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What would make for better PS instruction?
We've had a lot of threads recently about the various video sites, books to read, etc. for learning how to retouch in PS. But let's step back a second and stop talking about what is out there, and spend some time discussing what should be out there. I'd like to see some comments which maybe Adobe or one of the other companies could use to structure a better learning series for PS and perhaps the entire application suite. Given the economy right now, maybe it will even be someone in our ranks to step forward as such. We have solutions which work, but are they really what we want / need? As we're not all at the same level and approach things differently, I suggest a 'standardized' response format, followed by freetext discussion of your thoughts. It's not my intent that you 'have' to do the standard part before taking part in discussion - just know that it would represent one more data point for someone to make a learning product which could really help you out Mister (PS) Wizard. As well, please add in whatever other categories of information you feel would be relevant. Background (education / career field): Math & science. Experience (years): 2+ years on/off. Self-rated skill level (1-5): 4 (technical). How you learn best: Technical description + demonstration / interaction. What you want to learn most: Pre-press gamut management & sharpening. Teaching products you'd like to see: Online tutoring / mentorship program via web-based assignments. How would you like to learn? Oct 18 09 09:25 pm Link People learn different ways... http://www.ldpride.net/learningstyles.MI.htm (not a good link, but you get the jist) Anyway, it'd say the best way to learn is still the best way that someone wants to teach - it may not work for everyone but at least then we get to see a good product from someone who is comfortable doing it that way. Oct 18 09 09:31 pm Link It can be difficult for someone new to PS to realize what the best practices are without accumulating experience to set them in stone. There are a lot of misguided tutorials out there still being perpetuated. I think they're getting to be less so than they were years ago, I think, but they're still there. I think people get caught up in gimmicks and novelties and become distracted by what's really going to make a difference in their work. First and foremost, I believe it's in the best interest of anyone really wanting to get the most out of PS to train their artistic abilities. It helps tremendously if you have a background as an artist, drawing, painting or whatever. Artists respect PS as a tool, and it is a very versatile one. Also important is to remember to play, just like a child does when experiencing something for the first time. In Photoshop, you're (hopefully) not going to find a way to kill your computer by experimenting with its features. Take a few hours, days, weeks to familiarize yourself with what it can do on your own. After you get acquainted with it, then it's time to discipline yourself by setting out to accomplish specific goals. At this stage, you start seriously taking research into account. Look up manuals and terms associated with Photoshop. Study the work of people you admire. I've been using Photoshop for 14 years and I still occasionally learn something new or adapt my basic workflow slightly. It's pretty amazing how much you improve in a year's time, even when you think you've learned all there is to know. Remember to keep it simple. PS tutorials are useful and can inspire growth, but I don't highly recommend following tutorials that are essentially something you've done before. So scan it for content and see if it's really worth your while. (Usually, the progression of photo examples will tell you enough without having to read a word of the tutorial.) Every lesson should be something new. But in a nutshell: find someone worth emulating, dissect their method as much as you can. Then, move on to the next person to emulate. Rinse and repeat. Also, Google is your friend. Put those skills you learned in school about looking things up to good use before you come on a forum and ask somebody. Oct 18 09 10:09 pm Link self-rated skill 5 this is going to be difficult to quantify... are we going to start comparing our scores on the ACE exam now? Oct 18 09 10:37 pm Link Background (education / career field): Mechanical Engineering Experience (years): 3+ years on/off. Self-rated skill level (1-5): 1 How you learn best: Technical description + demonstration / interaction. What you want to learn most: layers, tone mapping, true HDR compositing, sharpening. Teaching products you'd like to see: online interactive classes. I've learned to shoot smarter since I don't know/use much photoshop in post. Oct 18 09 10:48 pm Link Sean Baker wrote: I'm a very visual learner, reading something never sinks in unless I can apply it to something I'm working on. Case in point was the High Pass Sucks thread, and it made no sense to me until I followed the steps and fooled around with it, and still I don't know the "WHY" behind it working, as I am just beginning to understand the "What" of what it's doing. Oct 19 09 02:01 pm Link