wasting your
time; so it’s up to you to be aware of this and clear about it,
based
on your future aspirations.
I will talk a little bit more about those soon, but with that
said...
There are several different options you have if you want to
seriously
get a good foundational grounding in Photoshop so you are prepared
for your professional creative endeavors and/or ability to earn
income
from using Photoshop for applied purposes.
The most common one is of course ‘hands on’ classroom training.
There are several methods you could take to achieve a proficiency
of Photoshop but keep in mind that these training options are
naturally going to be a little more expensive.
Many Universities have courses within their curriculum that will
teach you Photoshop.
Of course you’d have to be enrolled or get enrolled in a University
and maybe focus on a computer or arts related program where
they’d happen to include Photoshop training.
There are some schools though that actually focus more on the
direct path that you might want to take such as Graphic design,
digital arts, multimedia, etc.
These schools have the advantage of a little more focused and
relevant training curriculum; although you still will probably have
to learn and study some things you don’t want to.
A degree can be a strong point on your resume if you want to
take the time to pursue that route.
In the advent of the internet age you can actually get a ‘college
level’ education online or correspond through the internet to
fulfill
your degree requirements.
You can find out when you’re doing your research which schools
offer correspondence or internet learning options.
Here is a list of design schools by state:
http://www.guidetodesignschools.com/index?input_program=445
http://www.graphicdesignschools.com
You could go for an Associate Degree from WestWood College
online (don’t have to travel to a campus). Here is what they have
to say from their website:
“Associate Degree - Graphic Design and Multimedia
This program is offered 100% online via distance learning. The
Graphic Design and Multimedia program prepares students for
entry-level jobs in the graphic design and multimedia industry.
Students learn to create effective designs that communicate visually
in both print and multimedia environments.The combination of
technical
and general education courses in the program helps students develop
skills in critical thinking, logic, communication, and problem
solving.
The program prepares graduates for positions as graphic designers,
production artists, web page designers, and multimedia designers
within
a diverse industry.”
http://www.westwood-college.net
With Thomson Education Direct you can earn your Associate in
Specialized Technology (AST) Degree in Graphic Design
http://www.educationdirect.com/graphicdesign/
Those are just a few options. If you’re seriously considering going
to a more general college anyways, just make sure that the degree
path you take includes some Photoshop in their media training
curriculum.
You could also choose a vocational school where you can focus
on different areas such as multimedia production and arts.
Vocational or ‘tech’ schools are a great option because they are
more focused and cutting edge than Universities generally are, for
the areas that you could specialize in.
You can find out about your regional or statewide vocational
schools and see if they offer Photoshop training. Keep in mind
that you will be working towards some degree or certification
from them in a generally focused field of study (not just
Photoshop).
See if a local technical school has the training you are looking for
such as a digital media production, communication or graphic arts.
The more and more you get ‘away’ from Photoshop itself, the more
hazy it may become in the big picture though; that’s why I
personally
like to focus on one thing and get really good at it without other
distractions or unnecessary expenses.
I don’t personally have a degree (3 years at University of Wisconsin
Madison in Communication Arts and then left), but fortunately that
isn’t a requirement in order to be an effective graphic designer,
digital
artist or desktop publisher.
I have developed my portfolio and skills to compete with the best
that
are out there pretty much so that I can get work if I look for it
because
I also know how to market my abilities. Make sure you read my
article on ‘how to increase your marketability.’
Remember, it’s not ‘required’ that you have a degree or
certification in
order to get work but in most traditional ‘job’ style situations
they DO
look upon that favorably, otherwise you’ll have to make up for it
with your portfolio and work experience (real world projects from
clients).
If it is your plan all along to get a college degree, great for you
because
there really isn’t a Photoshop College yet anyways. This is just
going to be a huge decision and investment on your part and you
will probably be in student debt for years (just a friendly
reminder!).
Schools like Full Sail in Orlando can be a great place to work on
your creative professional endeavors. Schools like this have a
lot of clout in the marketplace and consistently produce bright
and prepared students in different areas of multimedia production.
At Full Sail (located in Orlando, FL U.S.) you can get a Digital
Media
Associate of Science degree. This will include Photoshop training
but many other areas of multimedia production as well.
http://www.fullsail.com
If your focus is more just on Photoshop and not on the others
areas they would teach you, it may not be as focused as you
want. Just think about where you want to focus and what you want
to do. They can provide you with a great educational experience
and are cutting edge as their slogan is ‘Real World Education’.
This of course, is an investment of time and money and
perhaps, a major decision in your life. The associate degree can
be completed in 13 months. You’ll find that these kind of students
tend to be a little more ‘focused’ generally than most public
University students.
Indeed statistics show that most U.S. public University undergrads
keep changing their majors...part of this has to do with following
the
advice of their parents of getting a good job and education and the
company or government will take care of you, so people go the
traditional route with not really knowing themselves or what they
want (hey, it’s what I did).but, I’m not going to go to deep here on
my personal philosophy on this issue but times have changed.
If you’re going to college for a general degree, at least do it with
a purpose after much deep thought and reflection is what I would
recommend.
At least with a University program that is geared towards graphics
you could gain more of the specialty that you’re looking for.
Hardcore (creative) professionals will keep on learning and won’t
just expect a degree (whether they have it or not) to let them ride.
Today, you have to remain cutting edge and it helps to really
become a specialist and focus on your field of expertise to help
set yourself ahead.
Places like Full Sail allow a more focused setting where you can
become a specialist in digital media (vs. having to take all kinds
of
irrelevant courses in college).
However, wherever you’re at now, you can focus even more on
gaining the Photoshop skills you desire, whether you have a
University degree or not. Some of the most effective leaders
and artists in the world don’t have a degree at all.
If you’re going to secure a job or focus on freelancing and the
business end of Photoshop to earn an income you’re going to
have to learn some self promotional or marketing skills as
well to publicize your services.
