Which book or turorial for beginners?

[smorky]

Hi everybody!

Can you recommend a helpful book for PSE-beginners like I'm one? Or would you better recommend a tutorial on DVD? Are there any good programs for learners out there, running on MacOS? And last but not least, what about a subscription of the PSE Newsletter? Is it worth the money (72$ a year is not little) or does it deal with the same topics covered in books? Unfortunately a free issue is not possible for me (I don't live in the US but in Germany). :(

A helpful web-page, where I can learn a lot, would also be nice.

If you have any suggestions, preferably in German language, I'd be grateful to hear. :P

Thanks in advance!

[Carbone]

Scott Kelby's Photoshop Elements Book For Digital Photographers (for Elements 2 or Elements 3) is a good place to start. It shows stuff in tutorials, makes it easy to learn in the process.

If you search on Google for Photoshop Elements tutorial, you're likely to find a few (http://www.myjanee.com/ is good source).

As for the Photoshop Elements magazine, I can't tell, I'm not a subscriber.

Also, this site has a lot of tutorials. You're sure to find something usefull. Look at the top and click on Tutorials. Surf around.

There are also on-line classes, if you think you'll need guided assistance.

Ray

[MikeDCambs]

Hi: if you are a true beginner, I would consider the book "Easy Adobe
Photoshop Elements 3" by Kate Binder, published by Que, ISBN
0-7897-3330-7.
This covers PSE3 in a pictorial, easy-to-follow way, including the
precise sequence of actions (i.e. mouse clicks) required to
achieve an end result.
Hope this helps. I have several PSE3 books and I consider this
book the best for beginners.
I should mention that I have no connection with either the author
or publisher!
Regards - Mike

[bnk1953]

If you are up to an "on-line" course - I highly recommend the EclecticAcademy which has a number of courses concerning Photoshop Elements. These are 6 week courses that have lessons posted on the web 1 for each week. There are assignments to "get you to do stuff" plus lots of hints, etc.
The academy can be found at http://www.eclecticacademy.com/
If you have any questions - feel free to post here.
~bruce

[smorky]

Thanks to all who anserwed so far!!!

Ray
I've heard about the book before, and it should be out in German as well now. Probably it's a good idea to start with that.

Mike
It seems, the book is quite simple (just visited Amazon). I've just started with PSE, that's right, but I have some experience in photo editing in general (with other programs, but only rudimentary functions). So I wasn't precise enough. Is it nescessary to have several books to understand PSE completely? How many books do you have to understand your operating system (Win or Mac)? :wink:

Bruce
I've never thought of attending an on-line course before. But it's a good idea and not so expensive as I expected (20$ for 6 weeks seems to be ok.) I hope I find enough time to attend the course.

Can anyone give me a statement to the Newsletter magazine? What about getting a free issue in Germany? We have Adobe in Germany as well, I think. Perhaps I should contact them directly (but not during the Easter Holidays). :P

What about the Down and Dirty Book for PSE from Scott? Is it also useful for beginners or just for cracks?

[Wendy]

The Newsletter is good it contains quite a lot of info, tutorials etc. and also there is the "Subscriber Area" of this site ... that has many extra tutorials, Video tips, Downloads, Extras, Hot Tips and of course the Competions are subscribers only.

I'm not too sure about the US only for the free issue ... originally it was being sent to other countries. Hopefully someone will let us know if it is indeed US only ... Jan or one of the others usually pops onto the forum at sometime during the day.

Well books ... how many you need isn't easy to answer :). I would start off with one simple one ... and you will probably grow out of it fairly quickly plus a more complicated one. Once you learn more about Elements you will want to buy more books but its not urgent at this stage ... you probably won't find any books that are Mac only but there are not too many differences (apart from the Organiser) so that is not a problem. There are quite a few of us Mac users around here to help if you do get stuck :)

Down and Dirty Tricks Book ... it is very good it contains all sorts of cool info, how to make things look good etc etc .... I really would recommend his books, he has a great writing style very informative and very readable. I have learned so much from his books ...


Wendy

[Shari]

Yes, I would like the free issue of the newsletter too to see what it is all about. It does say only in the U.S. I live in Canada. If anyone finds out if they will send the free issue out of the United States could you please post it. Thank you.
Shari

[twoaussies]

Shari: I received several copies of the free issue - happy to mail you one if you cant get it. twoaussies@aol.com

[sandie]

FIrst I looked at the book that came with the program and found it lacking, then I bought Classroom in a Book PSE 3 which is good, then I bought Photoshop Elements 3 for Dummies and the best was left for last, Scott Kelby's Photoshope Elements 3 book. IF you order from Barnes and Noble you can get the book with a DVD which is usually sold separately for the same price as the book but buying from B+N you get book and DVD for only a few dollars more than just the book. I think the book is about $34 and the book and DVD is about $43. The DVD does show you what he is doing so I feel that was a good buy. The book is very explicit as to each action he takes and he shows some tricks that some of the "experts" don't know about or didn't until he wrote about them. He gives you some work arounds so your Elements can have some more of the benefits of CS.
Hope this helps.

[Shari]

Thanks Sandie -
I don't think we have B & N in Vancouver but I am going to check out Chapters and Office Depot tomorrow when I go out and seize the day.
Thanks.
Shari

[smorky]

Sandie
nice tip, but we also have no B&N in Germany. Or is it possible to order from there online? It sounds great to have the book and the DVD. The short QuickTime tutorials from this web page are great. If the whole DVD is in this style - fantastic.

So, very likely I will start with the book from Scott Kelby. I will tell you later my opinion about it.

[smorky]

Sandy
As I found out, B&N have a web shop (www.barnesandnoble.com). Anyway, the book is in English (of course - but I'd prefer a German book, indeed) and the international shipping costs are half of the price of the book. Incredible! :x I haven't found that bundle anywhere else. Not even the DVD itself.

Anyway, the book will help me a lot, I guess.

Thanks a lot for all your helpful hints.

[Willow]

I found the DVD on Amazon.ca, probably with Amazon.com also.
I have to search a bit for it, I can't comment on the product, it hasn't arrived yet.
It is in English.............

[Pauline]

I have both Scott Kelby's books and also 50 fast digital photoshop techniques by Gregory Georges. All have been very informative and the latter I am not even closed to being finished with. I have still found that I am learning stuff with the Elements techniques news letter. You get to try stuff you wouldn't think of which is the nice thing. While it's only 19 pages, they are all add free and packed with information and excellent colour photos.

While the price seems steep when you send out the cheque, think of it this way.....it's 8 issue and unlimited help from some very wonderful people on this forum. Also, go out to dinner one night and watch the same dollar amount disappear in half an hours time, down your stomach! LOL (well you might have to take family members to equal this amount unless you eat a lot!) It also gives you some GOOD mail to look forward too! Not just bills in the mailbox! :lol: