I have had Photoshop Elements 2 for quite some time now. I have tried and tried to work with it, but just get aggrivated with it. Do any of you work with PS2? If so, will the tutorials here work with PS2? I have tried to do a couple, but haven't had much luck. I see all of the wonderful elements and layouts created with PS and would like to do more with what I have. Hope I am making sense!

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~Jodie~

I use Photoshop Elements 2 too. I started using before I found this website. Bought a book called Photoshop Elements Solutions by Mikkel Aaland. The book gives detailed instructions step by step(with pictures) how to use PE. Isn't geared towards scrapbooking but once you get the basics down you can apply it. I liked it because it got me started in the basics of using PE and comfortable with it. I first started using Microsoft Picture It and just how you do things is different. After I bought it, I tried and quit because I got so frusterated with how long it was taking me to do very basics, but finally I just forced myself to start playing. I love it now and would never switch back. The tutorials here definitely help me, but in my case I am not sure they would if I didn't understand the basics. I train and implement accounting software for work and I personally found, knowing computer software in that realm doesn't carry over in the Photoshop World (at least for me). I had to start from scratch and play alot.

Hope that helps!

I bought Elements 2 over the summer mainly to clean up my digital photos but also to get a little creative with them. I made a cute thank you card for my son's birthday with PSE that featured a picture of him. It took me a while to do this card but I could see the posibilities.

In October I found out about the digital side of scrapbooking. I was thrilled to find a way to scrap without dragging out all my stickers, papers, tools that seem to attract little helping hands. Plus digital scrapbooking gave me a concrete project to use PSE on. I do best learning a tool when I build something I dreamed up with the tool. It often means that I do things the hard way the first time and that I do a lot research looking through tutorials and reference manuals. But in the end I really undrestand the technique and have learned about several more parts of the software. I am trying to say that if you keep working with PSE you start to master it and get the results you want.

As for tutorials, some of the Photoshop tutorials on this site work with PSE and some don't. If a particular one is not working for you, come back to the forums and ask for help! I really wanted hand stitching on my layout and couldn't get the PS tut to work in PSE. I asked about it here in the forums and found a great way to do get the look through totally different steps!

Other sites have great tutorials that are for PSE. Check out Janee's Photoshop Tutorials. She has marked all the tut that work in PSE with a sunflower icon. Also check out Jay Arraich’s Photoshop Elements Tips. These tut are in a real sequence that will help you build on your PSE skills. (I need to go back and try some of these)

HTH and keep working with Elements!
Stacy

I know how you feel Jodie. I just got PSE2 and felt like drowning. I am in pre-school when it comes to this, but I started by reading alot of books and tuts like others mentioned. Then I decided to play with a small project of making a greeting card. I made a background, dragged in a picture, added text....the tuts were beginning to make sense. It has become very addictive and I am totally in love with PSE2 now. Except....for the ? I am going to pose next.
ceevee

I'm a PSE 2 user. Didn't know a thing when I started and asked some pretty dumb questions in the forum here. But everyone was so nice and I got the answers I needed. I'm still learning but I've found that a lot of the tuts and suggestions for Photoshop do work for PSE. Or they at least point me in the right direction.

The websites listed by fox-meyers are helpful. I also did a search on photoshop elements at about.com and came up with a lot of tutorials plus some free stuff to download.

Mostly I've just learned by doing like so many others have already mentioned. The important thing is not to give up and don't think you need to know everything at once.

I also have DIP and was using it before I started with PSE. The other day I was trying to do something in DIP (which I have at work) and found myself wishing I had PSE cause it would be so much easier. Funny cause it seemed the other way around when I was first starting out.

My suggestion is to play with everything and ask here when you need help.

Have fun!

All of the Photoshop programs have a pretty steep learning curve - it's not just you! Promise! There are college courses JUST to learn the basics of Photoshop. Elements, while not quite as powerful as the full version of Photoshop, still has an amazing amoutn of stuff tro figure out and learn.

My best advice is to PLAY with it, as much as you can. Sit down for half an hour without any goal to get anything accomplished, just to PLAY with it. Draw boxes, figure out brushes, shapes, etc. Change colors. Try text. You don't have to get something accomplished (ie a layout) everytime you sit down - sometimes you need to just play and get your feet wet!

In the Decemeber newsletter at Memory Making Divas (link below), I wrote a 10-step How To that works in Elements. Complete w2ith color-coded screen grabs.

If you need any help, just give a holler! That's what we're all here for!
You may also want to check your local library for a Photoshop Elements book - there are several excellent guidebooks out there, you may be surprised what your library has! Personally, I am a HUGE fan of the "... For Dummies" series!

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My layouts!

I am still practicing my PSE2 alot. I have borrowed alot of books from the library to see which one connects with me. Sometimes, you just have to be on the same mind meld with the writer or teacher. I found a little book called Create! The No Nonsense Guide to Photoshop Elements 2 by Greg Smisic and Katy Bodenmiller. It is not fancy looking, but the text is the clearest I have found so far. In other words, it connected with my style of learning. I renewed it twice and have ordered it thru my college bookstore, and am waiting impatiently for it so I can mark it up.