You can get specific “Photoshop only” training if you want from
multimedia training centers in your region or city. Lots of larger
cities will have these. You can find them in your yellow pages
or in a local online directory.
Just try searching for ‘Adobe Photoshop Training’ followed by
your city (ie. ‘Adobe Photoshop Training Houston’) in google
search (http://www.google.com)
or another major search engine.
This way you can find on the internet places which will offer you
short courses in your area that you can get your proficiency in.
This is obviously a more focused atmosphere.
The training center will likely have qualified instructors and will
offer many other minicourses besides Photoshop to get you
operational.
These are plentiful in the U.S. and I know there are also many
throughout Europe that you can attend.
Note: These may also be called ‘(Photoshop) Workshops’..
Just make sure to get the details and find out what they are
covering
because a lot of ‘workshops (depending on the training center and
their curriculum and time they have will only cover a few topics.
With this method you would travel to a location that is (hopefully)
near you. The minicourses will usually last several days so you
will have to travel back and forth or even stay in a hotel if you
are coming in from afar.
Check to see that these places have ACI (Adobe Certified
Instructors). If they do, then you have a guaranteed assurance
of quality.
These training centers which will have their own name, can also
be called AATC (Adobe Authorized Training Centers) if Adobe has
granted them that right.
AATC’s are not officially working for Adobe but Adobe allows
qualified
people to train according to their recommended outline and
standards,
while giving their assurance of quality.
Unfortunately I couldn’t find a major list of AATC’s so just see if
the training centers you are looking in your area at have that
authorization (which would be a good sign).
Make sure that you learn from someone who is qualified to
teach you, whatever the case. If not an ACI, then try to find
someone
who is an Adobe Certified Expert in (ie.) Photoshop.
The difference between Certified Expert and ACI is that with the
ACI (a step above), someone has also passed an industry level
standard ‘teaching’ exam such as the ‘CompTIA CTT+’.
http://www.comptia.org/certification/ctt/default.asp
By learning from an ACE or ACI you be assured that you’re getting
the quality of information that you need to really get ahead and
learn
faster.
For foundational training this is pretty important and especially
if you’re paying quite a handsome fee in order to be trained by
them.
Usually they will allow you to look at their course curriculum,
costs,
and answer any questions you may have before you ‘enroll’.
An AATC center would probably be a little more helpful and up with
the times than a University might be (in my opinion) because they
are qualified trainers by Adobe themselves and the focus is more
specifically on the software program of your choice.
Going to a media learning/training center should would also be more
affordable than attending a vocational school, simply because of
the focus on the singular training course, yet can still add up
in price..just be sure to do your research as pricing will vary
across
different regions, countries and the centers themselves.
Remember that with these options, qualified trainers and staff have
to get paid so the costs per hour may make you uncomfortable (once
you know of the other options) because you may have to go into
student debt in order to afford them.
Be aware, (that Yes) you may have to get a loan just in order to
attend
the training. This is definitely true with all ‘degree’ environment
options as well.
These are all legitimate ways in which you can prepare yourself
for your endeavors. But there are other options you may want to
look into as well if we’re just talking about ‘Photoshop training’
or
maybe if you have that experience already OR even if you just want
to focus on the creative or photographic end of Photoshop alone.
There are one day ‘traveling’ seminars or ‘events’ put on which you
can attend NAPP has their “Adobe Photoshop Seminar Tour” in which
a well-known and experienced Photoshop trainer will hold a 6 hour or
so seminar class at a location somewhere in the U.S.
You can easily find out more about these training opportunities
at
http://www.photoshopseminars.com
In fact there are different focus areas, currently there is the
‘Down
& Dirty Tricks Tour’, the Photoshop for Photographers Tour, and
the ‘Photoshop CS2 Creativity Tour’.
These seminars may change every couple of months so be sure to
check it out online to see if one is coming somewhere near you.
There are several of these each year.
The cost is usually around $99 per 1 day seminar. And they are
kind of like mini ‘Photoshop Worlds’. Of course you can also network
with other enthusiasts at these events and exchange business cards.
Software-cinema also put on these one day traveling seminars.
They are called “Adobe Photoshop ‘training camp live’” seminars.
Here is the link where you can find out about their short seminars:
http://www.software-cinema.com/camps.php
These are a little bit cheaper at $49 for pre-registered online and
$75 at the door. Take a look at the list to see if one is near you
if you’re interested or just bookmark the page.
Their training is presented by the likes of Jack Davis or Eddie Tapp.
You can bring a laptop (don’t bring a desktop) if you want as well
and the training is meant for intermediate to advanced Photoshop
CS/2 users.
This means that if you already have a good proficiency, you will be
able to understand what they are saying and learn faster instead of
being bogged down the basics (I’ve seen people fall behind because
they didn’t know the basics at some classes in PhotoshopWorld).
They last from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. with a lunch break in there as
well...
so also about 6 hours.
Training Camp Live will go over various cool techniques to become
more productive with your digital image editing. I haven’t been to
one
personally yet but I’m sure they’re worth the decent price of
admission
because I’ve seen Jack Davis a few times and he’s worth his NAPP
hall of fame status.
Besides the travel expenses of getting to the closest one, these
seminars have a modest price tag (depending how you view it).. and
you will probably learn some new cool stuff.
However, you may go home feeling there is A LOT more to learn and
‘how long would it take to get a full proficiency if I just went to
these?’
Because they like to focus on specific areas and techniques, I’d
count
these as part of your continuing education. Most people that go are
already proficient Photoshop users (unless they just want to learn
cool tricks (depending on which seminar)).
There are also major seminars and conventions. Primarily,
PhotoshopWorld. I’ve been to 3 of these conferences. They are
held twice a year. Once on the West coast in the spring and
then on the East coast in the fall.
Cities have included New York, Miami, San Francisco, Las Vegas,
Orlando and Boston in September 2005. They are held at large
convention centers.
