November 1, 2021

Adobe Creative Cloud - Resources for learning Photoshop

I should note up front that the help menu in photoshop itself will take you to Adobe documentation and tutorials. I have not yet tried the Adobe tutorials and I really should someday.

The following 3 fellows are recommended by my Photoshop mentor, Dave.

Some of these guys offer tutorials you can pay for. Also there are a myriad of other resources and individuals offering photoshop education.

Paid classes

I paid the $5 for his "10 steps" introduction to Photoshop and it was certainly worth it. Now I am contemplating his "photoshop essentials". Note that Sean Bagshaw recommends and promotes the TK plugin for photoshop which is said to be helpful if you want to work with luminosity masks.

Matt Kloskowski has a class "the Photoshop system" for $120. Odds are you get what you pay for.

Luminosity Masks

My good friend, Mr. Baker, has been encouraging me to look into luminosity masks. This involved getting cozy with Photoshop, something I have always wanted to do, but also something that filled me with trepidation. But now that I am in the game with the "Creative Cloud photography plan", I have the current photoshop and all that is now required is an investment of my time. Dave swears by the TK8 plugin from Tony Kuyper. For $49 I can get the plugin and a video series on how to use it. Or I can pay just $29 for the plugin and thrash around with it by myself.

Lumenzia versus TK panels? What I am reading is that Lumenzia may be simpler and easier, but TK8 is more comprehensive albeit with a steeper learning curve.

Dave uses the TK8 panel, which is better than a recommendation. The classes by Sean Bagshaw are matched to this, so that seems to be a logical starting point, but there are certainly other options. It might make sense to sample the various experts offering photoshop "classes" by way of Youtube and see whose style and personality works the best for you.

Greg Benz also offers courses along with a masking panel "Lumenzia". The two courses Dave recommends are Dodging and Burning, and Exposure Blending. These use the Lumenzia panel. You may like the TK8 panel better, but Greg Benz may have a teaching style you like better, or you may have other reasons for wanting to stick with the TK8 panel but still get benefit from Greg Benz's courses. Lumenzia and TK8 are just two of perhaps a half dozen such panels of the same sort. Another big player is "Raya Pro" in this arena. A person would certainly want to start with a course and panel that are matched up.

You can get a package with both of the Greg Benz courses and Lumenzia for $197. The courses by Sean Bagshaw are matched to the TK8 panel.

PixImperfect may not offer a masking panel, but is an highly recommended (Dave says "outstanding") Photoshop resource, albeit somewhat overwhelming.
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Tom's Digital Photography Info / tom@mmto.org