Learn Something New
I’m not afraid to admit….I suck at Photoshop!
For the last 2 years, I knew one of my weak spots in my photography was my photoshop skills. I mean they’re okay, but not at the level they should be, and I think sometimes my images are held back by them. I depend too heavily on just Adobe Lightroom, which is great software, but Photoshop just offers up so much more control.
So, in keeping with my goals for November, I have spent the last 48 hours, reading, watching and learning Photoshop. I can even see keyboard shortcuts in my dreams.
It might sound a little weird, but honestly why? When was the last time you learnt something new?
Knowledge is power, as they say.
I can think of no reason not to pick out your weak areas, and learn how to improve them.
I mean, what do you have to lose? Nothing. You can only gain from learning and developing your skills.
So I’m setting aside the next few weekends, to read, learn and practice, practice, practice.
Ok, so I’m not going to become a photoshop guru in a fortnight, but I will have a better understanding of what it can do, and how it can improve my photography.
—
PS: My 30 Day Self Portrait is still going! Check it out here!
—
About the Author
Written by Chris Scuffins
Chris Scuffins is a creative photographer and blogger from Gloucestershire. With years of experience in landscape and commercial still life photography, he now concentrates on capturing creative, natural and beautiful fashion and lifestyle portraiture, as well as photojournalistic wedding photography.
8 Responses to Learn Something New
Leave a Reply Cancel reply
ABOUT THIS BLOG
This is the blog of Chris Scuffins, a hardworking, creative photographer from Gloucestershire. With years of experience in landscape and commercial still life photography, his focus now lies on capturing creative, natural and beautiful fashion and lifestyle portraiture, as well as a fun, relaxed approach to photojournalistic wedding photography.
FEATURED POSTS
- Wedding | Natalie And Andrew | Tewkesbury Park Hotel
A Gloucestershire Wedding | St Marks Church, Cheltenham...
- Preparing For Wedding Photography
Last weekend, I had the extreme pleasure of photographing...
POPULAR POSTS
- 30 Day Self Portrait Project Finished!
WooHoo! Today I have finished my 30 day self portrait...
- The 35mm And 85mm
Just a few short months after making the decision to...
- Goodbye Zooms, Hello Primes
It’s taken me few months, but now I’m starting...
- What’s Your Photography Dream?
My goals, ideas and knowledge have all been growing...
- Learn Something New
I’m not afraid to admit….I suck at Photoshop! For...
ON FACEBOOK
BLOG CATEGORIES
- Camera Equipment (30)
- Everyday Photography (10)
- Inspiration (31)
- Photo Tips (18)
- Portraiture (3)
- Pre-Wedding Portraits (1)
- Shooting Film (3)
- Weddings (2)
FOLLOW CHRIS:
- 500PX
- FLICKR
- FORMSPRING
- PURPLE PORT
- YOUTUBE
Fair play to you for dedicating your short term time to it.
I have it but have never really used it, I still use Picasa 3(!).
I reckon that if I mastered Photoshop I’d be divorced as it’d mean spending probably 10 times as long on the laptop working on photos….
Hey Patrick, nothing wrong with Picasa, i use it at work all the time!
My main reason for wanting to learn photoshop was just seeing all of these fantastic talented photographers i follow, and just seeing their photos and saying “i want mine to look like that”.
Saying that, it’s a huge program. It’s going to take me a while….
Knowledge is power , but the application of knowledge is absolute . Old Chinese proverb . Something i like to live parts of my life by . You can know everything but applying what you know is the key to success .
Im the opposite to you i need to work on my Lightroom skills ! , hence my night reading - a large lightroom book !!
Ahh. Very true. The way i think about it, all this staff, photoshop, inspiration etc. it all goes into a big rolodex in my head, for me pull out what i know, when i need it most.
As for the bed time reading, i know what you mean. How could they fit everything in Photoshop into a book that only has 800 pages!
Hi Chris ,
I was wondering if you would do a video of how you use your lighting setup to create some of the shots you do ?
J
Getting better at photoshop is a bit of a goal of mine too. I just go through the motions and never do anything new. I have started getting a magazine with a cd on with video tutorials on, i find this good, although some of it is very basic sometimes i come across something that changes everything!
Yeah same here. I’ve had a couple of photoshop books sat on my shelf for months, and just couldn’t get into reading them.
It was only when I needed to do something in Photoshop and I googled it, it did actually stick in my head and I remembered it!
Pingback: 2011 - The Best Of The Blog | Chris Nash Photography | Gloucestershire Portrait Photographer