I highly recommend it if you are with Photoshop for the long haul
for your professional or creative endeavors. I really see it as a
part
of my continuing education and that’s what I’d recommend to you;
it’s great to keep learning more as it’s mostly intermediate through
advanced classes with focuses on specific aspects of Photoshop
or imaging...but
I wouldn’t recommend it as your tool of getting a foundational
grounding in Photoshop itself...most people who go to them are
already in the industry or starting out but already use Photoshop
fairly proficiently including many experts (I would hope they do).
Whether you’re an (aspiring) photographer, graphic designer,
desktop publisher, videographer, web designer or more, there is
always more to learn with Adobe Photoshop.
With major seminars, though I’d view it as a continuing education
resource and not something I’d get my grounding in. It’s so
scattered and the variety of classes is
awesome but won’t leave
you fulfilled if you’re looking for your grounding.
You could leave scatterbrained and in disparity if you didn’t
understand what they were talking about because you forgot to
cover the basics beforehand. You don’t want to feel left behind
or miss anything.
They run many classes at the same time and of course you can’t
go to them all (without your clones) but they DO give you a huge
book which has the basic content in for each of the classes taught.
You can learn a lot from this book but in no way does it cover
‘start
to finish’ everything.
PhotoshopWorld is a GREAT opportunity if you already have a good
proficiency and can afford the investment. Even if you’re new to
Photoshop though, I would recommend getting yourself up to speed
on at least the basics (through a different educational option), so
you
can comprehend what’s going on.
International attendees are welcome as well of course.
You can find out more information @
http://www.photoshopworld.com
When you become a NAPP member you will receive the monthly
issues of Photoshop User magazine and if you buy them at the
bookstore they will be more expensive but you have to be a member
to get the subscription. It’s $99/year for U.S. individuals but
check the
site for details because they have different pricing options.
There are other benefits as well. I recommend becoming a NAPP
member because it is a great ongoing Photoshop education:
You can also learn from Photoshop magazines. There aren’t too
many of them but it’s good that they are so focused specifically
on Photoshop; although you might want subscriptions to other
industry magazines that you might be interested in as well.
You can just browse at a good bookstore.
http://www.photoshopuser.com
Here is a magazine that focuses on the Mac end of Photoshop using
(not that there’s much of a difference in Photoshop itself though):
http://www.layersmagazine.com/
You can get a subscription from the website...it used to be called
“Mac Design” magazine but now focuses on Adobe products for
Mac.
and also
http://www.macdesignonline.com/
There is the option of trying to learn Photoshop by yourself. The
good news is that it’s FREE (once you already have Photoshop)...
but if you count your time as money it will get very expensive! This
is
how I started out and to make a long story short...I don’t recommend
it.
There’s too much to learn in Photoshop that you should REALLY
leverage off the knowledge of someone who is a professional who can
train you (in any of these formats you choose).
Otherwise you’ll just be wasting a lot of your time trying to figure
out
the tools and how they work when you can learn them MUCH faster
through these other methods and can spend your time achieving
digital results instead of wasting time.
If you know you need to (or want to ) LEARN Photoshop, then by
all means...do LEARN it! Don’t put yourself through the agony of
continuing to putz around here and there.
You can go FAR faster with the right training. Now we’ve seen
a lot of training methods that are really geared more towards
ongoing training (or institutional) rather than a more economical
complete comprehensive education.
What about just gaining that initial proficiency without the expense
of possible student loan debt to attend classroom training?...Well..
You could also Read through the Adobe Photoshop CS/2 manual
itself. Ok, but how many people do you know learn like that?
NASA scientists?
We’re visual people here who appreciate the digital realm of
possibility. Here’s what I have to say about the Help menu.
Yes, there is a ton of detailed information but,
Reference it for when you’re preparing for your ACE exam for more
advanced topics and that’s it. It’s not going to “SHOW YOU” how
things are done. The thing is so huge anyways, you’ll probably fall
asleep reading it (many times maybe).
A manual might really apply moreso to another field (of course Adobe
HAS to have a Help manual/guide) but there aren’t too many
screenshots
in the manual. This method would also take a lot of time and you
probably wouldn’t learn very effectively unless you’re one of those
rare special people...Houston, we have a volunteer.
How about learning for free online with Photoshop tutorials on a
web browser (the ones you read with text and screenshots)?
Great idea, just too bad that there aren’t too many people actually
teaching that way and also, more importantly there is just TOO
much to cover and learn...really.
That method takes content producers quite a long time sometimes
just to do a small tutorial and to really cover all of
Photoshop...well,
no one’s doing it. No one is that insane I guess.
But even I am limited...there’s no way I could cover it all unless I
took about 3 months at 100 hours per week to produce it and it
would be probably a 3,000 page PDF book or more for my step by
step formula.
You’re going to have to pay something for your education, put it
that way.
Of course you’ll see the special effect clone websites...perfect
for a cool, tricky treat Photoshop effect. These websites dominate
the Photoshop industry online. You may even get caught up in
their ‘freeness’.
I have a lot of subscribers that this is all they want and that’s
great...
they’re having a lot of surface fun but I know that their direction
isn’t
very serious either. In fact for a lot of them, if they have to pay
‘anything’ for something they’re out of there - no way..they can
find
their surface free tutorials in unlimited degree online.
In fact there are just so many of those like I said and even more
are popping up. They generate their income primarily from Google
adwords and advertising..I know how it works but advertisers soon
might realize their low ROI and then what? That’s another issue...
Like I said, it’s a cycle you can get caught up in but if you step
back
and look at the big picture and realize that you might actually be
serious about learning Photoshop for the greater things that you can
do with it, you might be ready to push that aside.
This is one extreme of the spectrum...while I do believe you can
learn
some cool techniques from just about any of these ‘cool’ websites,
just do yourself a favor and go through every single menu and option
in Photoshop itself and ask yourself if you know what it does and it
means.
