Structured Training - Elements and LR

[Andrew1]

I've had Elements for awhile and found about the only way to learn is through reading and watching the videos available on the internet. With over 600 pages the reading is labourious and the video route is very disjointed and hard to put it all together. You miss way to much that way and have to pick up a lot through trial and error and by getting snippets from user groups. A horrible way to learn and you'll never get close to being proficient unless your at it four hours a day.

I've just found and ordered a new copy of LR3 and after looking for a more structured training route it appears this will be the same hit and miss learning path. Another 600 page Martin Evening manual as well. I did find a formal training course in the UK but the travel costs are murder.

The only structured training path I've found is an on-line version on Lynda.com. Do any of you LR whizzes have any suggestions on a better or more proven route?

Thanks all.

[Shadowman]

Scott Kelby has a very straight forward guide on Photoshop Elements.

[Carl in Louisiana]

http://kelbytraining.com/

I think there is still a free trial period and open to all training videos.

[Andrew1]

Thanks gents. I looked at his offerings once before and found it somewhat lacking but that was for Elements alone. I'll take another look to see if LR is more what I'm after.

[Scott Stephen]

Well, the folks at SLR Lounge have a long series of LR 3 tutorials. They call it "A-Z", which sounds pretty "structured" and comprehensive to me anyway. I watched all but about 3 of them, and they did help me. Being free, it is worth a shot.

The link below is for their LR3 series (117 short 3 to 12 minute vids) and LR4 series (another 30 or so and counting), but they have other series as well. All free. And they are designed and presented in a logical order, not just scattershot random stuff.

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list...9&feature=plcp

[Sponge]

The only structured training path I've found is an on-line version on Lynda.com. Do any of you LR whizzes have any suggestions on a better or more proven route?

Thanks all.

Hi Andrew, I'm definitely not a LR whizz but I think you'll find that the way it's set-up makes it fairly easy to feel comfortable using while at the same time offering a lot of RAW editing power.

Shortly after getting Lightroom I followed along with David duChemin's "Vision & Voice - Refining Your Vision in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom" and found it to be a very insightful book. The beginning of the book starts with his philosophy on photography and some recommendations but then he takes you through his Lightroom edits of 20 of his stunning photographs. I think this is quite useful to see how a professional has edited some of his own work and gives you a good idea as to what each function does in Lightroom. The version he uses for the book is V3 so you'll have access to everything he had when writing the book.

[CLK]

There is a new ebook out at Craft and Vision CraftandVision.com called Essential Development. I have found most of the books through Craft and Vision to be especially helpful and worth while. The best thing is that most of them are only $4-$10.00. This latest one in about Light Room 4.

http://craftandvision.com/books/esse...pment-package/

There is usually a code for 20% initially, here is the code from my email update
Special Offer on Essential Development Package
The retail price on this package is just USD $7, but for the next six days, use the promotional code DEVELOP6 when you check out so you can have the Essential Development Package (incl. the Toolbox of 85 Lightroom presets) for just $6 OR use the code DEVELOP20 to get 20% off when you buy 5+ PDF eBooks from the Craft & Vision collection. These codes expire at 11:59pm PST Tuesday - October 23, 2012.

[Andrew1]

Scott, thanks for the link. It looks great. How did I miss that one with all the internet searching I've been doing?

Patrick, I've listened to Dave a few times on the Manfrotto webinars and do like his perspective on things. He lives about 30 kilometers from here so maybe it's a regional thing. (I need his talent to rub off too)

Thanks Connie, I'll check out the compatibility with LR3 and give them a look.

I did get in on one of Kelby's free 24 hour access offers and spent the last day overdosing on photography stuff. http://kelbytraining.com/online/freetrial/ For my needs signing up for a month might be a good option.

Thanks again all. This info should keep me in my cave for a few weeks.

[davidedric]

One last comment After reading the posts here I did sign up to Kelly training, mostly for LR4. First impressions are very good. I thought I was a "book" person but in practice I am finding it much easier to follow workflow through a video.

[AnnieMacD]

I'm finding the "Classroom in a Book" series from Adobe excellent to learn from. I've got Illustrator, Lightroom and Photoshop (haven't started that yet). Here's the link: click here. I also like Adobe TV tutorials: Adobe TV.

I'm new to all of them so it's a huge learning curve - hopefully I keep getting better as I work through the lessons

[Andrew1]

Thanks Annie, I did go through videos on Adobe TV at the very beginning and got through them pretty quick. I assumed the Classroom in a Book videos were the same thing and didn't look much further.

[ggt]

I subscribed to PSE magazine and it came with a 2 DVD tutorial --it was enough to get me started. I hate structured learning I'm way to creative for that stuff and I don't learn well that way. I have to learn a little, play a lot, learn a little more, play a lot more . . . .

[Andrew1]

Thanks Gretchen, did that too. I do need to put more effort into actually using it this winter.

[HMW12]

That's my winter goal as well. I have a lot of photos that I want to PP but have put of doing anything with till I learn how to do it right. I have now realized that with that approach I'll never get anything done . I find watching the videos gives me ideas of what can be done much faster than reading a book although I do like having some books handy for quick reference.

[Andrew1]

I do the same thing Helen. The internet is just too convenient. Before this we had to get out and practice. It seems everything I look at there is another link to something more interesting. With making the move to digital, getting involved with studio lighting and now editing I spend far too much time on the internet. So much that my wife called me the "virtual photographer". Oh well, I'll make more of an effort to quit procrastinating next spring.