Photoshop elements 10......AAAAARGH!

[Andrea1]

HI Guys,

Ok, so i downloaded photoshop elements 10 about a week ago.
I've played around with it and watched a couple of tutorials BUT there is so much to learn that it's driving me crazy!
It's certainly not beyond me and i know i'll get it eventually but i think i may need a short course or something.
I'm not interested in making calendars or doing anything fancy or ridiculous. I just want to enhance photos so that they still look natural and of course fix what needs fixing.
It seems a waste to be taking pics in RAW to then not know what to do with them!

How did you get your head around this program? I only have 3 weeks of the trial left!

Thanks

[ricktas]

If you think there is so much to learn now, you need to re-assess everything! I have been using photoshop for over 10 years and I am still learning it. There is no way to learn it all during the trial period..period!

I suggest you considering using youtube, or get a good book on elements and start the learning process, but you have years of learning ahead of you!

What you need to learn how to do as a beginner:

Import photos
File formats
How to save in different formats
How to level an horizon
How to crop
How to Sharpen
How to do a Levels Adjustment
How to Clone

Some other things that can help, once you have the above down

How to create a monochromatic version of a photo
How to make selections and edit within those selections
How to adjust colours/saturation

Using these as a basis for your skill-set you can effectively edit your photos. BUT you need to start with good photos. Do not rely on editing to 'fix' your photos. Take good ones and enhance them.

[Andrea1]

Thanks Rick, there is no way that i would expect to learn how to use the whole program in 3 weeks!!
I just want to know where to start and then build from the basics.
Thanks for the tips of what i should start with. I have checked youtube, there is so much there that it overwhelms me.
It seems that you need a good amount of time dedicated to it to really grasp it and that's why i thought a structured short course might help but i'll persevere with online tutorials for now.
Taking good photos is definately the priority, that's why is seems a shame to have some good pics just sitting there waiting for tweaking.

I'm tempted to go back to jpeg until i get with the program!
Thanks again

[verfnew]

I agree with Rick, Learn the basics as Rick said including how to work with the Histogram and the stamp tool.
Vern.

[redhead65]

+1 Rick. I've been using Photoshop Elements since Version 4 and can also recommend Scott Kelby's book. In five or six years I've barely scratched the surface of the functionality of the program. I'm still using the copy of the book I purchased at the same time as Version 4. That said I'm currently also trying out Version 10 with the help of the short video tutorials on the photoshop.com site. I've found thus far that Version 10 does stitch together panoramas that were beyond the abilities of Version 8.