Clone sites WILL NOT teach you this yet it’s a requirement to
understand it, if you take Photoshop and future real world jobs or
projects seriously.
Maybe this will keep you away from being stuck in a cycle if you are
now. Realize that there is so much to learn that none of those
tutorials come close to covering and educating you.
If you want to focus on creating Photoshop work that pays then you
might want to also check out my Madison Avenue advertising design
secrets to learn how actually create designs in Photoshop CS/2 that
SELL and that are in demand by hot clients worldwide.
http://www.tutorialstraining.com/solutions/advertisingdesign/tutorials.htm
Quite a difference from the free ‘no return’ clone tutorials. People
who are SERIOUS about their goals as far as learning Photoshop
to become a digital graphics specialist or creative professional and
looking to earn an income might only visit these ‘clone’ sites
occasionally if not at all.
Just view it in the perspective of where you want to be.
As far as the clone tutorials, there’s so many of them but trying to
learn ‘real Photoshop foundational skills’ from them is also a
losing
proposition even if there were tutorials out there like that, they
wouldn’t
add up to much if you put them together, so you can’t win there.
There’s another method of learning online which a few independent
producers have started doing. This is giving access to Photoshop
learning tutorials (actual videos) online.
This can be a decent option however you must be online of course
if their videos are streaming from another server AND due to
bandwidth
limitations even after they have your money, they just can’t cover
it all.
Software-Cinema offers ‘Workshops on Demand’ where you can
view video tutorials online (with Flash 7) for 3 months once you pay
the fee. Right now they only offer Photoshop CS2 for $59 with 3.5
hours of training (on the new features basically). You can access
the tutorials anytime 24/7 within the 3 months.
Now on that note...in the near future you might be able to actually
see video tutorials training online in a substantial quantity (hours
and hours worth of training), with a new secret technology which
I will not release here.
Be assured that I will be on top of the game when I am prepared
to offer my video tutorials training as a streaming online learning
solution for people!
It really takes about 20+ hours of actual focused video tutorials
training to go through complete Photoshop training. Anything
that you find out there that is less than that...
basically isn’t telling you everything, is just not covering certain
subjects and definitely isn’t going into enough detail on everything
it could. Just keep that in mind.
Make sure you find a program that goes in step by step detail in an
easy to understand manner.
Also use the general rule of thumb that each hour of video tutorials
training, you can expect to pay about $20 realistically.
So if you find a software-cinema Wow video tutorials training from
Jack
Davis for example and it tells you that it’s $125 you can work
backwards
and figure that it’s probably at the most 6 hours of training.
That’s just a general rule of thumb. In fact for video tutorials
training
Software-Cinema, Scott Kelby, Dave Cross (LearnKey), and
Deke Mcclelland (TotalTraining) offering Photoshop video tutorials
training.
There are only a handful of complete video tutorials training
programs
out there for Photoshop CS/CS2 and I offer one of them
(TutorialKey).
On a more ‘all inclusive’ training set of dvd’s you will normally
find a
discount on the per hour standard just due to the bulk amount of
training included.
In fact, my TutorialKey training is at a huge discount off of the
normal
$20/hour rate that you would pay for training. About 65% off! It’s
also
the single largest Photoshop CS/CS2 training program on the market
at 33 hours in length.
Remember I said it takes about 24 hours to completely cover the
training of fundamental (basic through advanced) Photoshop CS/2.
I’ve gone beyond that training and included hours and hours worth of
practical real world application bonuses in step by step ‘from
scratch’
tutorials that will really give you an edge in different areas of
Photoshop application.
I’ve included bonus lessons on restoration, retouching, advanced
compositing, hair selection, graphic design techniques, collages,
and much more. You can always find out more @
http://www.tutorialstraining.com/photoshop.htm
Deke McClelland has got some great video tutorials training for
Photoshop CS & CS2 with
http://www.totaltraining.com and to be
honest, I view that as my only ‘real’ competition (for complete
training
because there hardly are any others).
His Total Training program is first rate and I know that he has a
great
way of teaching that really makes it easy to understand and learn
Photoshop.
I guess the main difference between his training:
http://www.totaltraining.com/prod/adobe/photoshopcs2.asp
and my training:
http://www.tutorialstraining.com/photoshop.htm
is that his latest training is in Photoshop CS2 and mine is in
Photoshop CS with an additional bonus DVD on the Photoshop
CS2 features.
My TutorialKey training is still quite new and even though Photoshop
CS2 just came out when I was producing the program, I wanted to
produce the training in Photoshop CS on purpose because I know
that a lot of people in the U.S. and especially around the world
were
still using and getting used to Photoshop CS.
With the CS2 DVD I am able to cover the new features so you know
how to use them as well. Both of these training programs would give
you the foundational knowledge that you should have and are about
the same price now.
Deke’s Total Training is on 3 DVD’s while mine is on 13 DVD’s. His
is 21 hours and mine is 33 hours. The super difference between the
TutorialKey and the Total Training is that with mine, I throw in
about
6+ hours of additional ‘real world application’ bonus tutorials that
make the training worth the price alone.
This is what simply sets it apart from any other complete training
solution (including classroom style).
So, it’s just good for you to have options, know where you’re at
and know what your choices are.
Anything you can get from Dave Cross is great as well.
He used to have a complete Photoshop CS training solution with
LearnKey, but I just don’t see them offering it anymore (the quick
online tutorials instead). He had a great selections class that I
took at one of the PhotoshopWorlds.
Scott Kelby’s got a great easy to learn from personality and is
quite
popular; I recommend his videos as well but strictly for ongoing
continuing education.
http://www.photoshopvideos.com once again
Ben Willmore has some great specialized training videos which I
would recommend (even he’s not crazy enough to do a complete
Photoshop training session).
http://www.digitalmastery.com
Ben is the technical go to guy and I hope he comes out with more
offerings on video tutorials training. This guy is awesome! I
learned
a lot from him at PhotoshopWorlds. He’s the one who taught me
to use Curves.
