To enter the contest:

Thought of the Day: Photoshop Alone Does Not Make a Good Photographer

I consider myself a professional when it comes to Photoshop.  I teach Photoshop and develop products that work inside Photoshop.  And yes, occasionally I use Photoshop to fix a problem on a less that perfect photo. Photoshop is a powerful tool for photographers.  But your camera paired with experience are way more important in getting the best results.

By learning to use your camera and your surroundings to their fullest, you can control light, get great composition and have better color in your photos. This is the #1 best way to spend less time in post-processing.  If you find you spend 30 minutes, instead of 3, editing each image, you probably need to figure out why.  It could be lack of Photoshop knowledge, in which case an online Photoshop training class might be in order.  But if you see your exposure is off, colors look bad, objects are growing out of people’s heads, backgrounds are cluttered, etc – you may want to revisit your camera and work on your skills in that department. And even if you feel you have mastered your skills, it cannot hurt to get back to basics every once in a while.

Answer these questions of yourself:

Using just your camera, or other equipment, not in post processing, can you:

• Achieve proper exposure and control of light?

• Get subjects to pop and backgrounds to fall out of focus?

• Identify what times of day to shoot and where to find better light?

• White balance and adjust color temperature in camera?

• Achieve exciting compositions?

• Getting your subject(s) in flattering poses?

• Avoid distracting backgrounds, clutter, and objects that may hit the subject(s) in an odd way?

Sometimes, in an attempt not to rely on Photoshop and other post-processing tools so much, I recommend photographers go out and shooting just for the practice getting the shot and experience.  Take your camera outside without any expectations of coming home and having any use-able photos.  Just practice.  Work on nailing exposure.  Work on setting a custom white balance. Work solely one day on getting better compositions. Work on your creativity.  This is also a great exercise for getting out of a rut!

All the photography forums, photo related books, and photography and Photoshop training in the world will not make you a better photographer if you do not get out and take pictures, make mistakes and then learn from those mistakes so you are more experienced the next time.

MCP Actions is very excited to announce the launch of my WATCH ME WORK 2 Hour Photoshop Interactive Online Class.

Details are below. For class times and to sign up, visit the MCP Watch Me Work Training Class Page.

We have listened to our customers and created a new online interactive Photoshop class in response to the terrific feedback we have received from you.

We hear that, chances are, you’re overwhelmed by all of the Photoshop actions in your palette.  You may have attended MCP workshops, and benefited from them, but you’re not sure how to put all of the steps together.  You tell us
that you wish you would watch a Photoshop expert edit your photo and learn step-by-step how to achieve vibrant, crisp, clean photos.

So, in a new two-hour interactive online Photoshop class called “Watch Me Work,” Jodi will work with each class participants’ photos using a combination of MCP Photoshop actions and manual editing skills, taught in other MCP Photoshop Training Classes.

You’ll see how Jodi works on photos from beginning to end and hear how she makes decisions about which actions to use and which choices she makes with each edit.  Each attendee will have the opportunity to send 2-3 photos in
advance, with one chosen from each to ensure variety.

This class will cover using actions, workflow and basic retouching but will not cover in depth restoration of old photos or major retouching issues such as extractions, body reconstructions, head swaps, braces removal, etc. For those topics, see the Private Workshops.

Here are a few examples of the types of Photoshop edits you can expect to see. Exact edits are dependent on photos sent in by participants. This class may be taken multiple times, as no two sessions will be exactly the same.