Hello,

I am debating whether to take courses for Adobe Photoshop and other programs that comes with Adobe Pro Suite.

Did anyone take those courses and benefit greatly from it?

I've noticed several nice Photoshop tutorial books from the libraries, so perhaps that's more than enough?

I'm also debating whether I should purchase the whole Adobe Pro Suite - cost $1,800. That is a lot! Or should I buy just Photoshop and Fireworks for web design?

Hmmm a lot to ponder about - but I would really appreciate your feedbacks.

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Brenda A. Jones
www.brevos.com

I took certification courses and it was an accredited institution, I purchased full-featured software at student discount.

Photoshop is a very powerful program and would highly recommend taking a course as there are lots of features to tinker with. The books from the library are a great help for reference and learning new tricks. I know there are numerous websites that show neat ways to use Photoshop, but I do not have links right now.

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Lisa George
Remote Admin Services
Web:http://remoteadminservices.com
Blog:http://remoteadminservices.wordpress.com

HI Brenda
I think a course could be a really useful tool - but it all depends on your learning style. We've learned all of the Adobe CS3 programs through self teaching, tutorials provided with the program online, and books - but that was out of necessity (you see, there simply weren't any classes available in the far corners of the world we were living in.)

You can certainly learn a lot about the programs without a course, but Lisa is right in that Photoshop alone is a complicated program - having someone in a classroom setting to help guide you would only benefit you.

As to which program to purchase - we went ahead and bought the whole kit (the $1,800 was tax deductible as a business expense ) but we use things like Dreamweaver and Illustrator on a regular basis. And of course nothing beats Adobe's PDF maker.

You can download free trial versions of almost all of the programs included in CS3 - they're not full featured, but might help you determine if you need the whole suite or just part and parcel.

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I'm working in CS2 of photoshop to learn the program. CS3 has more whistles and bells, of course, but I was able to buy photoshop really inexpensively (in comparison) while I learn it.

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Lily Chambers, The Virtual Office Goddess, LLC
Author "How to Do Your Own Small Business Bookkeeping"

Thank you guys - you each gave me some geat ideas!

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Brenda A. Jones
www.brevos.com

I have Adobe Photoshop Elements which is a pared down version of Photoshop, and much, much cheaper. I think it has most everything in it that I would possibly use it for. I took a course online from our local community college and found it really quite helpful for get up and running in this program quicker than I might have just doing study on my own.

Also, I recall a while back that someone posted links to purchasing software online at academic price and that you can qualify for purchasing through them if you have school aged children (in school, of course!). You might check that out before you pay full retail price.

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Kimberly
Facebook Marketing Magic!

Thank you! I will take them all into consideration. I appreciate your inputs!

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Brenda A. Jones
www.brevos.com

you might also find this website useful...

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Lily Chambers, The Virtual Office Goddess, LLC
Author "How to Do Your Own Small Business Bookkeeping"

Originally Posted by Office Goddess

I'm working in CS2 of photoshop to learn the program. CS3 has more whistles and bells, of course, but I was able to buy photoshop really inexpensively (in comparison) while I learn it.

Don't feel bad - I bought a "suite" package before they came out with the CS versions and I still use Adobe Photoshop 6 and Illustrator 10. I waited too long with my PS6 and can't even purchase an upgrade at this point

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Jeanne
NowAssistingYou.com
Virtual Assistant :: Web/Blog Design & Hosting :: Writer

Originally Posted by White Rose

Hello, I am debating whether to take courses for Adobe Photoshop and other programs that comes with Adobe Pro Suite. Did anyone take those courses and benefit greatly from it? I've noticed several nice Photoshop tutorial books from the libraries, so perhaps that's more than enough? I'm also debating whether I should purchase the whole Adobe Pro Suite - cost $1,800. That is a lot! Or should I buy just Photoshop and Fireworks for web design? Hmmm a lot to ponder about - but I would really appreciate your feedbacks.

Brenda,

I have taken a PhotoShop class but I did it online through the HP Learning Center. They offer free classes in just about everything and you receive a certificate when you're finished.