So just keep those video tutorials training options in mind...think
about
whether you want a complete Photoshop CS/2 training solution (of
which
I recommend either Total Training or TutorialKey to everyone just to
have
as a back-up reference alone) or if you are at the point where you
can enjoy the many continuing education opportunities that are out
there.
Also it doesn’t hurt to get programs from different teachers either,
because you can see things from a different point of view as they
will approach their work differently. This can give you new insights
into how to use and apply Photoshop.
If you’re serious about your education, you’re going to have to
spend
some kind of money (remember you can’t get a real training online
or anywhere for free...unless you live in a library..and still pay
taxes..nm).
What other options to learning Photoshop when you know you should?
I have made access to FREE ‘web’ tutorials (I can’t even image
the level of bandwidth it would take with 33 hours of video
online...the
horror, the horror).
In fact you may have already enjoyed my online free Photoshop CS
tutorials but really they only touch a FRACTION of what you really
must know in order to be fully prepared and proficient.
Just keep this in mind and also consider that for free training on
the real Photoshop skills you should know, not many offer anymore
than I do for free online anyways. (I offer some free random, basic
Photoshop tutorials).
Most of the video tutorials training you’ll find for Photoshop
online
will be focused on a particular aspect of Photoshop and if you look
at it holistically, they just don’t add up to a full comprehensive
grounding in Photoshop CS/2, but then again they aren’t meant
to.
So before you start buying all kinds of $20/hr. videos (which are
pretty much all good from the sources I reference) make sure that
you have your basic or at least intermediate proficiency in
Photoshop
and that you are well versed.
Remember, those shorter video tutorials are perfect for continuing
education in Photoshop. Here are some of these websites that
specialize in specific areas of concentration (and not the complete
training):
http://www.photoshopvideos.com
http://www.software-cinema.com/disc_product_sub_categories.php
http://www.tutorialstraining.com/photoshop_video_tutorials.htm
I must reiterate that most of these (shorter) video training
solutions
are meant for a continuing education so just keep in mind where
you are really at with your Photoshop education because you could
easily find yourself buying more than you can handle or that you
are ready for really soon.
Now there may be other video tutorial training solutions out there
which you may have run across. Just try and make sure that you
will get the quality, value and expectations that you’re looking
for.
Also make sure that the trainer is someone who has a great deal
of experience with Photoshop or is an ACE or ACI which could
really be an additional deciding factor for you.
If a complete video tutorials training solution is priced too cheap,
there must be a reason for it. I used to sell my Basic Photoshop
(video tutorials training for Photoshop 7) at a quite low price and
sales were moderate but that was because my technical
standards were not up to part way back then.
My ability to teach now rivals up there with the best in the
business
as hundreds of testimonials will tell you. I’m a big believer in
improving oneself.
The
TutorialKey DVD’s are really a powerful training solution whose
technical and educational qualities offer a supreme level of value
and unlimited possibility for you to grow in Photoshop CS/2.
Take your education seriously but step by step, don’t overwhelm
yourself or even be intimidated by all the options..there’s always
more time to learn and grow in the future too.
Also remember that many people will spend $1,000USD’s just to
get their Photoshop general proficiency handled through learning
centers, vocational (job focused) schools or University and will
then move towards resources like these.
The ironic thing is that many people who went through the expensive
training can be great customers of a complete video training
solution
just to have everything all in one place to reference or as backup.
The right Photoshop video tutorials training does make a perfect
supplement to previous or concurrent classroom training and you
may even find that you are learning more from video tutorials
training
than from the classroom or college (really not that much of a
surprise):
“I had gone to basic Photoshop school and had not learned how to
understand masking. i took the masking with the gradiant tool and
showed it to my school instructor and he learned something new -
thank you very much for your training dvds”
-douglas miller (Dacts238@aol.com)
“I cannot even begin to fathom how much time & money you have
saved me in schooling & training, starting halfway to the finish
line is
a lot better than starting at the beginning with everybody else &
because of your training, thats I’ll be starting out ahead of the
crowd.”
-Brad W Gremba (MagikTrik1000@yahoo.com)
“..thanx i’m learnin alot more then i did at college”
-cary candelario (cary_designer@yahoo.com)
If you REALLY want to achieve your endeavors through Photoshop
you must have a solid foundational grounding. People can’t be
holding back information from you because you must know how to
use everything and be exposed to advanced, industry standard
techniques (which would be a great bonus that most of the training
options just don’t do).
So just keep the different educational options in mind and how much
you are willing to pay. Also remember that you’re going to have to
‘practernalize’ what you learn. I just made that word up and I think
you can figure out it means ‘practice to internalize’.
You could also try and learn Photoshop from books. I invested in
the really thick Photoshop 7 Bible from Deke McClelland a while
ago.
Put simply, books make a ‘great’ reference manual (can explain
things in a little more understandable way than the original Help
manual) and you can learn a lot from them.
There still not exactly going to show you ‘how’ to use and apply
Photoshop step by step. Still...they can be a reasonable cost
and worthy of adding to your collection.
Some books specialize in certain aspects of Photoshop. Katrin
Eismann’s book on advanced compositing would be a worthy
addition to your collection when you’re ready for it (keywords:
'when you’re ready for it'). You could browse on Amazon.com
Just know that there are resources out there to continue your
education once you have a good intermediate proficiency. And
if you’re there now go for it!
Scott Kelby publishes the “Down & Dirty Tricks” selection of
books and Jack Davis has his “Photoshop WOW” series. Go
to a good bookstore and you will find some books on Photoshop.
Scott Kelby won a major status as #1 computer book author.
That says a lot about Photoshop baby! Even he’s not crazy
enough to come out with a ‘complete’ training though.
