I want to start... Please help a Newbie

[sukanas]

i really love the concept of photoediting and etc... my friend is actually a photographer and takes awesome pictures which is how i got inspired.

i want to go further than just using iPhoto
and editing color balance, exposure, contrast etc...

so i was wondering if u guys could give me a tip on how/where to start. any specific boos or etc?
i picked up a couple of mag. Advanced Photoshop (ironic how i got the advanced one...) and i tried some of the tutorials (even the easy ones) but even when i DO follow directions, i dont know WTF theyre talking about! haha

and also, i only have a point and shooter (canon sd1000 7mp)
is it really necessary for me to get an SLR to use my photos for fancy editing?



edit:
oh yeah as you can see in my sig i have a dell 24"
its not a great monitor cause its a TN... and the viewing angles not that great either
i use the ADOBE 1998 color setting in my color calibration thingy...
but with me having a dell monitor, doesn't kinda kill the whole purpose of the color calibration/sync cause i could still change my RGB settings on my monitor (and i am connected DVI)

thanks so much
and this forum rocks!

 

[Westside guy]

and also, i only have a point and shooter (canon sd1000 7mp)
is it really necessary for me to get an SLR to use my photos for fancy editing?

Short answer: No.

I don't know anything about your specific camera, but with ANY camera you can learn to think about your shots before taking them. That's really the single most important component, in my opinion, of a great photo. There are technical limitations with a point and shoot that aren't such a big deal with an SLR; but composition, lighting, etc. are parts of every photograph taken with any camera (and I've seen some amazing photos that've come out of point and shoot cameras).

If you start learning to take better photos with your point and shoot, you'll have a much better idea of what sort of photos you like to take when/if the time comes to get an SLR. That will help you make more intelligent purchasing decisions at that point.

 

[ChrisA]

edit:
oh yeah as you can see in my sig i have a dell 24"
its not a great monitor cause its a TN... and the viewing angles not that great either
i use the ADOBE 1998 color setting in my color calibration thingy...
but with me having a dell monitor, doesn't kinda kill the whole purpose of the color calibration/sync cause i could still change my RGB settings on my monitor (and i am connected DVI)

thanks so much
and this forum rocks!

Do you have $25 per month to spend on this? Take a look a http://www.lynda.com you can subscribe for $25 and for that you can watch all the training videos you can. stay on-line 24x7 if you want. I think that is the least painless why to learn. Start with this one: http://movielibrary.lynda.com/html/modPage.asp?ID=414 Notice that Chapter One and part of Two are free. Just click the link the Table on Contants. If you like it. Subscribe to see the rest.

If you have a hardware colorimeter (or "color calibration thingy" just do not toutch anything after to run the calibration routine and yu will b fine. The cheap Dell LCD is no worse then the truly horrible screens on the new 20" iMac and MB. Apple really went cheap on those.

You do not need a DSR to learn photo editing.

 

[Rizvi1]

Thanks for the info on this thread. My wife and I recently purchased a Canon IS S5 and would like to start doing some nice stuff with it. Hopefully the suggestions here can help.

 

[scottydawg]

When your ready to edit your photos I suggest getting Photoshop Elements, it is a very powerful program for the money. The first step before doing any editing is to get a handle of your camera and learn ways to take good photographs (light, composition, depth of field) which can all be done well with your new camera. I agree with Chris A.'s advice to join lynda.com for tutorials on everything from digital photography to editing.

 

[srf4real]

I began playing with photoshop 7 long before I ever picked up a digital camera, like nine or ten years ago... it really helped to begin using my own images for editing, but the only equipment necessary is a computer, some software, and some media to play with! Truthfully, I just played with everything and clicked every effect, which is how I learned how to edit photos lol! Now it's second nature, which is a good thing since I take alot of photos myself these days. If you are having fun, that's all that matters so experiment and see what happens. I would recommend Elements as it is very inexpensive and yet powerful with more editing abilities than you need at your present stage... you could 'grow into it'.

 

[Digital Skunk]

The first part of learning how to edit photos, is to learn how photoshop works at editing photos.

Stick with the "image" tab if you want to learn image editing. Then move toward everything else if you want to work on photo manipulation and illustrations.