Photoshop and Lightroom

[Bstanley]

As a proud, but clueless new owner of Photoshop and Lightroom I wonder if anyone would like to offer any advice in the quickest way to start climbing that learning curve.

It would seem that setting up and becoming comfortable with Lightroom first is the best way to go since it is basically the first way you deal with new images.

I'm comfortable with Photoshop Elements 8 at this point - I don't plan to remove it from the PC until I get familiar with Photoshop - has anyone had any issues with the two of them co-existing on the same PC?

And thanks for the tip to buy it with an educators discount - my wife (School Counselor) actually bought it - but I suspect I'll be doing most of the mouse clicking with it ;)

[disneyboy2003]

As a proud, but clueless new owner of Photoshop and Lightroom I wonder if anyone would like to offer any advice in the quickest way to start climbing that learning curve.

It would seem that setting up and becoming comfortable with Lightroom first is the best way to go since it is basically the first way you deal with new images.

I'm comfortable with Photoshop Elements 8 at this point - I don't plan to remove it from the PC until I get familiar with Photoshop - has anyone had any issues with the two of them co-existing on the same PC?

And thanks for the tip to buy it with an educators discount - my wife (School Counselor) actually bought it - but I suspect I'll be doing most of the mouse clicking with it ;)


Congratulations on getting Photoshop and Lightroom! This is just the very beginning of a life-long journey in post-processing! :thumbsup2 (although you probably already have lots of experience already using Photoshop Elements)

When I started learning Photoshop & Lightroom, I really liked both books by Scott Kelby: The Adobe Photoshop CS5 Book for Digital Photographers (link (http://www.amazon.com/Photoshop-Digital-Photographers-Voices-Matter/dp/0321703561/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1302612772&sr=8-1) to Amazon) and The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 Book for Digital Photographers (link (http://www.amazon.com/Photoshop-Lightroom-Digital-Photographers-Voices/dp/0321700910/ref=pd_sim_b_1) to Amazon). Both books were very well-written, with LOTS of COLOR screenshots. His writing style is informal and very easy to follow along. His books are all written in a step-by-step fashion (ex. wanna learn how to correct white balance? He shows you how to do it step-by-step).

Go to your local bookstore and browse through these 2 books to see if it suits your learning style. I've read a few other Photoshop & Lightroom books, but these 2 by Scott Kelby are by far the best ones to start learning from!

[mom2rtk]

When I started learning Photoshop & Lightroom, I really liked both books by Scott Kelby: The Adobe Photoshop CS5 Book for Digital Photographers (link (http://www.amazon.com/Photoshop-Digital-Photographers-Voices-Matter/dp/0321703561/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1302612772&sr=8-1) to Amazon) and The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 Book for Digital Photographers (link (http://www.amazon.com/Photoshop-Lightroom-Digital-Photographers-Voices/dp/0321700910/ref=pd_sim_b_1) to Amazon). Both books were very well-written, with LOTS of COLOR screenshots. His writing style is informal and very easy to follow along. His books are all written in a step-by-step fashion (ex. wanna learn how to correct white balance? He shows you how to do it step-by-step).

Go to your local bookstore and browse through these 2 books to see if it suits your learning style. I've read a few other Photoshop & Lightroom books, but these 2 by Scott Kelby are by far the best ones to start learning from!


I just got the LR3 book by Kelby. It really does seem user-friendly, which was my biggest goal. I can't wait til I have some time to start working through it!

[mrcricket]

If books aren't your thing, then I'd suggest kelbytraining.com. You can do a monthly membership and they have some great courses on PS and LR as well as many others. I like the videos myself and have learned a lot from them.
I also own Kelby books and they are great too. Just wanted to give you another option.

[DVC Mike]

I have both Lightroom 3 and Photoshop CS5, and I find I use Lightroom most of the time. Lightroom does everything you can do with Camera Raw in Photoshop, which I find is all I pretty much need.

In my opinion, Photoshop displays its long legacy by having 12 ways to do any one thing, and being needlessly complex. Yes, there are definitely some things that you can only do in Photoshop, or that Photoshop is a master at, yet I find I personally rarely need to do those things.

[Bstanley]

Sheesh...now he tells me...where were you before I plunked down the $199 for Photoshop 5? :rotfl:


I'll look for the recommended books in the library and check out Mr. Kelby's training site. Thanks all!

I've noticed there are a lot of resources on the interwebs as well so I'm sure I'll have plenty to practice. I wish Adobe would hurry up and finish the version where they've digitized the brain patterns of great artists and you just push the 'Ansel Adams' or 'Michaelangelo' button. ;)

[Pooh2]

I just purchased LR 3 as well and picked up the Scott Kelby book and making some progress.
A local art school is offering a 5 week LR 3 course this summer at a reasonable price so I am going to check that out.
You might want to check out your local art schools to see if they offer something simliar.

[NYCNatalie]

I highly recommend kelbytraining.com as the other posters stated as well as his books. You'll be a pro in no time! Best of luck!