Ravendrive Productions wrote: Part of the good of self evaluation is that ppl get to see your work and judge you and your work themselves in just one click. Oct 19 09 04:08 pm Link Background (education / career field): Electrical Engineering. Math/Science stuffs. Experience (years): Oct 19 09 05:32 pm Link Photons 2 Pixels Images wrote: Anyone want to try this today? Oct 20 09 06:01 am Link bump Oct 20 09 12:49 pm Link Since my first response is rather off pattern for this thread, I'll have another go: Background (education / career field): Graphic design/drawing/and whatever field I can gain a little experience in. Experience (years): 14+ years with Photoshop. Began honing my skills towards photo editing probably over the last 9, but I'd say I've really evolved the most over the last few years. Self-rated skill level (1-5): 5. I say this only because I'm extremely patient and believe I can accomplish anything if allowed enough time to do it. This number is only a reflection of optimism and doesn't really mean anything in relation to actual skill for those of us who chose to put a number less than 5. It's just the way I look at it. How you learn best: I'm very hands-on. My hands are an extension of my thought process. But I do appreciate the occasional tutorial. Nowadays, after learning to accomplish so much, I look at photography I admire and start checking off the tools and procedure most likely to be employed in producing the photographer's result. It's practically a puzzle game. I guess I'm a nerd. What you want to learn most: 3D modeling and texturing, and eventually animation. I can appreciate the usefulness of the former for the simple fact that it can help a great deal in compositing and implementing texture that wasn't in the photo in the first place (but would benefit from it). Teaching products you'd like to see: Online video tutoring is generally the way to go. I'd like to see the videos improved by setting out textual links with a brief explanation of the stages in the tutorial. The links would direct the user to that point in the timeline of the video. Precious minutes can be wasted in having to watch an entire video, and jumping around in the timeline can cause you to miss something you might have appreciated knowing. Oct 20 09 01:10 pm Link Background (education / career field): IT Consultant Experience (years): 5+ Years Self-rated skill level (1-5): 3 How you learn best: lynda.com... NAPP website & magazine... Layers website & magazine... What you want to learn most: Better Photo-manipulation skills Teaching products you'd like to see: I'd love to see more one on one instruction... Such as the screen sharing feature in CS4. I have CS4 Design Premium and would be happy to help anyone I can. I'd also appreciate some help from those whose skills far exceed my own meager offerings. Perhaps a forum for the PS Geeks to politely ask for very specific lessons? Appropriate members could offer their help, and the two could schedule sharing as necessary. I also have a WebEx subscription, so I am able to invite up to 40 members to a audio/video/screen-sharing presentation. I would be willing to share this account with members whom I know and am comfortable with, to enable more experienced PS Geeks to be able to hold class-like presentations. Thoughts? Oct 20 09 01:15 pm Link Background (education / career field): Nuclear trained electrician for the US Navy. Experience (years): 4+ years with Photoshop. Attended Dan Margulis Applied Color Theory class. Self-rated skill level (1-5): 3. I have the foundational knowledge but I feel what I need to work on most is my execution. How you learn best: Technical description + demonstration to improve understanding as well as one on one guidance from a someone who knows what they're doing. What you want to learn most: Preparing an image for prepress, masking and compositing, beauty retouching. Teaching products you'd like to see: Products that go in depth on a subject rather than just something to wet your appetite. How would you like to learn? Anything that gives one on one consultation such as workshops or mentor programs would be ideal. Especially someone can be present while I attempt a technique to give immediate feedback. Oct 20 09 01:36 pm Link George Lue wrote: I just got home from work. I'm willing to try it out and see how it works. I think this may be a nice way to explain to others how to do some stuff. I'm not real good at explaining visuals to people. Oct 20 09 02:59 pm Link IMXA Creations wrote: I love the idea. I should see if my web host will allow me to put something like that up also or if they already have something like that available. Oct 20 09 03:01 pm Link Background (education / career field): Applied Physics + Pre-Pharmacy (Microbiology) Experience (years): < 2 years Self-rated skill level (1-5): Photoshop Monkey How you learn best: experimentation What you want to learn most: Pre-press gamut management & sharpening. Teaching products you'd like to see: Online tutoring / mentorship program via web-based assignments. Oct 20 09 04:32 pm Link Background (education / career field): Beauty Advisor/ Institute of Art and design/ Interior decorator Experience (years): 1 year Self-rated skill level (1-5): 2 