How did you learn to post process your photos?

[ricktas]

Another Poll. I am interested in finding out how members learnt to post process. If, like me, you learnt from several methods, this poll allows you to pick as many of those methods as you want, but remember we are looking for the primary ways you learnt.

[MarkChap]

Self taught with the aide of a few good books and that wonderful resource, YouTube.

Thinking about signing up to Lynda.com for a while and see if I can't improve my skills

[Wayne]

Same as Mark above, but I really have little creative talent or vision, so I not very good at it. Would really love to learn much more.

[Avalon]

Did a Photography workshop with a small component of Post Processing involved. Started with Picasa, still love it, but upgraded to CS5.
Did a workshop specifically for Photoshop CS5 and also bought a DVD from a local trainer so I can stop/start/repeat what I've learned.
It's finally starting to make sense and I'm now enjoying the learning curve I'm on.

[James T]

Primarily self-taught I think, don't really remember. Picked up a few tips and tricks from other photographers along the way.

Obviously still learning all time, I don't have any intentions of being a retouching pro though so I only look to learn what's going to be useful to me.

[Analog6]

Mainly self taught by experimenting but in the last 2 years or so I have used web sites to gain knowledge of more advanced techniques. The single most useful website I have found (for me personally) is the master Classes at better Photography (there is a free one to try and see if you like it).

[dbax]

A variety of methods for me, self taught , then a short course at a local community college, books, magazines, online forums and videos. I look at many things and use the ones that suit me.

[Namus]

Combination of self-taught via T&E, advice/tips from other togs I've met, forums, google fu, and magazines; can't really say any one of those has been more dominant than another, as they have all had different advantages and drawbacks (for me anyway)

[in2fx]

I have not learnt how to process my photos yet other than to open them, maybe crop them a little, resize them and then sharpen a little because the resizing them softened the images (just resently figured out how to do that :D ).

I hope to one day be able to afford something like Photoshop and then I will need someone to show me how to use it because I am not good at reading 'how to do' books :o

[pmack]

After posting pics up on a forum years ago with simple contrast/contrast adjustments in photoshop, I learnt the basic tequnique of giving the image a bit of an s-curve instead after people posted reworks, and to be honest, since then i havn't really improved or advanced my methods much. I don't like to over process the images, and i've found with better equipment I have not needed to alter the photos as much as i used to anyway.
I can blend images and use masks etc and other tricky stuff, but haven't learnt a whole lot more on basic image processing. Still have lot to learn, just need to set aside the time!

[adrian078]

Much like some of the others, I learnt a lot through trial and error. I also picked up stuff from magazines, books, internet and friends. Most of the things I have learnt are processes that I use all the time and learnt or searched to learn them when I needed to do something different I didn't already know. I don't think there is any point learning all the tricks of PS or LR if you don't use them regularly.

[old dog]

pretty well self taught to start with and now graduating to book and you tube and other online video help. Great fun but boy is it time consuming.

[Xebadir]

Self taught, but with added influences. Some stuff ive picked up from forum(s), some stuff i've recieved instructions from a friend on, a book or two have taught me some useful tricks but one of the more useful ones for me has been Lynda.com, has given me some decent instruction over the more advanced techniques.

[Darey]

Trial & error, good books and YouTube videos.

[Speedway]

Mainly self taught with the click and see method, added to my skills with forums like this and magazine tutorial discs.
Keith.

[triptych]

Self taught, using internet tutorials and more recently youtube.

[Boo53]

Like most other, self taught, but I did enrol (twice) at the local TAFE for a course that was cancelled at short notice both times.

When I find the time I'd like to track down a course at a Melbourne based TAFE or other provider.

[Mat]

Basically I loaded up an image and tried out the filters and other tools and just observed what happened and then utilised what I learnt.

[Tikira]

Self taught too, through trial and LOTS of errors. The biggest problem is then forgetting what I did, and how I did it....

Wayne

[ashey]

Self taught and picking bits and pieces up of this site but a lonnnnnnnnng way to go.

[mongo]

Primarily self-taught - and by making many many mistakes. Good news is that Mongo practised so long on the mistake that he has just about perfected it :D

[Roosta]

Slowly and doing it all wrong the first, make that several times. LOL

I'm a lazy creature when it comes to techknowledgy, so I tend to brain suck others dry. Have the books, need to read and sit infront of Laptop and do.

[rookie]

dvd's from a pommy mag photo plus and a little from youtube.still not very good:(

[Mary Anne]

Self taught not that I know much as long as I can crop, sharpen and remove some annoying flower or leaf and the dust bunnies I am happy..

[hawko02]

Haven't really learnt yet.
trying to sharpen correctly and use a bit of curves. The only help/instruction has been from this site and its members.

[PH005]

Self taught with some very handy advise from friendly members here on the site. :th3:

[Erin]

Definitely self-taught first, then internet searches (mostly of professional retouchers as opposed to photographers who think they know photoshop) and then magazines. Pretty much in that order. :)

[Dylan & Marianne]

mostly self taught - mainly, I looked at other people's pics that I liked, tried to figure out what they did to it, then looked for tutorials on how to do it.
youtube and www.photoshopessentials.com were my best friends! followed by the forums at luminous landscapes, and of course, from this forum particularly about wedding portraiture

[Tjfrnds]

Still learning and have a long way to go!
Learning mainly from internet searches and sometime video tutorials

[MegHenry]

The little that I DO know is mostly self-taught and picked up from random searches, forums (here is fantastic, :)) and the occasional magazine. I get the feeling that I'm barely scraping the tip of a massive ice-berg though, haha. God, I hope it won't be like the titanic :P Lol.

[macrocephalic]

I voted for trial and error, although I'm largely still in the "trialling and making lots of errors" stage.

[jgknight]

Self taught basic stuff. No internet, no computers (hadn't been invented yet). Got a job in a photo studio and spent the next 15 years in TV stills, commercial and fashion photography.
I used to purpose-create my own developers for the type of end result I needed and would be made up from the raw ingredients. It was fun to experiment. I started ti 1961. hmmm. 50 years ago this month.

[Longshots]

Self taught - and importantly I started by self teaching myself traditional darkroom techniques first, then digital came along in the 1990's, and adopted digital from its birth. Learning literally never ends - which is why I enjoy it so much :)

[baldrick]

Self taught, after thirty years with my own dark room the principles are the same, it`s just easier. (and I don`t come out with a splitting headache)
Simmo

[mikec]

I am mainly self taught but I have to say, being only 3 weeks into a Bach. of Photography I've already learnt more about post processing than all that time, well at least all the behind the scenes workings that inform what we do in post processing.

If anyone wants a good book I can highyl recommend Adobe Photoshop CS5 for Photographers by Martin Evening. It's one of our text books but I wish I found it years ago now.

[Bally]

Is still haven't a valid reply. Learnt how to get specific jobs done via books occasionally, more often the interweb

[NikonNellie]

I learnt and am still learning by a number of different methods. I had very basic formal lessons, e.g Levels, Hue/saturation etc. Most of what I have learnt has been from the internet/this forum and reading books, as well as trial and error - not being afraid to give things a go. The undo button can be your best friend! :D

[Irru]

The video tutorials for Lightroom 3 on the Adobe website (along with trial-and-error).
I really do recommend those videos though.

[Invictus]

A mixture of methods for me.
Online tutorials, looking at others examples, but primarily self taught.