Photoshop....

I've come across many a posts out in blogland with tutorials on how to use Photoshop (or mainly Photoshop Elements/PSE.... not quite the same thing).  From what I've seen, most people use the program to enhance or correct photos they've taken before uploading them to the web.  There are some great before and after shots out there, I tell ya', and I continue to learn something new all of the time.

I use Photoshop for design work, be it web banners/pages or print media.  Most of the time these days, it's for myself (like the new business card below that I did this morning).  At this point, I do all of my printing myself on an eight-color photo printer.  For the amount I need, it makes the most sense and I've found some great on-line sources for printing materials you can't find at Staples, etc.

(low res copy before printing)

Often I'm hired as a subcontractor to design print ads, forms, flyers, etc for local businesses.

I started using Photoshop about 10 years ago.  At the time, the company I was working for wanted to find a  more cost effective way to produce their annual rental catalog (at 100 pages plus cover,over 200 photos and a boat-load of text) and I basically volunteered.  Crazy, huh?

We bought a copy of Photoshop from a friend of a friend so to speak, so I didn't even have a manual to refer to.  I had used Publisher to some degree in the past, but as anyone who has ever used Photoshop can attest to, there is absolutely NO comparison! And this was ten years ago... a lot has changed since then.

(new package label)

I taught myself how to use the program and it took me almost 3 months to complete the catalog.  But when I was done, I was ready for just about anything.  I'm still using the same version as then and I still haven't learned it all... it's definitely a day-to-day thing for me.  I'll upgrade to the newest version in the next few months and then I guess I'll be back to square one!

(just a little something I worked up yesterday- hope they like the new logo at the bottom!)

So what's out there that you're just dyin' to try?