1/2 How you learn best: Demostration, step by step tutorial, Easily worded tutorials that are easy to follow, Experimentation What you want to learn most: Sharpening, Hair clean up techniques,Masking Oct 20 09 04:36 pm Link Background (education / career field): Photography and Fashion Design Experience (years): 4 Self-rated skill level (1-5): 1.5 How you learn best: Hands-on demonstrations. Step by step instructions. No heavy reading, please! What you want to learn most: Skin retouching. Teaching products you'd like to see: Online tutoring from an expert. I can do the fun stuff in photoshop, I know about color correction, etc. But I suck at skin. I've never burned and dodged. I have books and read tutorials. But I really need a more hands on approach. Oct 20 09 04:53 pm Link Chanel Rene wrote: I have a deal for you Oct 20 09 06:13 pm Link Background (education / career field): BA Graphic Design/Graphic Designer Experience (years): Photography 20 years on and off/Photoshop several years Self-rated skill level (1-5): 3 . How you learn best: Visual and attempt immediately after otherwise it is lost. What you want to learn most: Skin and hair masking. Teaching products you'd like to see: Online tutoring / mentorship program via web-based assignments. Oct 20 09 06:39 pm Link Also if there were someway for you to play video in Photoshop, in the corner maybe, so that you could watch a video and follow along on a tutorial. Oct 20 09 06:41 pm Link Background (education / career field): Business/Finance/RE Experience (years): < 1 year Self-rated skill level (1-5): 1.25 How you learn best: Hands on with detailed visual examples. Ultimately, sitting down with an expert and retouching an image together. Viewing an expertâs retouched image layer by layer, and practicing the techniques. Online tutorials or DVDs are fine, but it's always nice to have someone answer questions as you experience them. What you want to learn most: Skin retouching, hair masking, manipulation (i.e. liquify properly), proper sharpening for respective output, compositing, Teaching products you'd like to see: 1.Someone mentioned a mentoring program. I think this would be great for people just learning the retouching process. 2. Online tutorials or DVDs that show an image being retouched step by step, where the instructor explains why a particular tool is being used and the proper technique for using it. As well, the ability to download the same image used in the tutorial as a layered PSD or TIFF with all the edits. This to be used afterwards for reinforcing the techniques used in the tutorial. Oct 20 09 07:42 pm Link Background (education / career field): Completely unrelated to photography/design Experience (years): 2+ years Self-rated skill level (1-5): 2 I'm kinda a patchwork of things I have put together. My collection of books and videos is pretty good though. How you learn best: Actually I learn best by taking a basic idea and trying to teach it to someone else. Somehow I make leaps of inspiration. I think I'm odd like that though. I always want to know the why as well. What you want to learn most: Uh. like everything. Compositing. 2D and 3D design. Retouch. Digital drawing/painting. Teaching products you'd like to see: Video does seem to be the best for me along with something interactive. Oct 20 09 07:44 pm Link Oct 21 09 08:55 pm Link Background (education / career field): working towards my BVA specializing in graphic design, photography, and recording engineering, a little bit of SFX Experience (years): 3-4 years photography, 4 years retouching most recently more high end Self-rated skill level (1-5): 3.5 How you learn best: Hands on and visual What you want to learn most: Contouring, anything really i'm all open to learning new things..love learning! Teaching products you'd like to see: Hmm...the resources are already out there it's more of a touch and go. I would like there to be more high end compositing and retouching demos or classes online that don't cost a fortune. I second this Online tutorials or DVDs that show an image being retouched step by step, where the instructor explains why a particular tool is being used and the proper technique for using it. As well, the ability to download the same image used in the tutorial as a layered PSD or TIFF with all the edits. This to be used afterwards for reinforcing the techniques used in the tutorial. Oct 21 09 08:57 pm Link oops double posted! sorry! Oct 21 09 08:57 pm Link I just saw an ad for this site http://www.dimdim.com/ It's a "webinar". Could come in handy for sharing ideas while in Photoshop. I haven't tried it yet though. Oct 22 09 10:26 pm Link Background (education / career field): Fashion Design/Medical Records. Experience (years): 1 1/2 years with photography Self-rated skill level (1-5): 2 (technical). How you learn best: demonstration / interaction. Let me sit with you and do it while you're here. What you want to learn most: Cleaning skin, being able to clone wihtout looking cloned. . Teaching products you'd like to see: Online tutoring / mentorship program via web-and videos that have a photoshop that looks like mine. Sometimes the ones you see have a different look or there are missing filters...  Oct 22 09 10:45 pm Link |
