Photoshop is an excellent image editing software tool that offers a lot of freedom to its users. Its complexity allows users to do some of the most astonishing things with an image. But in order to achieve that one has to put a lot of effort and dedication into learning and practicing.
Since we all know how hard it is to start learning something new. Especially something like digital photo editing is. We are ready to share with you these secrets that will guide you on your road to becoming a Photoshop expert.
Don’t Skip the First Lesson:
The most common mistake that people who are starting to learn Photoshop do is that they skip the basics and dive deep into Photoshop’s advanced features. The secret is to take it easy and to let yourself get familiar with the interface of this software. You don’t have to go into all the details. The trick is to find out about what this software can do and what all those little buttons and drop menus are for, generally speaking.
This way you will be building a foundation upon which you can gradually construct and place your future knowledge about digital image editing. There are some really nice and free videos on YouTube that could help you get started with Photoshop basics. Also, make sure to get familiar with some of the basic image editing concepts. Like contrast, light saturation, sharpness and with some common image-related problems like red eyes.
Taking it One Step Further – Learning Tricks:
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Once you’ve gotten familiar with the basic digital image editing concepts, you can start learning a trick or two. There are various blogs where Photoshop experts share little useful tricks that could really make your life easier. Don’t get discouraged if the learning curve gets steeper as you progress. It means you are doing well.
A secret that could help you make the most out of all these steps is to write down all the little tutorials on stickers and put them on a board somewhere near your workstation. This is also an excellent time to start writing down and learning keyboard shortcuts for menus and tools.
Choosing the Specialization:
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Another secret of becoming a Photoshop Master is to choose a narrow digital image specialization right at start. It can be anything that interests you: outdoor, nature, travel, wedding, wildlife or sports photography. By becoming an expert editor of a certain photography theme, you will be able to advance in other fields a lot faster later on, when you decide to expand and use your knowledge in other areas.
This is the right time to go online and look for free online courses on specialized websites or YouTube. You will be amazed by how many useful videos there are out there. Practice all that you learn through the courses and write down the procedures on your stickers.
Understanding Advanced Photoshop Concepts:
By this time, you should be familiar with all of the basic digital image editing concepts and Photoshop’s features. Now it’s about time to dive deep into the advanced concepts. A good start would be to watch tutorials on layer masks and blend modules. Since these are a bit tricky to understand and learn how to use properly for a beginner, the knowledge that you have gained by now will be very helpful.
By now the pattern is really clear: learn gradually and expand your areas of expertise by adding new skills and by getting familiar with new concepts. In case you have already started a freelance career and you get stuck on a project, don’t worry – you can easily outsource it and get PSD services from some of the companies that specialize in this sort of thing.
Becoming an Expert:
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Becoming an expert in Photoshop digital image editing is not something that can happen overnight. More importantly, it doesn’t only require you to know the features, concepts, commands and common things that deserve an editor’s attention. Above all, you need to gain experience. Look for projects that will engage your creativity and knowledge.
The tutorials and books where you can learn more about mastering the layers and layer groups, masking, clipping masks, knockout layer effects, and styles and learn how to utilize filters and creative effects should be the ones of your interest.
If you decide to start learning digital photo editing in Photoshop, these tips will certainly help you and serve as the main guidelines to follow on your road to success as a professional photo editor. In the end, I’ll leave you with one final piece of advice. Stay tuned to the latest news and advancements in the field by following experts on social media and blogs.
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I liked your article about Photoshop techniques. Thanks for sharing This keep up the good work.