Timothy Nantz wrote:
I'm wanting to get a business associates or similar degree as I'm pretty comfortable with my photography skills, but would however like to learn more about advanced Photoshop skills.

Hire a professional high-end retoucher that focuses on the type of retouching you want to learn how to do. You'll pay maybe $3,000 to learn every trick in his bag and get experience working with higher end tablets and calibration tools within a matter of months and be done with it.

Or spend 4-5 years chasing a B.A. related to photography and get nowhere with Photoshop, since they really don't teach a whole lot of the fancy stuff.

HortenciaCaires wrote:
That is the question. I was reading the self taught forum and I was thinking for those who are real passionate not only about photoshop/retouching images, but photography as well... Do you think its good to go to school? A lot of people tell me no go learn something else, like marketing or graphic design ..you know a lot of photography already.

And some tell me go to school! you can have access to the studio, that way you can learn that because you dont have access to one. Go because you'll learn the technical part of it and you need to know a lot more things.

I just dont know, I feel less confident in some areas that I dont have access to, like studio, but I play with it and act like I know
I just dont kno what to go to school for... I was thinking about publicity and marketing, but Im not sure if I wanna go to school 4 yrs.. who knows what will happen in between.

Go to school.  Study accounting.  Take a photography or graphic design class or two.

Corey Ward wrote:

Hire a professional high-end retoucher that focuses on the type of retouching you want to learn how to do. You'll pay maybe $3,000 to learn every trick in his bag and get experience working with higher end tablets and calibration tools within a matter of months and be done with it.

Or spend 4-5 years chasing a B.A. related to photography and get nowhere with Photoshop, since they really don't teach a whole lot of the fancy stuff.

Yeah, I've learned more about photoshop and manipulating images in my free time than I have in a class based around graphic design. I honestly, have only learned a couple of things this entire year in school about graphics versus on my own.

Katarina Love wrote:

Yeah, I've learned more about photoshop and manipulating images in my free time than I have in a class based around graphic design. I honestly, have only learned a couple of things this entire year in school about graphics versus on my own.

agreed, i have only been doing studio phtoography since january, i am completely self taught, still have a long way to go but i am a marketing major and got denied entry to a level one photography class because my understanding was too great that it would not help...therefore that ment that i would have to go into a higher class (you cant without the prerequisite of first class unless you are a photo major) but what that told m is that the first 2 years of photo school were more or less pointless and could be learned MUCH easier and faster if done on your own, then find a phtoographer/retoucher you like and assist/ pay them to train you