New to Photoshop? Let Dave Cross Be Your Guide
Even though NAPP is “The National Assn. of Photoshop Professionals,” not only do we have thousands of non-pro members worldwide, every day we have lots of people who join NAPP that are absolutely brand new to Photoshop—-total beginners——and they’ve joined NAPP to learn how to get their arms around this amazing program (a lot of these brand new users are friends of existing NAPP members).
That’s why we create a special section of the NAPP member website just for brand new Photoshop users to help get them up to speed fast. Their guide is NAPP’s own Senior Curriculum Director Dave Cross, and Dave has put together a series of beginner training videos that not only teach these new members how to use Photoshop from the ground up; he also shows them all the different areas of NAPP that are specifically for them (from beginner’s articles in the magazine to beginner’s resources and videos on the member Web site; from how to get help from NAPP’s Help desk, to getting help from other members around the world), plus how to leverage all the beginner info we create each month to get them ahead faster.
Although Dave is very modest about this new special area, he really did a kick-butt job on it, and he continues to expand and grow this rapidly growing area of NAPP membership, so if you’re a NAPP member, next time you’re at the member Website, click on the “Brand New to Photoshop—Start Here?” button on the top right, and take Dave’s tour, and beginner’s course. It’s the first step on a very amazing, challenging, and incredibly fun journey.
I’ve been using Photoshop for 8 or 9 years but it wasn’t untill I joined NAPP a couple of years ago that things really took off for me. Kelbytraining and all of the connected sites and blogs have improved my skills and saved me a lot of cash. Thanks
I joined NAPP 3 years ago to learn Photoshop. I’m an amateur photographer and really enjoyed learning from the site’s tutorials. But as time went on I found that the cost of the membership coupled with the so-called Kelby Training at an additional cost became unreasonable for a non-professional user. Too bad, because I really used to enjoy it. Also, Scott’s blog site seems to have morphed into a self-promotion and advertising vehicle, not a place to learn anything as it once was. Guess everybody’s got a right (some would say obligation) to earn a buck.
I, too, am a former NAPP member and did enjoy my membership. However, as NAPP is now become mostly oriented toward photographic instruction, it was no longer feasible for me to be a member. I live on a retirement budget and, so, have to allocate my resources accordingly. As a digital painter, currently using PS CS4, I only require an inexpensive point and shoot digital camera that is sufficient to capture a scene that serves as my subject matter. I understand that many members’ interests are better served by NAPP’s current format of instruction and I have no complaints. I like to think that I still retain the enthusiasm and interest for Photoshop that NAPP membership instilled in me and also the willingness to help its members who would like to learn an easy way to use their artistic skills to digital paint. Again, I was grateful for the experience of even a short tenure with NAPP.
Oh Billy Boy how sad. I wish I could hold you and make it all better. If this blog is so empty
why dont you go do something useful like clean your sock drawer.
Love
David
Wow, that was really a useful reply.
David you are right on about Billy Boy. Kelby training is very reasonable and the value of the training that is available is worth thousands of dollars. Scott is not self promoting but an entrepreneur. Scott and his fine fine staff have made it possible for a lot of us to further and enhance our photographic skills and creativity. David while you are holding Billy Boy try and get his bubble between the lines.
Just an after thought … Maybe Billy Boy should sell his camera and take up something like watching haircuts or killing gophers
An excellent idea to have beginner tutorials. Photoshop is an incredibly powerful and extremely poorly documented tool (thus NAPP). I learned the basics from some DVD training with Deke M back in the photoshop 6 days.
Getting started isn’t easy and some concepts I’m still trying to a grasp on (The shapes and drawing tools still don’t make a great deal of sense to me although I’m figuring out those vector masks and things).
What’s with all the Billy Boy comments? (I think some of you are trying to reply to Mr. Hamiliton, in which case you should be clicking the reply to his comment)
Scott is totally self promoting (duh) but its his job and this is his blog. It doesn’t hurt that Scott’s product is high quality and sells itself. There is some overlap between NAPP and Kelby Training, and one hopes that NAPPs quality photoshop instruction doesn’t suffer at the expense of Kelby Training.
Hi,
I am looking for a book or another resource on photographic effects in Photoshop – ideally a cookbook of sorts, focusing on the various filters and photo effects, rather than all the other stuff like cropping, workflow, selection, etc.
Rather than as a chapter in a book, it’d be awesome to have a whole book dedicated to a whole bunch of photo processing techniques for the digital photo experimenter…
Anything along these lines come to mind?
Thanks in advance,
ilya
Photography can be a fairly expensive hobby, and if you shoot sports its really expensive. I am blessed to have photography as a hobby. There is so many places on the internet to get free help that no one should complain about a site where you pay for it. I think all the seminars and training I’ve spent money on with NAPP and SK Media are darn worth it! I can’t wait to get on this blog each day (and it’s free)!
Hi Scott,
Great talk at the Nikon Booth at Photo expo today (Friday). I took some photos of you speaking and sent them to your skelby@photoshopuser.com email address.
Luis Morales
(DLWS – Acadia NP 2005)
Scott/Dave… that’s exactly why I joined NAPP… to learn more about Photoshop… and I’m truly a beginner in both photography and photoshop/lightroom.
I look forward to checking these new video’s out and am soo appreciative that not only experienced users are being targetted, but us newbies as well… thanks soo much for thinking of us
I love these photoshop Napp guys video tutorials
Any news on CS5 release date – rumours are March 2010
Hi Scott,
I was a member of NAPP 10 years ago in New York and I joined again a little over a week ago when Corey Barker came to Portland, Oregon. The Down & Dirty Tricks Show was really excellent. I made Corey laugh when I told him about a little blog I started relating to Deke McClelland’s book on Channel’s & Masks. My blog name is “The Masking Mystique of Deke” found at http://maskingmystique.com – I got the idea from watching the movie “Julie & Julia.” I hope to build interest in the book, add a few side points and basically have a good time with it!
Hello Scott,
I have recently purchased your book The Adobe Photoshop CS4 Book for Digital Photographers and I just wanted to say a very heartfelt THANK YOU!!!
I have been struggling along with a video training tutorial from Teach-U-Comp which keeps putting me to sleep. I also bought ‘Classroom in a Book’ for CS4 which also made me snoozy, but your book is just brilliant. I am up to Chapter 4 and I am loving it, I have learnt more in the last couple of days working through from Chapters 1-4 than I have done all year, thank you, thank you, thank you.
I’ve also just purchased another of your books called Photoshop CS4 Down & Dirty Tricks which I am really looking forward to getting into…….as soon as I finish working through the current book.
Best wishes
Linda K
NAPP and the online Kelby Training are a combined 278.00 a year. I’m a full-time wedding photographer and I can tell you that my return on investment can’t be measured. I save three times what the NAPP membership costs in discounts with Apple, free shipping with B&H, software discounts, etc. The online training at Kelby Training as literally saved me hundreds of hours in refining my workflow and become more efficient and adept at using LR/Photoshop. Time is MONEY is my business so I can only thanks Scott and The NAPP crew for making all this top-notch professional content available for a VERY reasonable price.
Scott, Moo cards are the best. The were at Photoshop World in Boston with a booth give them some love. They now have a USA office right down the road from me in Providence, RI
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