Just keep in mind that if you are looking for complete proficiency,
reading a 1000 page book probably isn’t going to be your best option
unless you use it as a power reference manual.
Nor is reading some cool effects book, which is really like the
cherry
on top of the pie when you have to get the meat and potatoes first.
It would just spoil you to reverse the order.
Get a ‘quick fix’ with those or the clone sites and you won’t feel
right
inside; however, get your foundational proficiency (red beans &
rice)
and THEN get your dessert...hey...once you get your proficiency of
basic complete Photoshop skills down you can eat dessert ANYTIME
you’d like (and enjoy it too)!
You’ll find that seeing someone professional work in the Photoshop
environment itself, teaching you with every click of the mouse what
they are doing so you can see it, is an extremely effective way of
learning Photoshop..and with videos (unlike seminars) you can view
them over and over again.
So let’s rundown the options again of how you can learn Photoshop:
1. In a University
curriculum or Graphic Design oriented degree/
certification
program
2. At a vocational or
tech school
3. At a local or regional
Media Training Center (which could be
an AATC;
Adobe Authorized Training Center which has ACI
instructors)
~’Workshops’
4. Online resources &
sites
5. At one day traveling
seminars or events
6. At Photoshop World or
Mac World seminars
7. Learning it yourself
or reading through the Help manual
8. Online web
tutorials.....
10. Access websites directly
for video tutorials (still in it’s
infancy)
online learning
11. Books on Photoshop
12. Magazines
13. Video tutorials training
(CD or DVD)
By the way; video tutorials can either be on CD or DVD...with dvd
there
can be a lot more tutorials squeezed onto a disc. Most DVD’s can
play
worldwide on computer based (and t.v.) DVD players/drives.
Also, other Photoshop sites may specialize in tutorials foremost
(not
the foundational ones you need though) but can have downloadable
layer styles, .psd’s, brushes, plugin’s and other fun peripheral
stuff.
So just keep those educational options in mind and think about
where you are at right now and where you want to go.
If you have a good amount of experience maybe you might just
want a good resource that can be your reference guide sidekick to
fall back on (such as the Photoshop Bible or a good video tutorials
training program).
With those options, also remember that many of them require quite
a front-end commitment financially (or debt in the long run) and
also
a huge commitment of your busy lifestyle time.
It all depends where you’re at and where you want to go. If you’ve
already gotten pretty good at Photoshop but don’t know everything
that you should, it might be a good idea to get a resource that will
just have that covered for you as a backup reference...there’s
nothing
wrong with that.
You’ll feel better about doing that then sinking low in your chair
because
you thought you knew everything when you go to a conference.
You might realize you should have spent the time getting a good
solid
grounding..it does build your confidence too as you won’t be
intimidated
at all by the program.
Remember that a lot of the options are geared towards a more
‘continuing education’ level...options that are PERFECT for an
ongoing investment and improving of your skills once you reach
the point of proficiency and are already getting work and getting
paid (or extremely noticed). If you’re not ready for it, they
could confuse or overwhelm you.
Depending on what your choice or preference of work actually is
(because Photoshop really is just the means to your end), you
might just know that you have to get the technical stuff handled
before you can professionally improve, create and prepare your
artwork, photos, designs, scrapbooks, prints, templates,
stationery, etc. etc.
If you know you should learn the power tools that lie within
Photoshop to achieve your results then I just encourage you to
take action and commit to learning Photoshop to achieve the
results YOU want to achieve.
Once you achieve a basic-intermediate proficiency you can
really start to specialize in your specific focus area and become
a true professional there.
Now a few notes on your state of mind as you seek out your
training solution/s...
if you really want to compete today, with a degree or not, you
have to be focused and competitive. If you’re effective and cutting
edge even if you don’t have a degree but have the right training,
then
employers may want to keep you around; or you can get more
projects as a freelancer and build your reputation and portfolio
faster.
Good news bears...
You don’t HAVE to go the traditional classroom route anymore if
you’re serious, because there IS a real viable alternative to
achieving
the same level of performance as any classroom student without
having to pay that much money. That solution is video tutorials
training of the ‘comprehensive species’.
In a way it IS a shortcut because it’s ALL IN ONE PLACE (which
you can’t say that for a lot of training solutions).
But it will still take a lot of time on your part to apply what
you’re
learning in Photoshop (which isn’t a problem because you’ll be
brimming over with tons of new information that you can’t wait to
try out so you fully get it).
So if you have the level of discipline to apply what you would learn
in a video tutorials training environment, then you can achieve the
same level of results UNQUESTIONABLY as those who take the
classroom route.
A lot of my students have already done so and continue to do so.
Those that do take the traditional route of classroom type ‘hands
on’
training will be serious about learning if for no other reason than
they’ve spent SO much money on it that they HAVE to get some
value out of it. Isn’t that a lot of pressure?
Wouldn’t you rather be able to learn at your own pace and on your
own schedule? Wouldn’t you like to refer back to the training at
any time instead of hearing it once and forgetting it?
Most importantly...what if you just can’t afford the classroom style
of
education?
The cost of training can add up quite quickly. The cost of classroom
training will greatly vary by country and school but will most
likely
be in the thousands of U.S. dollars. You’ll just have to do the
research there.
Digital learning centers or curriculum ‘workshop’ can be in the
hundreds
of dollars easily for focused training.
I’ve noticed that a lot of public undergrad college classroom
students
aren’t really ‘clear’ about what they want or where they’re going
and
they won’t really do things full force and can’t because they have
to
focus on 100 different things at once.
Many of them are more proud that they have something on their resume
while their actual Photoshop work is really kind of
lackluster...that’s
good news for you!
If you’re like me, you’ll want to be the best you can and you don’t
mind
competition. This is the attitude that you should have if you really
want
to make it out there at a high-end post house, other desirable job
(so
they’ll keep you) or be successful freelancing.
