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Although it is expensive, today it is considered an essential program for anyone working with graphics, whether it’s in print, on the web, or even in television and movies. This has led to a huge number of cheaper competitors (who have been largely ignored), as well as rampant piracy of Photoshop itself. To counter this, a cheaper, simpler version of Photoshop called Adobe Photoshop Elements
 is available, which is especially good for beginners and has an easier learning curve.
How did Photoshop
 get into this dominant position? Well, development started in 1987, with the first release in 1990. Since then, Adobe has been improving the software continuously, constantly taking advantage of advances in hardware power. Even now, to get the best performance out of Photoshop, you should buy as much RAM as you can afford.
It is not just Adobe’s efforts that have got Photoshop where it is today, however. The program’s plugin architecture has allowed there to be are all sorts of plugins available for more advanced work, including some plugins that actually cost more and do more than the program itself. In this way, Photoshop
is often used much like Windows, as a platform – and it would be a huge effort to get these plugins to run on any other software, making competitors effectively useless to anyone who relies on a plugin.
Today, you can get Photoshop for Windows and Mac OS (both OS 9 and OS X). If you want to use it on Linux, however, you will have to use Crossover Office, Codeweavers’ program that allows some Windows software to run on Linux, but it will be quite slow.
Adobe Photoshop, the top choice for digital darkroom use, can be a complicated program to use. Many options and possibilities, some of them completely unexplained, make Photoshop as once mysterious, intriguing, and downright difficult to use. Photoshop enjoys a lot of buzz on the Internet, and there are plenty of myths associated with the program. Get to the bottom of these Photoshop Myths.
Photoshop tips, photoshop tutorials, and photoshops myths abound on the Internet, many of them not at all helpful. Some Photoshop tutorials only make using Adobe photoshop more impossible. How do you separate the photoshop myths, tips, and tutorials to come up with a great picture of what photoshop really is? First, you have to start debunking the most common and popular photoshop myths.
One popular Photoshop myth is that you cannot get a quality print from a jpeg image unless the final output image resolution is a multiple of printer resolution. This is untrue. Another popular and oft-touted myth is that a printer resolution of 300 ppi is superior to resolution of 240 ppi. While this myth is true, it’s really a nonissue that photoshop tutorials throw in to confuse users. Some tutorials even claim that every image should receive 16-bit treatment – which is an unnecessary waste of time.
Of all the Photoshop tips available on these tutorials, one holds more importance than others. When working with Adobe photoshop, it is essential to use layers and masks. You cannot use photoshop to its fullest without taking advantage of adjustment layers and masks that will give your photos that perfect, polished look. Not mentioned often in photoshop tutorials or in photoshop tips list is that you should only fix one problem at a time instead of trying to take care of several at once. By working on each problem in a step-by-step basis, you will get much better results from photoshop – and your pictures will be the proof of your effort.
While there are some photoshop tutorials that will only confuse you and make using photoshop seem like an impossible goal, there are many helpful tutorials and photoshop tips available online for those who want to learn more. Several books have been written that discuss the uses of photoshop much more in-depth for those that need longer explanation and more photoshop tips than the average digital photographer.
Adobe photoshop is actually a program that can be used by anyone who wants to make downloaded images or digital photos look more professional, or add borders and stylistic changes to their photos – not just those who understand complicated computer jargon and know how to wade through the mess of available photoshop tips and tutorials. Start out slow and do some experimenting and playing around with your images. The more you use Adobe photoshop, the more comfortable with photoshop you’ll be. Soon, you’ll be able to do anything to your photos – you might even write your own photoshop tutorial for the web. Playing around and experimenting with photoshop may go against the photoshop myths that say you should study first and take a photoshop tutorial before you begin using the program, but it’s much more fun to learn on your own and usually more beneficial in the end. The more you learn on your own, the more information about photoshop you will retain. Going through a tutorial isn’t the same photoshop you will retain. Going through a tutorial isn’t the same as learning on your own, so it’s always best to experiment with photoshop on your own no matter how many photoshop tutorials you read. In spite of the photoshop myths, you really will learn much better on your own what techniques and tricks to use when working with Adobe photoshop.
Whether you’re working in color or black and white, don’t be afraid to use different layers, tools, and masks to fix one problem or make one embellishment at a time. The good thing about photoshop is that your picture possibilities are almost endless, and there is almost no limit to what you can do. Whether you’re an amateur or professional digital photographer, or just want to make some images look better for your web site, there is one photoshop myth that is true: anyone can benefit from using Adobe photoshop, and every picture could always stand a little improvement.
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About the Author: This article was written by Kevin M. Sugrue the creator of FreePhotoshopZone.com! Free Photoshop Zone offers free photoshop tutorials and free photoshop articles! To visit his site go to Free Photoshop Zone
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