Back in November, when Eric got me my new Camera, the Nikon D90, he also got me this book to go with it. It has been a lifesaver. Of course, it's 350 pages thick of tips, tricks and how-to's... and you can only swallow it in small increments or you will never be able to remember anything you read.
I spent another couple of hours working in my Photoshop Elements program today. I made a new blog header, using a picture of my kids taken at a park (which had a very noisy background that I ended up hating) and layering it onto a picture of some greenery, that I believe my parents took while vacationing in Alaska. I hope they don't mind me stealing the photo for my artistic experimentation...
I've been using this book to help me learn more about Photoshop Elements (PSE). It's not easy, even with a Dummies book. I'm not entirely sure it's their fault, because PSE has a reputation for not being user friendly, but sometimes I feel like I need a dumbed down version of the dummies book. It gets a little bit maddening and my head starts to swim after a while, so I can only do this in small doses. 
As I was debating whether or not to invest the money in this book (instead of eternally borrowing the library's copy, which I can't take notes in or mark up the pages,) I went onto amazon to read the reviews. And I am thinking about purchasing this book instead. It gets better reviews than the dummies counterpart. I think this will merit a trip to the local bookstore so I can peruse through both books side by side to see which one will be the winner. 
The maddening thing about getting back into Photography after a 10 year hiatus is that so much has changed. Digital has taken over everything, even though my photography teacher at SJCC swore digital would never be as good as film. I wonder if she ever changed her mind about that.
So not only do I have to learn how to use a complex camera that has about 300 more shooting options than my first SLR (the Pentax ME Super), but I also have to learn how to edit photos on the computer using some form of Photoshop. It's so much information overload. I don't know where to start... the camera or photoshop? I've been dabbling in both, and I'm not sure that's a good way to do it.
But if I can ever wrap my head around some of these new digital concepts, I can see lots of fun times ahead... I guess I will just have to keep plugging away, experimenting and having fun... someday it will all come together, right?
But if I can ever wrap my head around some of these new digital concepts, I can see lots of fun times ahead... I guess I will just have to keep plugging away, experimenting and having fun... someday it will all come together, right?
3 comments:
I have a couple of the Missing Manual series, one for the iPhone, and one for PHE4. They are well written and easy to understand. No problem borrowing some green foliage for your blog banner. I am trying to decide if I need PHE8 for the Mac. I will pick your brain this weekend.
Who knows...Photography is an expensive hobby and it's one of those hobbies I'm glad other people do (and not me) kind of like sewing/quilting.
Scrapbooking is another thing that has gone way digital. I don't think I will ever scrapbook again, digitally or manually....I don't know, maybe....but the Blurb blog books pretty much cover you.
Once you figure it all out will you explain it to the rest of us?! :)
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