The Learning Curve

I always loved school.  I'm book-smart, which hasn't helped me much in real life, but I love to learn new things.  I love to TEACH myself new things.  I honestly hope that I never stop learning.  Right now I'm trying to learn PhotoShop.  Dude, it's kicking my butt.  (Thank you, Sheri's live-in hottie/darlin' Robert, for the gift of PhotoShop.  I finally got it to install and I will love you both FOREVER.)

People say "Oh, PhotoShop is so easy."  F*ck you.  People also say that HTML is easy.  It's so not.  Don't let anyone ever tell you HTML is easy -- they are LYING to make you feel stupid.  HTML is confusing and too technical and if you make one wrong keystroke the whole code is off.  (Shelly e-mailed me a few weeks ago and couldn't figure out why a picture wasn't working -- she had typed "img scr" instead of "img src."  The only reason I could figure it out is because I've been doing it for over a year now and I took a "professional development" class in HTML, then spent a week studying the book we used.  And really, I still can't do anything complicated, just the easy stuff.) 

And yes, I'm good at photo editing, but that's with programs that make it pretty idiot proof.  The 2 programs I use have graphic menus with labeled icons for what I want to do, and it's all there, I just have to click on a certain icon.  Photoshop is completely technical (but I will have more control over each element, which is what makes it so attractive.)  You have all these buttons and file menu options, but none of them quite make sense and you don't know where to start or what does what . . . and there are TONS of tutorials "out there," I just have to take the time to FIND them, figure out which ones are actually useful and will make sense, then read through them and get my bearings.  It's really important to me to learn this, and I think it will be good for me in the long run (if nothing else, to have one more skill that is semi-marketable/something to fall back on or use for free-lancing.  And I can use it for digital scrapbooking, which is the new craze.)  And you all know how deeply I feel about photography -- PhotoShop is THE program that professional photographers use.  I want to be good, and I want to figure this out.

So if any of you know anything about PhotoShop, send some love my way (and when I say love, I mean ideas, links, or book titles I should get.)  ;o)

P.S. I just ordered from Amazon: Adobe Photoshop 7.0 Classroom in a Book, which I think will be a good starting point.

Comments

[Ninotchka]

I LOVE PhotoShop but I'm mostly self-taught so I don't know how well I could impart my knowledge with such technical terms as "that thingie." ROFLOL

I bet you'll catch on quick, Jen! :)

[Kelly]

Dude, I am MAD JEALOUS that you have PhotoShop, although I know you have been wanting it forever now. So I am happy for you too, can you bootleg a copy for me? LOL :)

[Lisa]

I love PhotoShop too! But I'm like Nino - self taught! lol Mine would be more of a "that button over there, no, not that one, the other one." haha

[Sue]

I would LOVE Photoshop but don't know anywhere near enough about it. I look forward to seeing your amazing creations when you get the hang of it.