Not Sure of what's Needed

[jgrace]

Hi, being a newbie I'm not sure of what I should load to get started. I have a book and have printed the help PDF file (it easier for me use this way). The book and help PDF talks about plug-ins, but does not says what needed at the beginning. I'm taken a class through adult ed but they are just explaining the commands like cut, crop and paste. Not to much about color either.

I have PSE 7 on a Dell laptop using Vista. I also have and external hard drive (350 g) that I use for storing photos. I use a Nikon D40x digitial SLR. Looking at an Epson Artisan 700 all-in-one printer, Hp is not working.

Any suggestions.

Jon

[jjvera00]

Hello Jon!

Welcome to the Elements Village Forum, if you are looking for a place to start this is a good place. Also, be sure to go to the PET Website (http://www.photoshopelementsuser.com/) and sign up there. There you can sign up for the Photoshop Elements Techniques Newsletter, have access to PSE videos, tutorials, and many downloads!

As far as what is needed in terms of plug-ins, I suggest first getting to know PSE on its own and see what you want to learn to do with the program itself first. Then after you get the hang of it look into plugins such as different filters, layer styles, etc.

[Jeff Perry]

Jon, you have everything you need to start, plug-ins are add-ons that generally enhance the functionality of the host software application (Photoshop Elements in this case). You do not need any plug-ins to start with, and as jjvera00 said, begin by learning the ropes of PSE first.

Learning the different tools, cropping, etc. is usually a good place to start.

The most important thing to remember, is that you should always make a duplicate set of your images as soon as you download them, and store them in a safe place.

Next, NEVER, EVER work on the one and onlycopy of an image in Elements. ALWAYS work on a copy.

Jeff

[Wendy]

Hi Jon ...

.. and welcome to the Village :)

I totally agree that its well worth signing up with PET ... PET is the subscriber area of the Village and a lot of us are members :)

Wendy

[Priyanka Azad]

Hi Jon,

You could try out this site: http://www.pixel2life.com/tutorials/adobe_photoshop_elements/

It has some fun tutorials which cover most of the features of PSE with some nice tips and tricks.

Cheers,
~Pri

[charlotteinkennesaw]

Jeff,

that was a good reminder...something that i forget to do from time to time...to work from a copy rather than the orignal. I always do that and then remember...:MAKE A COPY.

Thanks,

Charlotte:rolleyes:

[Jeff Perry]

Charlotte, being disciplined in the workflow is half the battle!

1. Capture the images (the fun part!)
2. Download to the computer
3. Make two back-ups to external devices (check the integrity of the B/Us)
4. Then, and only then, Reformat the memory card IN CAMERA
5. Review, tag, edit in the working directory on your computer (the orginal downloaded copies) to your heart's content.
6. Put all edited files in the working directory into their own subfolder
7. At the end of the editing session, copy the subfolder to your remote B/U device.

Remember, making back-ups of your original images is very important, and so is saving your work periodically DURING the editing session, and making back-ups of the edited files that you may have spent hours working on.

Jeff

[jgrace]

Thanks for all your help. Well plug on trying different things and methods. Does anyone have any comments concerning the Epson Artison 700 printer over my Hp, which sometimes don't work.

Thanks again Jon