subject: Learn Photoshop Now Free [print this page] Photoshop is an amazing tool and can be used to create some dramatic and impressive graphics. In fact it's the only graphic tool you'll ever need... however, it is certainly not easy to use when you first start.
I vividly remember when I first bought Photoshop I was so excited, as I knew I was on the verge of creating great graphics (I'd seen so many awesome examples of what people could do with Photoshop), and I just couldn't wait to start using it.
But when I opened the program for the first time I was in "shock", I felt completely lost and totally overwhelmed because I just couldn't do anything. It was so frustrating!
Everything seemed so complicated, it made me feel like I needed a PhD just to run the program! I had a sinking feeling in my stomach, I think "despair" would be a pretty good way to describe the feeling :-)
I felt like asking for a refund... I didn't know where to start to just do the simplest of tasks, and when I saw the manual I felt worse still...
... You see I did NOT want to become a graphics genius, I just wanted to feel comfortable doing the most common tasks, and frankly the thought of having to read a huge manual or thick book just to edit a few images was plain depressing!
What I wanted to know was the shortcuts... not everything, just the simple stuff that I was most likely going to use, for example:
I wanted to know how to remove red eyes from digital photographs...
I wanted to add drop shadows, gradients and colors quickly and easily...
I wanted to crop and resize pictures but without compromising quality...
I wanted to make cool looking graphics or touch up photos quickly and easily, without headaches or stress.
And many other basic tasks - I'm sure you know what I mean.
I hated that feeling of intimidation when I opened the program and I just wanted to feel confident (not overwhelmed) doing the most commonly used tasks, and produce the kind of graphic work which initially made me purchase Photoshop, without having to invest weeks of learning to do so!
