Today is an exciting time for photography. The advances in digital technology have made it easy and accessible for anyone wanting to achieve professional photography editing effects to do so from the comfort of their own home. The internet has provided us with an infinite amount of programs to improve the images we capture, but none can aspire to the status of Adobe Photoshop. The program is so recognised as the editing program of choice for the professional and amateur alike that the phrase ‘to Photoshop’ is in common use meaning to alter images.
Do you want a picture of you, your family and a giraffe all dancing on the surface of Pluto? With Photoshop, anything you want is possible. With practice, you can make the vision of your wildest imagination come true. Effects that took large budgets and studios to create are now easy to produce with the click of a button.
One thing that Photoshop is closely associated with is isolating aspects of the image you don’t want and removing them. This can be used to improve physical features, such as smoothing out damaged skin or covering up body piercings, and can even be used to remove whole objects from the image that detract from the photograph like a distracting person in the background. With Photoshop it is unlikely that you will be able to tell that any alteration has been done to the picture, as the software is so complex.
Photoshop is the industry standard for photography editing. This means that it is essential to learn how to use this application, but don’t worry if you think it will be difficult. Like all good programs, it is easy to use and hard to master. The interface is accessible to the user, so that starting out is not complicated. If you feel you need help, ask any college students you know to teach you as they will probably be familiar with Photoshop.
In 1989 Thomas and John Knoll developed a basic program which was to eventually become Photoshop. They were using this program for their own projects, but they soon realised they could make money by selling the program as it added real value to anyone wanting to edit photography. They quickly formed the company Adobe and began marketing the product.
The success of Adobe is an outstanding example of the power of the internet. Software designed by Adobe is on nearly every computer in the world, as its free PDF reader has had such widespread popularity. The Adobe Reader is the standard PDF reader, just as Adobe Photoshop is the standard photo editor and is proof of Adobe’s unique dominance of media-related software.
To become familiar with Photoshop, the best thing to do is to find a copy to experiment with. Chances are a friend of yours has it, so play around with the program until you get used to the interface. If your friend knows how to use Photoshop, he or she can show you and teach you faster than most online tutorials can. Take care though, because once you see the amazing things Photoshop can do, you will become a fan forever.
Downloading a copy for your own use will make it easier to practise using Photoshop. You can get a free trial version, but it will have limited features. The best thing to do is to buy a full version from Adobe as then you don’t have to worry anymore and can concentrate on learning how to use the product. Photoshop is used so much, that it makes sense buying a copy. Once you own a copy, you may find that you spend hours experimenting and exploring the features. While this is a great way to get used to the features, specific learning in a Photoshop class can improve your learning curve and make you understand Photoshop faster.
After you are used to Photoshop there is nothing stopping you from creating whatever images you want. There are infinite possibilities for what you can make. Experiment and remember to have fun!