Just the cost of having a foundational resource at your side (like
my
complete TutorialKey training or Deke’s Total Training) if you’re
really
serious (whether you’d taken expensive classroom style courses or
not)
is really a drop in the bucket investment for you.
It’s a perfect supplemental tool to expensive classroom training
because it stands on it’s own as a full training resource. And if
you
know where you stand, it’s really almost a shoo-in solution that
would
quench your thirst for just getting Photoshop ‘handled’ so you can
effectively use it to achieve the ongoing results that you really
want to
learn it for in the first place.
In fact, you may find yourself liking the video tutorials training
more
because not only the quality of material (and bonus material which
they won’t teach you) but because of the ability to study and learn
at your own pace...
You can customize learning to your own time schedule instead of
having to conform to a strict classroom curriculum. Many busy
people have a lot of things going on these days and you’re probably
one of them.
This is why video tutorials training can be a lot better fit for you
but
remember...I want you to be aware that it WILL take some discipline
on your part after you learn to go and apply and keep progressing
forward. That in a way is it’s biggest downfall and also..not being
able to immediately ask someone a question.
Any method of training you choose will take some discipline
if you want to actually apply what you’re learning to see results.
With my video tutorials training, it’s actually easy because so much
of what you need to know you can pick up just by watching the videos
without being in Photoshop...but remember to practernalize it.
By the way; ‘tutorials’ themselves are a near perfect way to learn
because
you are following along step-by-step as someone teaches you. It’s
basically
just the recorded version of what you would see live in person
anyways.
Other things you just ‘have to’ try out in Photoshop to really get
but
you’ll be motivated to do it because of all the wonderful things
that
are being revealed to you in the training (makes it easy).
At seminars you have to take notes and ‘remember’ what you’ve
learned until you get home to your computer. With video tutorials
training you can pause the training and try something out right
away in Photoshop CS/2.
So once again, look at where you’re at and the big picture and
just think about where you’re at and your different training
options.
If you have a business set up..any training that you get should be a
business expense. My students say things like they’ve learned more
from me than from classrooms. A lot of people do like video
tutorials
training for their convenience and cost effectiveness.
So if you’re serious about achieving these goals then you KNOW
that you’re going to have to make an investment of some sort...and
actually it’s expected.
You really just CAN’T learn complete Photoshop for free. We’ve gone
over the resources and you can even do some more research if you
want.
This is all just information to help you know where you are at with
a
little reflection, and should give you some helpful insight and
guidance
into where to go to achieve your goals..
With learning Photoshop though...There’s just too much knowledge.
Even with some of my free ‘basics oriented’ tutorials it’s really
just
scratching the scratch of the surface of
what you must learn to get a
full proficiency.
People will spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on their
continuing
Photoshop education worldwide...these are your competitors! They
understand that the value of that information and education is not
free
and so they invest in their education.
The reality is that you might be able to find bit’s and pieces of
free
Photoshop information online (or maybe if you worked in a library).
The
funny thing is that I’m still the one I’ve seen who is giving the
most free
information about how to really use Photoshop (through other entry
points to the website).
Remember, the Photoshop industry online is completely dominated by
the ‘clone tutorials’ sites that want to suck you in. They’ll all
show you
some cool nifty tricks and treats that you can do with Photoshop but
rarely even teach you about the basics; and I think you can now see
this.
Remember to get your nutritional meat and potatoes first and before
the
dessert.
You’re NEVER going to get a foundational education (which is a
requirement for most employers you’re looking at) by just fooling
around
with cool techniques or getting some ongoing educational videos if
you’re
not at that point yet...they just don’t piece it all
together..there’s too much
to learn to try and be covered this way because that isn’t their
point.
There are so many cool tricks and flashy techniques centered around
web design/FX online and they’re all free, it’s become almost
valueless so
these people expect not to pay for anything.
And it works out because these people are not really your
competition
if you’re serious about having a career (full time or part time)
with
Photoshop. That will only stunt the flow of your real creativity
anyways!
Those that are serious will make an investment and somewhat
of a commitment to learn and apply Photoshop...the BIG picture of
Photoshop and everything that it can do ....and won’t even fool
around
with some cool tricks because it’s so infuriatingly off-track.
Remember, the cool stuff there can really just eat up a lot of your
time
(I’ve been there for a little while). Though, when you’re ready, can
make
a nice dessert to give some extra flair here and there after you’re
working
proficiently without a problem.
Think of these Photoshop options as a smorgasbord so aptly lain
before
you...all just different ways to reach your Photoshop goals.
Focus on YOUR goals and reasons of why you must learn Photoshop
(the means to your end). Remember the real results that YOU want to
see whether they be visually creative or even professional.
It doesn’t matter if you’re a photographer or graphic designer now,
you
can still use Photoshop to achieve YOUR goals with the right
training
and plan of putting it to use by applying yourself.
You can make your visual dreams a reality (this isn’t all just
business
you know); the right Photoshop training or tutorials can allow you
to
effectively get across those creative and visual instincts you’ve
been
having or wanting to express for a long time.
Find your leverage in getting the right knowledge so you can get
there
faster. There should be no excuse now for you to take action of SOME
kind if you’re dedicated to achieving the results that you want to
see
through Photoshop.
Please view the options with your own subjective eye and in relation
to
where YOU’RE at right now and you think is the best way for YOU to
get
the Photoshop style of training with where you’re at.
You actually now have a really good overview of your training
options.
I haven’t seen anywhere myself even that has ever broken down all of
the different options and put it all together in one place (you’re
welcome!)
IF you’re serious about where you want to go and decide that
classroom
training is for you, then you won’t have a problem going after
student
loans if you have to...
But like I said, there is another option that will cost you a LOT
less
and is more Immediate: that option is video tutorials training. It
is much
easier to fluidly learn from this format I think than books or
magazines.
So just keep that in mind...some people learn better when someone
can answer their questions and guide them through it in a classroom
or hands on environment (or ask the person next to them for what
they’re doing wrong!).
