So, Photoshop. Not exactly intuitive!

[scottish steve]

Got a copy of Photoshop CS last night and I have to say I'm pretty disappointed. It's really not an intuitive interface and it looks like I'm going to have to spend quite a bit of time on it to even scratch the surface. Also, TBH, the only things I've seen in the manual that I'm at all interested in are resizing, changing ppi and sharpening. All the other tools seem to be for those wanting to produce a false image. One thing that really gets my goat is it won't accept RAW files. What the hell!
It's a bit too early to be definitive, but I'm not impressed.

 

[TnutsShave]

Photoshop is an excellent software product in my opinion, however there is a steep learning curve. When I first started with it, I basically decided what it was that I needed to do, and then googled for tutorials. There is no shortage of solid PS tut sites out there with step by step instructions, many of them videos.

But I agree, not exactly what I would call intuitive. If it were intuitive, they would not offer workshops for it!

I would stick with it if I were you...once you start down the rabbit hole with PS, it can be a bit addicting.

 

[Nando]

Look at Lightroom if you have lots of pics to manage. That may be more suitable, if you like to organize and retouch on a regular basis.

If you're on a Mac, iPhoto will meet these needs quite nicely. On a Pc, look at the google tools picassa.

 

[Altair]

Photoshop does accept raws. I use this software on a daily basis. I love it. if you wanna learn it you can check out some videos on you tube, kelby training, or lynda.com

its a solid program.

 

[Altair]

Look at Lightroom if you have lots of pics to manage. That may be more suitable, if you like to organize and retouch on a regular basis.

If you're on a Mac, iPhoto will meet these needs quite nicely. On a Pc, look at the google tools picassa.

good options for managing images

 

[AABCDS]

I am poor from all my shaving ADs. I use GIMP; it's free! It also have a steep learning curve.

 

[Legion]

No, it is not intuitive. It is intended to be a professional tool, so like a lot of professional gear, you do need some level of training to get the most out of it.

There are literally hundreds of "user friendly" photo editing programs available, which do all the things the average photographer needs. But Photoshop is a $1500 investment. It is worth taking the time to do a course (or read one of the many tutorial books) if you think you want to get more in-depth.

And I don't think anybody, or at least very few people, know how to do everything in photoshop. The program is just too vast. I used it all day, every day for quite a while, and I know I was only using a small percentage of what the program was capable of. You generally learn what you need to to do the jobs you have. When a problem arises, you hit the help button, or go on the web, and research it. That is how most of us, even the guys in the industry, muddle through.

 

[Legion]

I am poor from all my shaving ADs. I use GIMP; it's free! It also have a steep learning curve.

That is why I never really used Gimp. I downloaded it, saw it had a different interface to PS, and said "no way. I'm not learning another one!"

 

[scottish steve]

I read in the manual you had to download a plug-in to accept RAW files. If it knows you have to download a plug-in even before the manual's are getting sent out, why not include the freaking plug-in, given that every DSLR review on the planet talks about RAW files?
So I downloaded the plug-in, which took an hour on my slow connection, then had to download an update to adobe, despite the fact that I'd downloaded the latest update 5 weeks ago and there was a problem with installation, because apparently one or more elements hadn't been properly configured during the download. So now I still can't use RAW files.
All I'm really looking for is clear, well-exposed images. Re-organising for web use, to show off my latest shots on B&B would be nice but is far from essential, or if I was going to buy my own printer it'd be good to maximise ppi, but I suspect PS is going to be gathering dust in my hard-drive.
I think I'll be getting a few more data cards for my Camera, shooting everything in RAW then converting only the best, edited shots to JPEG specifically to print or send to friends at home and not looking at them at all, to save the file integrity and sharpness.

 

[ackvil]

After I bought it I found out it would not accept RAW from one of my cameras, a Panasonic.

 

[Legion]

You mentioned in your OP that you got a copy of Photoshop CS. If that is the case, that program came out in 2003. We are up to CS5 now. That is why it didn't come with the raw plug ins, back in 2003 we were all shooting TIFF. Raw wasn't really around. This could also be causing some of your conflicts, depending on operating systems and whatnot.

 

[Mick]

I've used it for the past 10 years. Can do anything even with my eyes closed and a cup of coffee in one hand.

Like any powerful software it does everything so it will take a while to learn your way around.

There are so many text and video tutorials on how to do things all you need to do is google instead of reading the manual.

 

[fields]

If you can get your hands on some training dvd's they should hopefully bring you up to speed quickly, once you have your head around layers, masks and selections you should be a long way there - adobe raw 6.6 update was only just released but to me seems to be an improvement from the previous version

 

[Oblique Human]

You need a plugin to read RAW in PS. I would also recommend Lightroom as mentioned above. Its an excellent post-processing app. You'd be amazed with the results.

 

[global_dev]

That is why I never really used Gimp. I downloaded it, saw it had a different interface to PS, and said "no way. I'm not learning another one!"

IIRC, GIMP has mod that provides a photoshop interface. one version is called gimpshop.

 

[Legion]

IIRC, GIMP has mod that provides a photoshop interface. one version is called gimpshop.

Good to know. Thanks.

 

[Edcculus]

I agree. Lightroom would be better suited for the day to day import, straighten, basic touch up work.


I've been using Photoshop pretty extensively since version 6. I can sympathize with you about it not being user friendly, but I don't think it was ever marketed that way. Being in the Graphics/Printing industry, I use it a lot, almost every day. We don't retouch photos that much here, but we do do a lot of masking to make selective color corrections for our presses.


What may seem like at lot of "fluff" to make a fake image can actually come in pretty handy, or be used to make a very specific look. If you go to the store and look at the DVD or Blurays with the paperboard slip case over them, most of those main graphics were done in Photoshop. That is where the real power of the program comes in. Layering, opacity layers, transition effects etc. Of course the text and layout is done in another program.


Photoshop is also a very good tool for photo retouching. For basic straightening and unsharp mask, maybe its a little overkill. Say you have an awesome picture of a great landscape. Once you get it on your screen, you realize there are some power lines that run right across your photo and really detract from the look. Clone Stamp tool to the rescue. Power lines gone! Of course Clone Stamp (and all of the other tools) take a lot of time to learn properly. They are well worth it when you do though.


I'm not promoting lazy photography. I never go out with the intent to "fix it in post". There are times when you just didn't see that car in the distance, or you would really like to pull out a little more detail in the 3/4 tone, or your white balance was way off, or that photo of your wife is beautiful…but good god, look at those stray hairs.

 

[blary54]

I have Lightroom and Photoshop but use Lightroom more for my photography. Youtube is great for seeing tutorials and learning some tips and tricks on Photoshop. Thats how I learned to do layers.

 

[Endless Purple]

As mentioned by legion, check if you are using CS 5 or 5.5 and not just CS. If it is the first CS, it may be easier to go buy something new. Lightroom is great, especially when working with multiple files from a photo session. Photoshop is better if you want to take one image and make something spectacular out of it.

Also I think Photoshop Elements (current version) will also support camera raw. On any of these products you should not have to do or download anything special to open raw files unless you have a really brand new model of camera.

If you have a free or cracked version, that could also be a problem.

Adobe Classroom in a Book is what I know many use to learn it. I might do a couple things different, but overall a good book for learning.

 

[Edcculus]

Not to hijack the thread, but: any Mac users. If you have used both Aperture and Lightroom, which one do you find better? I've used Lightroom through school and work, but for personal use, Aperture has a much better price tag. iPhoto is pretty terrible for me at best.