How about the cost of seminars? Wow...those start to add up and are
most effective as a step ‘beyond’ for Photoshop users who already
have
a cozy basic-intermediate ‘blanket of understanding’ with Photoshop.
If you’re at the point of ongoing education would make more sense;
be
ready to explore deeper into Photoshop and it’s intricacies of
creative
and technical potential from awesome qualified trainers. It’s a good
investment in yourself and will increase your market value and
potential
marketability.
If you think you have Photoshop down pretty good now, get some books
and magazines too because they can
provide a different angle to learning
Photoshop (for your ongoing education and if you can afford them).
When you’re ready you could get a membership to NAPP if you don’t
already have one. It's growing
popularity is a testament to the widespread
Photoshop user base around the world.
Just don’t try to soak everything in all at once..start with the
full coverage.
Start with the foundation and work up.
At least get one solid reference that
you can use as your foundational backup
plan (it’s easy to forget some things
when you just might need a refresher on
a certain tool or technique).
I like getting the most value for my dollar, I don’t know about you.
Consumers
and prosumers today have the right to be
educated and to demand value, quality
and service. Most everything I covered
has a high standard of quality.
Remember,
What really matters is what YOU can do with Photoshop and whether
you’re
actually proficient or not. Why is this important? Because Photoshop
is
THE tool that will help realize YOUR creative dreams ONCE you know
how to
handle it.
It’s a balance of technical and creative energy. Adobe Photoshop
CS/CS2 is
nothing to you unless you know how to harness it’s power.
How you get to that power is up to you. Be wise and informed oh
Padawan in
the ways of learning and applying Photoshop to achieve your creative
or
professional goals.
The price ranges of your investments (often ongoing if you’re
serious) that you
will make will vary, so just figure out
now what is the best option for you where
you’re at and for where you want to go
in the immediate future. And take it from
there.
Others are making their creative dreams and professional goals
happen, how
about you?! No one’s going to do it for
you except yourself. Be informed and
choose wisely (so you save time, energy and money).
I’ve found that the really hungry people will be the ones that seek
out
alternative methods (not necessarily shortcuts) but ways that they
can
pro-actively reach the minimum level of proficiency and then move
beyond
that right away...because then they can get to the good stuff.
I know you’ll want the good stuff first but then you just end up
with some cool
tricks. Photoshop is a deep universe that with a foundational
proficiency you
can accomplish any task.
If you have right training and the dedication, you do just as well
as students
in a classroom learning environment and save hundreds or thousands
of
dollars to get to the same point of Photoshop proficiency. Do you
have that
in you though?
It’s easier just to sit in a classroom but it’s going to take
something more to
really apply what you’re learning with ie. video tutorials training,
but if you
can, then you know that you can also be successful in your creative,
image
editing Photoshop work and even professionally because you have what
it
takes to succeed (not that classroom students don’t)!
If you’ve already taken classroom training you may realize that
there is still
more to learn about Photoshop or that you just really should have a
refresher
course or a permanent back-up reference that you can always come
back
to for Photoshop areas which you may have forgot or don’t want to
tell
anyone you forgot because you thought you knew it!
But, if you can focus your time and efforts into learning Photoshop
and getting
it handled a.s.a.p. then fairly soon you can move on to the real
exciting
stuff which is what you probably wanted to “learn” Photoshop for in
the first
place.
So go ahead and review this information, print it out and refer to
it when
necessary. But primarily think about what you want to do (which you
should already know).
Your real goals are the reason you want to (or have to) learn
Photoshop in
the first place (the means to your end and where training just has
to come
in there someplace to bridge the gap). Hopefully someone’s not
making you
for work and that you would want to but...
then think about where you are now and how you’re going to get there
while
keeping in mind that you’re going to have to learn Photoshop somehow
because you can’t really pretend to know it when you don’t.
Once you have the knowledge and are an informed consumer, you will
be wise in your choices because you know where you stand and expect
quality.
Figure out what are the right solution/s for you for where you’re at
now,
make some decisions and then know that in the future you can always
get more and more ongoing educational training through many
different sources.
If you already know that you have to get the foundational Photoshop
CS/CS2
training handled first or to just to have as a fill-in back up
reference and
your choice there would be video tutorials training (for the reasons
that
you’ve already decided because you know where you’re at), then I
invite
you to find out more about my TutorialKey training.
TutorialKey is 12 hours longer than Deke’s Total Training and
includes
real world practical ‘money earning’ Photoshop skills as bonuses
beyond
the full skills training.
Here’s those links again so you can get more information and compare
if you’re at that fulcrum point right now:
Total Training
http://www.totaltraining.com/prod/adobe/photoshopcs2.asp
and my TutorialKey Video Tutorials Training for Photoshop CS/CS2:
http://www.tutorialstraining.com/photoshop.htm
I have a one year 100% money back guarantee on my TutorialKey video
tutorials training for Photoshop CS/CS2. Industry standard is 90
days.
But you can take one year to decide if the tutorials are right for
you.
Whatever you decide to do for your training, I encourage you to take
action and commit to learning Photoshop so you can unleash your
creative power and really achieve the goals that you started out to.
The rewards are worth it and once you get to a certain level even
more
possibilities will open up to you; I guarantee it! It’s very
fulfilling.
I’d like to further help you reach those possibilities as I have for
countless
people worldwide with my Photoshop CS/CS2 training product
solutions.
Best wishes,
Orion Williams
Adobe Certified Expert, Photoshop CS
orion@photoshopdesigner.com
www.TutorialsTraining.com
p.s. If you know you have to get the ‘complete proficiency’ handled
for your
reason, get yourself the perfect backup reference and full on
training resource
of my TutorialKey training today!
https://secured.com/~f2493/tkeyorder.htm
p.s. feel free to let me know by email if this information has
really helped
you or led you to more income because it should!
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